The cost of classical home education? $6050.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Challenge: Can you do it for cheaper?

 

I've looked at this nine ways to Sunday, and it will cost me $7000 to classically home educate my son for grades 9-12.

 

That includes WTM-worthy history, literature, writing, geography, government, economics, logic, rhetoric, philosophy, religion, ethics, Latin, Greek, modern language, science, solid math, and electives such as health and personal finance.

 

My best solution so far, that takes into account my son's strengths, interests, and needs and my own inadequacies (and lack of time to do more on my own) is this:

 

Tapestry of Grace (rhetoric level, years 1-4)

Apologia Science

Saxon Math, from Algebra through Calculus

Traditional Logic I and II, Material Logic, and Rhetoric (Cothran)

Henle Latin

Bluedorn Homeschool Greek, Mounce Basics of Biblical Greek

Total Health

Rosetta Stone French (I know. Please don't mention it unless you spell out for me what to buy instead.)

 

I would like to liquidate assets, sell plasma or my minivan or something, and buy all four years. I think the economy is going to make my son's classical education dreams disappear if I don't buy the materials soon.

 

My son turned 14 yesterday. He said today that he wants to get old enough to work so that he can help pay for his high school. This child does not want a playstation or a skateboard. He just wants the next Logic book, and Biology materials.

 

This is so hard. To put him in our local public school would destroy him. They don't even have Latin, or Ancient History.

 

Sorry. The point was, how much is it going to cost you to do this?

 

I have to make classical high school at home a reality for my gifted and eager child, but the wolf is at the door.

 

(edited to add: I upped the price because I forgot to include microscope, etc.)

Edited November 12, 2010 by Dulcimeramy

[Teachin'Mine]

Unfortunately that's about right (ETA: the original cost estimate of $6050, not $7000) cost wise - even for non-classical or semi-classical. Depending on how many outside classes are needed, that figure may even be low.

 

The only way I could think to lower the costs would be to be given the texts or to buy them used.

 

So how much does a pint of plasma bring these days? :tongue_smilie: It's too bad there aren't any scholarships for homeschooling high school.

Edited November 12, 2010 by Teachin'Mine

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Unfortunately that's about right cost wise - even for non-classical or semi-classical. Depending on how many outside classes are needed' date=' that figure may even be low.

 

The only way I could think to lower the costs would be to be given the texts or to buy them used.

 

So how much does a pint of plasma bring these days? :tongue_smilie:[b'] It's too bad there aren't any scholarships for homeschooling high school.[/b]

 

That is what my son said! LOL I guess he'd be a fan of the voucher concept...

[regentrude]

Buy everything used.

 

Instead of using a homeschool science program, buy used copies of introductory college science texts in an edition that is not the current one - a $150 textbook can be had for $5-10. Your son can study from those, without extra worksheets, syllabi, study guides. Then you only need to add a lab component.

 

Use free online classes such as MIT Open courseware.

 

Get history and literature materials from the library and forgo a premade curriculum. Your library may have neat things like lectures from the Teaching Company.

[Kates]

Yep, we're looking at around $8-1200 per year as well. However, that's including co op classes for some subjects and instructors that he adores. We probably spend about $4-600 per year on curric.

 

I won't get into the whole RS thing (you can check the other thread for my opinion on that lol ;)) but would Auralog Tell Me More be an option? It's about 1/3 the price (at full price), but you can find it up to 50% off several times per year through http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/. It's a similar program, excellent quality, but much more price-friendly. Their site isn't that great - they seriously need a new marketing staff lol - but the program is solid, and if you can get it on sale, you could save upward of $500+.

 

History...would Omnibus be something that might work for you? I found copies at www.rainbowresource.com (in the dent & scratch sale) for over 40% off - and you can get the majority of the books either at the library or at serious discount. It's a really strong program, user friendly, and goes strongly into history, lit, and theology. (If the theology doesn't line up with yours - it doesn't always with ours - it's still a good basis for discussion.) You can find a really extensive sample of it at www.veritaspress.com - it's actually a Google doc with a few chapters edited out.

 

Math - I have a friend who runs a homeschool curric consignment store, she has copies of Saxon at 25-50% off retail. She takes credit & debit, she also ships anywhere in the country and can usually find you the edition you want. I know for a fact she has volumes in stock, good condition, of algebra-calc. If you'd like her info, feel free to PM me. :001_smile:

 

She also has at least 1-2 copies of Mounce, from some of my Greek students last year. You'd still need to get the workbook, but you can find that cheapest on Amazon (at least last time I checked). As well, she has several copies of Apologia upper science - bio, chem, I believe a copy or two of physics, and possibly anatomy and marine bio. I'd have to check on the last two.

 

I know she has a few copies of Tapestry year one & two if you want to stick with that program, I'm not sure which edition. She can give you the details. I believe they're fairly well-priced.

