I guess this is a stupid question, but...

[kristinannie]

does everyone spend way too much on HSing?

 

This is my first year and I have spent about twice as much as I thought I would. However, we didn't have anything. Almost everything I have purchased has been nonconsumable so I can use it for the rest of my kids. Honestly, kindergarten will be very cheap for them...or so I say now. I just love manipulatives (especially math). I love living books. I dislike almost all workbooks.

 

I keep telling myself that I was spending $135 a month for DS to go to pre-K so this is still (barely) cheaper. :D I am scared that I am a curriculum junkie though. God help me!

Edited May 19, 2011 by kristinannie
I realized I wrote "me kids" instead of "my kids." Maybe I am just excited about the new Pirates movie! hehe

[RainbowSprinkles]

Well, if I didn't homeschool, they would go to private school. So for us it's still significantly cheaper. :)

[lorrainejmc]

I have an addiction to beautiful picture books:D I spend way more than I thought I would, too. The most worrying thing for me is that no matter how much I plan and think I will get all the living books for the year ahead at once, every time I go on to Amazon, there is another lovely list of poignant picture books in my recommendations, usually with an award for illustration on the cover. I can't help myself but to wish for them all.....

[boscopup]

Well, if I didn't homeschool, they would go to private school. So for us it's still significantly cheaper. :)

 

:iagree:

[LisaKinVA]

I spend more some years than others. This is a "big" year for me. However, almost everything purchased is re-usable. We are also entering middle school and high school years... and things just cost more.

[Ellesmere]

Well, if I didn't homeschool, they would go to private school. So for us it's still significantly cheaper. :)

 

I pretty much agree, except we wanted private, but would have done public if we couldn't homeschool this year. I've been trying to keep it under what we paid for pre-K class. A lot of what we got may be reusable with our second, although I keep finding other stuff that I think about trying with that one instead. But I really should reuse what I can if my second has a similar learning style!

[GoVanGogh]

Well, if I didn't homeschool, they would go to private school. So for us it's still significantly cheaper. :)

:iagree:

Also, I have noticed that the longer I homeschool, the less I (think I) spend. I know I spent more the first few years trying to find our groove and find our learning/teaching styles. In retrospect, yes, I could have spent less money those first few years. I bought many things that just didn't work for us. I quickly sold them and moved on. But much of the initial costs (globe, math manipulatives, rulers, etc) are really one-time purchases. We are now in our fifth year and I know what I like and I know what works for us. I still spend too much on books, but I know where to find quality used books and I always shop those places first. I am not tempted to pursue every curriculum that comes along and looks great.

In all, I think your post is very accurate for many first year homeschoolers.

[Dinsfamily]

I spent a lot last year...bought everything I wanted new but it was stlll about 40% of what we payed for 1 year of preschool (our preschool is still much cheaper than a private elementary school). Plus, most of my purchases are non-consumable. Good deal to me.

[jhockley]

1st year here too. My problem is I have no patience. I decide what I want and go get it. No waiting for sales or used curriculum swaps like I should. I keep thinking I've about got it all, then the little things start adding up- handwriting paper, a box for AAS cards, a globe are still on my known need list. But I'm sure I'll find more things I need each time I go to purchase one of those.

[Sahamamama]

Relax, it's normal. :D We are only doing 1st & Pre-K (with twins) this year, so we're not that much farther down the road. But I will say that when we first started with Pre-K for my oldest, it felt as though we needed a ton of stuff. We couldn't afford a ton of stuff, so I improvised. We used:

 

 

• A ton of free library books (free is good, right?)
  
• Books from the library book sale (inexpensive is good, too)
  
• Homemade games
  
• Homemade readers
  
• Free ideas off the Internet
  
• Free books printed off the Internet
  
• Free audio books from the Internet
  
• Anything my sister handed down ;)
  

 

I had some educational resources from when I tutored and when I was a social worker, so I organized that and put it to work wherever it fit. My sister and my neighbor passed on a pile of stuff, and some of it was workable. I became a VERY familiar sight at the local public library. "Hey! Here comes BETH, and that's great because now we can empty our Holds Shelves." :lol:

 

We used a TON of music -- Wee Sing and Cedarmont Kids and other fun preschool music. The music CDs were worth their weight in GOLD. That is one thing I would absolutely do the same way over again. My girls all learned so much through those songs.

 

We listened to a million audio books. Okay, maybe not a million. I never paid a dime for them if I could talk the library into buying them. ;)

 

We watched (and still watch) Signing Time videos, over and over and over. We don't "need" to learn sign language, we just like to. All the DVDs were free from the library, because "You Know Who" requested them.

 

Make the library your friend.

 

Also, don't fret that in the beginning you buy so much stuff. You need to buy it, and you need to convince your significant other you need to buy it. :D Enough stuff is ESSENTIAL to feeling like a well-stocked home school Mama. It is a deep-set psychological need. This is well-documented.

 

But keep an eye on that stuff. Don't come back here and say I didn't warn you! It will begin to pile up. In a few years you will crawl over bins of it in your search for that ONE Latin flash card, and then you will say to your significant other, "What am I going to do with ALL THIS HOME SCHOOL STUFF?"

 

And then, of course, you will need to buy BINS and SHELVES. Better start saving now.... :lol:

[Ali in OR]

When we started, we set our home school budget based on what we had been very willing to pay for pre school 3 days/week--$100 per month. I'm almost done buying for our 7th year and it is still the same budget, and I manage to spend it all every year (now 2 kids instead of 1). There are a lot of "start up" costs the first year. I have never regretted owning math manipulatives, classical kids CDs, good art supplies, or great books. We have a wonderful home library and a good portion of our budget goes towards books. My kids love to read and learn a lot that way. They read books over and over again, so it is nice to have a great selection in our home. As long as it is not a financial