 

Anyway - not trying to push her store, promise - just trying to help you get the materials you need while cutting costs. Like I said, if you'd like her info, please PM me :001_smile: I'm hs'ing a gifted kid as well, and feel your pain!

[Brenda in MA]

I think you could cut your costs way down if you search out used books. Also, when relatives ask for gift suggestions, ask them for gift cards to your favorite book places.

 

Also look at slightly older editions. We have a used book superstore around here where you can get textbooks for a couple bucks a piece. They're a bit older, but most are very usable. Also -- shop the used boards here and homeschoolclassifieds for great deals, especially on older editions. Both Saxon and Apologia have older editions that can be had for reasonable prices.

 

Use the library as much as possible for your literature and history reading materials. Also check for foreign language programs, movies, and documentaries to supplement your history/lit/science topics.

 

If you belong to a hs group, ask your friends there if you can borrow materials for a year, or rent them for a reduced price.

 

If you have any time to spare, you might be able to get a short-time job in retail just during the holidays to bring in some extra cash. Could your son earn some money doing chores for neighbors (raking leaves, shoveling snow, mowing lawns, walking dogs)?

 

Also -- I wouldn't recommend trying to get everything you need for high school right now. Focus on next year, and only get other things if the price is really, really low. From my experience, teens' interests and needs change so much over high school. The materials you think he may need now for 11-12th grades may not be what you actually do need.

 

HTH,

Brenda

Edited November 12, 2010 by Brenda in MA

[Faithr]

There's lots of free/cheap stuff out there!

 

1. Use your library

2. Use Khan Academy and other free resources on the web.

3. Buy used stuff

4. Trade off/borrow stuff from other homeschooling moms.

5. When your son is old enough, why not have him work to earn money? That's a time honored way to get oneself educated! I see no shame in that!

6. Take it one year at a time. Looking at all 4 years in one fell swoop is overwhelming. Chipping away one year at a time is easier and actually more realistic because you'll know in a more concrete way what you have to put money out for.

[2cents]

Have you looked into dual enrollment? We got 3 years of HS done and only had to pay for the textbooks (you can check half, ebay etc for good deals on those).

[CoastalGal]

I'm not sure that this is much help, but I'll throw it out there anyway...

 

Did you know that Year 1 and Year 2 of TOG are on sale right now??

 

Year 1 Hybrid PRINT EDITION is $179.59 ($59.86 off)

 

Year 2 PRINT EDITION is $203.70 ($50 off)

 

Also, Writing Aids is 25% off through November 30th...

 

Hope this helps in some small way...

[CoastalGal]

Have you looked into dual enrollment? We got 3 years of HS done and only had to pay for the textbooks (you can check half, ebay etc for good deals on those).

 

:iagree: - we're doing dual enrollment at the local community college.

 

Juniors and Seniors in HS can take 2 FREE courses a year...total of 4 college courses = savings of $1200 :001_smile:

[elegantlion]

There's lots of free/cheap stuff out there!

 

1. Use your library

2. Use Khan Academy and other free resources on the web.

3. Buy used stuff

4. Trade off/borrow stuff from other homeschooling moms.

5. When your son is old enough, why not have him work to earn money? That's a time honored way to get oneself educated! I see no shame in that!

6. Take it one year at a time. Looking at all 4 years in one fell swoop is overwhelming. Chipping away one year at a time is easier and actually more realistic because you'll know in a more concrete way what you have to put money out for.

 

:iagree:I'm starting to look at our budget for high school. Our budget does not include anything like TOG or Rosetta Stone. I wouldn't chose them for us because I see other, more cost effective ways to meet my sons needs.

 

Over the past few years I've been gathering resources for high school, things I find cheaply at thrift stores, garage sales etc. I've paid attention to titles listed here and try to determine how they might work for son.

 

Do you live near a homeschool bookstore? Many of those items you have listed are popular items and should be readily available on the used market.

 

Personally I would print out a curriculum shopping list from donnayoung.org and make note of each book you want, what the current edition is, and the current price. Then if you find it used you'll know if it's a bargain.

 

In elementary and middle school our school expenses have been between $700-$1000 per year. That includes reading books and some self-ed materials for myself. I did a rough budget for 9th grade the other day and came out about $1500-$2000, mostly because I'm looking at doing integrated science and would need to spend more on science the first year. I don't think $7000 is out of line for high school. It's a big amount when you look at it in one fell swoop.

 

I would prioritize the importance of these materials. If TOG is the priority spend more there and look for the other items used.

 

I won't comment further on RS but other options include. Breaking the Barrier French, Live Mocha (which is free).

 

My dh is in construction and believes in the power of a quality tool to get the job done. Even though our budget is tight he never balks at how

much I spend on our son's education. It's an investment. I know there are certain subjects I need what I consider the best, Latin for one, because I don't have the knowledge to fill in any gaps. There are other subjects where I have to consider the budget first, because there are many affordable options that are tweakable.

 

It's hard when you have to continually keep the budget balanced with the needs for a quality education. It's doable though, it may take some time and planning, but it is doable. :grouphug:

[In The Great White North]

I think you could cut your costs way down if you search out used books.

:iagree: There is plenty of used stuff available. Apologia, Saxon and Henle are always available used.

 

Time is money, as the saying goes. If you're willing to create your own plan, the source books are much cheaper than the "pre-made for homeschooling materials" and always available used. Using Tapestry, RS and the Memoria Press logic materials is like buying frozen dinner or deli stuff instead of the ingredients. It almost always costs more.

 

For example:

 

If you followed WTM and created your own history/English program, instead of using Tapestry, it could entirely library/online.

 

RS could be replaced with Tell Me More (cheaper) or used textbooks, LiveMocha and DVDs that have other language options.

 

I had a one semester course in college that covered all of the Traditional Logic and Material logic stuff in one book (available used.) You don't really have to spread logic out over four years.

 

We are not anywhere close to $7000 unless you add in the swim team, which they would be doing if they were at the public school too.

Edited November 12, 2010 by In The Great White North

[JennW in SoCal]

The library, with its collections, inter-library loan AND its used book stores, is your friend. Half.com and eBay have most used text books, and if you hit nearby college book stores, especially before the crush of students hit, have a supply of used text books.

 

If you own the WTM, and read what she describes for history and literature, you will find that purchasing TOG, or Omnibus or any other of the prepackaged curricula is totally unnecessary. Even if you do what to use them, you likely ONLY need the teacher guide. I designed my own history and literature, and with a couple of wise purchases of Teaching Company series and reference books, didn't spend much else. I happen to have a fairly decent library of my own to begin with, but happily use my library for works I don't plan on reading again.

 

The Memoria Press logic books are not that expensive, nor is Henle.

 

My guess is that by searching for used materials you save quite a bit on Saxon and your science text books. Many homeschool groups organize joint used book sales. Labs can get to be quite expensive, though I'm getting around this by having my ds take classes at the community college.

 

Put those research skills to work and start bargain hunting! You can do it!

[at the beach]

I can do it for cheaper. Not saying I will, but I can. :001_smile: You are talking $1,750 per year if you are looking at $7,000 in total. That is high considering you do not have any outside classes going on via community college or online from the list you provided. I'd be curious to know how you are allocating these funds each year if you wouldn't mind sharing.

 

History/Lit: Have you looked at amblesideonline.org? The reading lists are fantastic. You could get the books used, free online, or from the library. WTM seems a cheaper way to go than TOG, too. I will guess that TOG is pricey. Is that correct? If so, and if you are feeling that you are not able to afford to spend this much, I would switch to something free/cheap for history and literature. For example, I picked up a copy of The Well Educated Mind for about $5. I picked up one of the recommended world history spines for a couple dollars at a used book store. SWB's new high school level history books are not that expensive, even buying them new.

 

Writing/Language Arts: Ambleside has great free/cheap suggestions for writing/grammar. I don't know if they recommend this one, but I love The Lively Art of Writing. I'm fairly sure AO recommends Strunk and White Elements of Style and On Writing Well. These are all inexpensive resources that go a LONG way. One grammar resource would be good to have on hand as well, something like Our Mother Tongue by Nancy Wilson, perhaps? All of these could probably be purchased for under $30 used, maybe not much more new.

 

Math: I'd look for something used with Saxon. In fact, on a used Catholic homeschool resources sale list, I just saw someone selling a complete set of Saxon Algebra 1 with the Dive CDs for $30.

 

Science: IMO you don't really need a microscope to do Biology if you really can't afford one. Apologia is fairly inexpensive, especially if you buy used. We are doing Apologia Biology this year and even with the microscope (Sam's Club and it got good reviews on this board) and buying everything new, we spent about $300 I think. I got a free schedule online. I also bought the audio of the book and the supplemental cd-rom. I purchased my set from CDB when it was 30% off.

 

As others have pointed out, there are a lot of free resources online. MIT Opencourseware has so much to offer. All totally free. Yes, some courses require books, but those can often be found used. There are websites that have free AP courses you can utilize. Also, there are certain times of the year that The Teaching Company puts courses on sale for $35 or less.

 

As for what we are going to be actually spending. Hard to say. But for 8th grade, the costs are high due to online Latin, German and Humanities. However, the books being used for Humanities are quite inexpensive. The online German course does not require us to buy text books but the pages they print up and complete become the text. It's a great course and IMO worth the $250 we are spending this year. Next year, I don't know if we'll do online Humanities. We are looking at other options that would also be a lot less expensive. In particular, I like the looks of Mother of Divine Grace for some things, and MODG is a very reasonably priced way to go. I don't know if we will add in other online courses as high school goes on or community college, but for us, the outside classes are what drive costs up.

 

I'd also not advise you to buy everything now. You might not like the stuff down the road. I would just take it one year at a time. And always know that if you can't afford materials, there are plenty of free resources online that you can use to give your son a stellar education. You do not have to spend $1,750 a year for each year of high school (on average) to give your son a classical education. It might be nice to do that, but it is definitely not necessary.

 

It's great that he is interested in working to help pay for high school homeschool materials. He sounds like a wonderful young man.

[flyingiguana]

I've stayed away from the popular curricula sold by homeschool companies. They're generally pretty expensive. We've done just as well with used texts and books. I've never spent more than 100 a year or so, generally less. The curricula geared specifically to homeschoolers never seemed to be what we wanted anyway. There are plenty of books that cover just the same material for a lot cheaper. If you need lit analysis/ historical analysis and that kind of thing, there's plenty of material free on the web.

 

One thing you can do is search for syllabuses online for college and even high school classes that look interesting. A lot of them list the books they're using. Often you can buy the books dirt cheap if you're willing to get an older edition. Ambleside, as mentioned, also has a good list of books. You can just pick the ones that look interesting and skip the ones that don't fit your needs. If you have a decent library, you can get many of the Ambleside books there instead of buying them. And, of course, there's always WTM.

[rieshy]

I know for certain that I did not spend anywhere near that amount for my graduated son- nor will I for any of the rest of my children.

 

Buying all 4 years at once is what is upping your price so much- and possibly limiting your vision.

 

Foreign language? For my oldest dd I bought a used college German text for $2. Since it is older it is fabulous, concise, and very grammar heavy. We've picked up multiple german/english dictionaries from Goodwill for $1. Our local library has the Pimsleur series on CD which my daughter has slowly been going through. For extra practice I've bought on Amazon some of the Practice Makes Perfect series for German, and Harry Potter in German along with the audio of the book. We go to the BBC site and can find the news in German. She has an Austrian penpal (friend of our family) whom she'll be visiting this Summer for two months.

 

Total cost for 4 years of language= less than $100, While she's visiting in Austria she'll be attending a month long, 4 day a week language immersion class. The total cost for that is $350. She's paying for her own flight and travel expenses from her part time job savings.

 

My cost, $450 for 4 years of foreign language, and she'll be well on her way to fluency. Definitely completely conversational.

 

When she started high school I had no way of knowing that the opportunity in Austria would open up for her.

 

My 18 yo son did 2 years of Spanish for foreign language. Same cheap dictionaries from Goodwill, and used text books and language tapes from the library. I found a tutor in our neighborhood, with a degree in Spanish (and a native speaker) He worked with her. Then he spent 3 weeks in a language school in Antigua the summer before his senior year. -Another unexpected opportunity that I never could have predicted.

 

His total foreign language costs?- maybe $300 for the tutor, less than $40 for all his books and then all his travel and class and boarding expenses in Guatemala came to less than $1500- much of which he paid for from his part time work.

 

Anyway. Just some ideas. If you plan too far in advance you may miss out on some wonderful opportunities.

[hscherger]

If you don't have any more kiddos in the wings, you can sell the curriculum you are done with to help cover the cost of the next year. Make sure you get TOG print not DE :D. Previous posters are right on about the abundance of used Saxon and Apologia. And use the library whenever possible.

[Twigs]

I don't know anything about this, except that it is less expensive than RS.

 

http://www.topics-ent.com/InstantImmersion/index.html

[Jane in NC]

 

Also -- I wouldn't recommend trying to get everything you need for high school right now. Focus on next year, and only get other things if the price is really, really low. From my experience, teen's interests and needs change so much over high school. The materials you think he may need now for 11-12th grades may not be what you actually do need.

 

 

 

I want to reiterate Brenda's point.

 

Having a general plan for high school is a great idea. But the plan itself should not be rigid.

 

For example, you may plan on having your 7th or 8th student take Calculus when he is in 12th. But Statistics might be a better fit. You may not have this realization until your student is in 10th or 11th grade.

 

This is part of the fun of high school. Your student may develop interests you never would have anticipated!

[justamouse]

I've gotten a lot on that list and thankfully it was slowly or the bill would have killed me.

 

Check your library book sales. Many homeschoolers drop off their stuff at the sales and you can pick up the exact books you need for less than a $. Buy used. Go slow, don't buy it all at once.

 

As you get more comfortable teaching the upper grades, you can buy the less expensive curric and fill in the blanks yourself.

 

Take it one year at a time.

[justamouse]

I've stayed away from the popular curricula sold by homeschool companies. They're generally pretty expensive. We've done just as well with used texts and books. I've never spent more than 100 a year or so, generally less. The curricula geared specifically to homeschoolers never seemed to be what we wanted anyway. There are plenty of books that cover just the same material for a lot cheaper. If you need lit analysis/ historical analysis and that kind of thing, there's plenty of material free on the web.

 

One thing you can do is search for syllabuses online for college and even high school classes that look interesting. A lot of them list the books they're using. Often you can buy the books dirt cheap if you're willing to get an older edition. Ambleside, as mentioned, also has a good list of books. You can just pick the ones that look interesting and skip the ones that don't fit your needs. If you have a decent library, you can get many of the Ambleside books there instead of buying them. And, of course, there's always WTM.

 

 

100% :iagree: Don't buy into the 'homeschooling' marketing. Spend your $ on spines like TWTM or, for free, AO. If you have an e-reader you can download much of AO for free from Gutenberg.

[Storm Bay]

Buy used books! Use your library & library network if there is one. Get a group lab together so that you can recoup the cost of your lab supplies by charging a supplies fee. See if you can take ps part time for science, math or art courses if there is a good program and you feel comfortable with the school. Find out if your CC offers classes with no tuition to high school students of a certain age.

 

Take it one year at a time and see how it goes. My dd wanted to homeschool all of high school, but in the summer said she'd like to switch for her Junior year. I ended up putting her in this week. True, she's not getting the classical education I had hoped for, but she didn't want it and it was no longer working. So far she's kept up with all her work at the ps, but today is only her 4th day (yesterday there was no school.

 

I did my dd's Freshman year and we spend a lot less than what you quoted divided by 4. True, we already had RS, but that's not enough for a high school course so we bought a grammar program to go with it. This year we should have signed her up at OSU for German, where it's now $250 per course for homeschoolers, but we didn't have the money at that time so were waiting until later.

[emubird]

For French we've used

Pimsleur

French in Action

 

We got Pimsleur at the library for free. If your library doesn't have it, try inter library loan. We get a 3 week loan period, so we could, potentially, get through one of the half-levels in that time period.

 

I will warn you that Pimsleur French after level I may not make a whole lot of sense unless you are also doing some grammar. (The Pimsleur Spanish is much easier, probably because Spanish is spelled more phonetically.)

 

The free videos for French in Action are here:

http://www.learner.org/resources/series83.html

I got the text used for 20 dollars. It's mostly a transcript of the video, with a little extra reading, so it won't do the grammar for you. (You might not even need the text, unless you're having trouble understanding the videos.) There are FIA grammar workbooks you can buy (which can be gotten used) but in order for them to work, you'd need the audio tapes. I know the audio used to be on the web somewhere, but I've lost the link.

 

If you don't do the French in Action workbook, you will need some other grammar book. There are tons of them out there. Just find something cheap. First year french textbooks are probably a good resource. The ones I have are just as good as the FIA grammar workbooks (maybe better) so I wouldn't bother with the FIA workbook if you have a better option. (The videos are great, but the books assoc with FIA are just the run of the mill French books you could get anywhere.)

 

This has worked better for us than Rosetta Stone. We used to have free access to Rosetta Stone and even though it was free we gave up on it. The company does say they've improved it, but I can't tell how much without buying it and I'm not willing to fork over the cash when I know their last edition was pretty worthless.

[Miss Marple]

I want to reiterate Brenda's point.

 

Having a general plan for high school is a great idea. But the plan itself should not be rigid.

 

For example, you may plan on having your 7th or 8th student take Calculus when he is in 12th. But Statistics might be a better fit. You may not have this realization until your student is in 10th or 11th grade.

 

This is part of the fun of high school. Your student may develop interests you never would have anticipated!

 

:iagree:

We've tweaked so much with each son. My skeleton plan has been helpful, but it's only a plan. Changes are necessitated by reality. And my ds, with whom I planned to do Calculus in spring of 12th, will be taking statistics instead :D It will transfer to the university whereas calculus will only transfer as an elective.

[stephanier.1765]

I agree with everything written above: you can do it for much less. This is my son's freshman year and when it came to plan for it and to buy the materials, my husband was out of work. Essentially my budget was $0.

 

First, I read TWTM and made a basic outline of what I wanted to accomplish for the year and what I felt was necessary in order to reach that goal.

 

Second, I sorted through all the books on our shelves to see what I already had and what was still needed.

 

Third, I scouted the Internet for anything I could get for free, especially labs, as well as what was available at the library.

 

Fourth, I took all the books we no longer needed to the used bookstore for credit and used that credit to buy more books. I found things like How to Learn Any Language, Spanish dictionary, flash cards, Spanish grammar book; The Way Life Works for Biology and a college text to help flesh it out, biology coloring book; Greek classics for lit and used college text for history, plus a few books for more specific time periods, such as Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea for Ancient Greece, to help give a better picture; and The Lively Art of Writing. I'm sure there are more books I picked up but that's all the comes to mind at the moment.

 

Finally, when dh got his job back, I did pick up a few things. Analytical Grammar which will be the last grammar thing I ever need to buy and Breaking the Barrier for Spanish to give his study a spine.

 

So, you can do this for my less but it'll take a lot of blood, sweat and tears on your part to make it happen. But you can do it!

[Susan C.]

Don't buy all four years at once! You don't know what you like before you use it, and you don't know what you dc can do yet. Some of the things you like may not be a good fit, but you won't know until you use it. I saw Greek (that may be vocabulary, I can't get back to the page, but even that didn't work for us), Latin and French, I guess there are some who can do that, but I know we sure can't!

 

I buy one year at a time, tweak as I go, and sell each year to finance the next. There will be other people doing the same, so you should be able to get some things used. I don't go classical all of the way, and my most expensive year was $1200, and that what when I bought Rosetta Stone for four years..... and it was for two kids. I would suggest getting Breaking the Barrier instead (tobreak.com). And get one year at a time!

[ChemMommy]

Cheaper than private school and you get what you pay for!! Plus, you can resell it at the end and recoup SOME of the cost.

[Storm Bay]

Cheaper than private school and you get what you pay for!! Plus, you can resell it at the end and recoup SOME of the cost.

:iagree: that you can resell things. I find that the books at the library save

a lot money, the classics, etc, are the same & figure that we are paying for it via our taxes. I often try to see if our library network has a textbook before buying it to see if we like it. We use textbooks for math & science, and sometimes for other things, at least as a spine.

[FloridaLisa]

I want to reiterate Brenda's point.

 

Having a general plan for high school is a great idea. But the plan itself should not be rigid.

 

For example, you may plan on having your 7th or 8th student take Calculus when he is in 12th. But Statistics might be a better fit. You may not have this realization until your student is in 10th or 11th grade.

 

This is part of the fun of high school. Your student may develop interests you never would have anticipated!

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

There may be whole new options to you -- from new curricula to a new neigbhor that happens to be a retired Latin teacher -- in the next four years. Write your high school plans in pencil.

 

HTH!

Lisa

 

P.S. But I wanted to add that you didn't count SAT/ACT test fees, those college app expenses or the costs of grad announcements, the cap and gown and all other fun senior year expenses! :tongue_smilie: It's all worth it!

[LuvingLife]

I don't pay that much at all really. I mean that is big, I can see if your son takes a lot of outside classes that cost money, now those classes really add up! But I didn't pay anything for my curriculum yet, I got most of it for free from the ps, and so far so good actually. The only thing that cost me money was my pens, notebooks, etc, and I ordered Lials introductory algebra online for $13, and that's including shipping and handling.

 

If you look for a lot of used books, free books and things like that, then you can bring the cost way down. I am going to be ordering quite a few new things next month for school and that will bring the cost of things way up, probably about $300 for everything, but that's used.

 

Look for deals, and you could be cutting down that big price!:D

[anissarobert]

I just want to agree with most of what has been posted here. My daughter is a junior and our plan is similar to what you have laid out. In 12 years of homeschooling, I have bought new textbooks from curriculum providers 3 times. I buy everything I can used. I have all the high school Apologia books except Physics and I paid around $20 each for them. The same with Saxon.

 

I use a TWTM style for great books and get many of the books on Paperbackswap. This is a great place for college level textbooks as well. I would like to use TOG or Omnibus, but I don't have the funds and they are still quite expensive used. The upside is I get to learn more as I read the books and prepare to lead the great books discussions with my dd and her friends.

 

For my high school aged daughter this year, I have paid $600, and $500 was for an online Latin 3 class. Her health book came from a thrift store, and many other books are picked up at library sales. I bought my microscope for $75 from a friend. Loans are the best option though. This year my friend did not have to buy Apologia Biology because I didn't need it for a couple of years and it was just sitting on my shelf. Another friend borrowed almost all of her 6th grade materials from me. What goes around, comes around!

 

You can do this!

[Janice in NJ]

Don't buy all four years. One year at a time. If you think you'll spend the money on something else, buy a CD at the bank. ;)

 

Kids change! You can ALWAYS turn money into curriculum (ask us junkies). It's a TON of work to turn the stuff back into money - even at a loss, it's a TON of work.

 

So don't panic. Sit tight. Expect the "perfect" education to change; that's what will make it perfect. As a homeschooler, that's the biggest asset you have. Towering! That flexibility trumps so many other great things so don't give it up! You'll need it in your corner. :001_smile: You'll get there. We're getting there. If I had tallied this up at the beginning, I would have choked on the digits. Drop by drop the bucket fills. Somehow. Really, it fills.

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

[gingersmom]

$1750/year does not seem excessive to me.

 

I paid about $600 in public middle school for a 2nd copy of my daughters books (so she did not have to carry home 50 pounds worth of books) in addition to easily another $250 or more for field trips, etc.

 

My daughter is now looking at private/boarding schools that charge between $25,000 and $47,000.

 

I never thought that homeschool=cheap/free education.

[FaithManor]

I think this is probably accurate. It's must less money than any classical high school I know of...Highlands Academy and Veritas would be around $5500.00 or so per year. Xavier College Prep High School (reknowed for their wonderful, classically based college prep education) is just a hair over $10,000. Their cost to provide that education is $14,000.00 plus per year but they have wealthy donors and money from the diocese that helps support the school.

 

The rather non-stellar but some what better than the local public school, completely non-classical education private school in our community, is $2500.00 per year plus curriculum costs, sports, fees, music fees, etc. So probably about $3000.00 per year (not worth it in my opinion).

 

So, I do think that estimate is accurate but I also think it is a tremendous bargain! I am with you...it can be disheartening to discover just how expensive some of the texts for classical education would be. It's far cheaper to just do all Abeka, or all BJU, or something.

 

Try ebay though. I bought all of our Lial's Math texts and Jacob's Geometry there for pennies on the dollar and they were in fine shape, recent editions, etc. The Jacob's came with the test booklet. Plus, ebay has lightened up a bit and isn't policing the no "teacher text" policy so I was able to come up with the instructor's manuals as well for most of them and then purchased one from the Amazon marketplace for about 1/3 of the cost of new and again, in great shape.

 

If you are using any college texts, ebay is a great place to shop because the college students and professors can get more for them used in that environment than they can on campus where many schools, in order to make money, have banned the sale of used texts amongst the students.

 

Faith

[BlsdMama]

I'd just like to add it would cost me FOUR TIMES that to send her to a classical private school.

 

$7000 divided by four years is $1750 per year.

 

$1,750 divided by 12 months is approximately $146 per month for those four years. If I divide that by 30 then I end up spending just about $5 per day on their education - about the price of a nice, frothy Starbucks.

 

If I have more children who can use the materials (and I do) then I would have to divide that by the number of children using the materials and then THAT is the cost of the education... pennies, essentially.

 

People spend $10K on a car and think they get by cheap. They spend $200K on a house and think they did well. You can have my house and my car. I'd rather invest in the kids.

 

Now, THAT said, you'd have to assume that the "best" can only be bought.

If you have less money than you have time, you could give your children a Tapestry of Grace education for less - after all a homeschooling mama WROTE that material because why? Because she wanted to give them a superior education and needed to supplement what she was doing with library materials.

 

You're also assuming all materials must be bought new. That's not true either. You could buy an older version of TOG for less than half of the new version. You can buy older versions and/or used editions for about half. You can use materials or substitute from the library.

 

A classical education is NOT a set of materials. A classical education is dividing a child's mind, growth, and ability to think & reason into very definite areas and teaching them knowledge & reason & how to express themselves both in written and spoken form. You can use all the materials that are labeled "Classic" and NOT give them a classical education. You can use not "Classical" materials and give them a very classical education. It isn't what you're using, but how you're teaching them to think that matters. Don't put yourself in that box. :D

 

... Hoping this is somehow encouraging... ;)

[BlsdMama]

 

(edited to add: I upped the price because I forgot to include microscope, etc.)

BTW, we didn't count a microscope for school. We used it as a Christmas present out of the Christmas fund. This is a good time to rally grandparents, lol. ;)

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Can a moderator make this thread a sticky?!?!?!?!

 

Thank you all, so very much. I cannot possibly respond to all the posts, but I am so grateful for each one. I'm sure that the hundreds of lurkers reading along are grateful, too. LOL

 

I do think my $7000 is reasonable, and a good bargain, because I do understand that it is cheaper than good schools. Also, I have four children, and the price per child/per year is incredibly low.

 

Its just a matter of coming up with that $7000. Thanks to this thread, I can see that I might be able to do it for much cheaper.

 

I will be printing out this thread to study over the weekend, and for DH to read.

 

Thanks most of all for the Tell Me More recommendation, and the unanimous advice to take high school one year at a time.

 

Here's the preliminary plan after reading this thread:

 

1. Buy TOG's year 1 plan because its on sale right now, with the intention of starting in the fall, spending the meantime studying the plans and scrounging for books. (I know that many of you can use WTM and your own brains, but I just can't. I don't have the educational background or the time to catch up, and my son deserves more than my best effort in those subjects. He deserves the equivalent of *your* best effort :tongue_smilie:, and my answer to that is TOG)

 

2. Buy math and science used. (And pm the lady who knows about the deals....)

 

3. Tell Grandma about the microscope when she asks about Christmas presents. LOL

 

4. Go with Tell Me More instead of RS. (I checked the library; we have tons of supplemental materials for foreign languages, but no grammar or complete program options. There is one copy of Pimsleur French that seems to be reserved for all eternity.)

 

5. Investigate MIT's open courseware, and other such offerings online.

 

Thanks again. I'm sure many are glad to read this thread in these economical times.

[cathmom]

Another idea, if you live near a college, is to see if you can pay a fee to be able to use their library. At the college near me, it's $25 a year, and it opens a whole lot of resources that your local library may not have. Also, check your community college. I believe that my CC's library is free for in-county people, but I've never gone there because it's really out of my way.

[newbie]

Thats a good price, my first was not classical, but cost 28k and the second is going to do classical and run 10k but these are w/school support, so I think thats the difference.

[Caryl]

First, kids change so much over the 4 years of high school. Second, sometimes a curriculum line is a poor fit. I thought we would do all 4 years with Apologia. My oldest daughter hated it. I'm so glad I didn't have all 4 years to resell. Finally, I have changed. My philosophy of homeschooling is evolving, as is my confidence to do things without a curriculum to help me. The longer I do this, the less stuff I need other than some good books and good tools (like a microscope, a plant press, a good computer and laser printer).

 

There is so much information on the 'net for free, I feel almost guilty when I buy much. I truly believe I could teach very well with only a few older edition textbooks for math and science, and the internet. The trade-off, of course, is time. One also has to weigh printing costs. It is cheaper to buy a $2 copy of Tom Sawyer at a used book sale than to print it out from Gutenberg. I often find great books at our local used store where they are $0.25 for paperbacks and $0.50 for hardcover. Most of my copies of classics I’ve found for under $1.

 

Our finances are tight this year (we're building a house, paying as we go). This year I spent less than $400 for all 7 of my children (K to sophomore). I used what I had on the shelf (much of it collected over the past few years from used book sales, Goodwill, and some used bookstores in two nearby college towns). I bought some used older edition textbooks from Half.com for generally less than $10, even with shipping. As a time saver for me, I splurged on Omnibus II used for $65, and found the associated books used on Half.com, mostly from the same seller to save on shipping. I'll use Omni II for the top 3 kids (8th, 9th, and 10th). While TOG has always tempted me, we’re more a science/math/natural history family and Omni plus some history spines (purchased used) and a notebook timeline/ mapbook serves us just fine. I tweak Omni a bit with some more lit and lit analysis. I could drop Omni altogether, but it would involve more prep time for me.

 

I also bought a few consumables for the younger set, all used off the homeschool curriculum boards. I'll have some printing costs through the year to add to this total.

 

A summary of strategies that have helped

1. Have a list of desired curriculum and watch for it used- vegsource, these boards, and homeschoolclassifieds

2. Watch library book sales, Goodwill, used stores.

3. Paperback Swap- but remember that each book you get cost you at least $2.38 to ship out a book for a credit. I was on Swaptree for a bit, but now they charge for each transaction and it made me so mad I quit. I found more of my books are requested on Paperback Swap.

4. I generally find Half.com cheaper than Amazon marketplace, and I try to combine from one source to save on shipping. Amazon does not discount for multiple items from the same vendor.

5. Publishers often come out with new textbooks every few years, often with only minimal changes to the previous edition.

6. I use many strategies from TWM, but not curriculum. For example, my kids write something about everything they read in lit, history, and science and so they are writing nearly every day in those 3 subjects- summaries, reports, responses. I find I don’t use the extra stuff packaged with curriculum so it’s not worth buying it.

7. We use the library a lot, and do interlibrary loans for things we need to only use for a few weeks.

8. Best places for new stuff is Rainbow Resources and Christian Book Distributors.

 

 

Some specific suggestions:

Tapestry of Grace (rhetoric level, years 1-4) Buy the first year- try to find it used and then resell it used. Find the books used as much as possible and then resell them bundled. You might find you don’t even like TOG!

Apologia Science. This is easy to find used for 40-60% off retail on used curriculum boards.

Saxon Math, from Algebra through Calculus. These are sometimes on Paperback Swap. You can also easily pick them up for 40-75% off retail. I will say that I like Lials better than Saxon for Algebra.

 

 

Hope that all helps someone! I just got rolling and couldn't stop!

[melmichigan]

I just wanted to add from another post and my own experience that you can buy print and add digital (thinking of children yet to come) as well as buy digital and add print when it is on sale. I bought my DE a unit at a time and then bought the print for the $50 when it was on sale, others have done the opposite and bought print so that they can always sell it and added the DE later for the $35 so they have the updates.

[Zanyan]

Online open courseware AP classes:

 

Description of program:

 

www.uccp.org

 

List of courses:

 

www.ucopenaccess.org

 

Fun online instruction in sciences, math, and misc.:

 

www.khanacademy.org

Edited November 14, 2010 by Zanyan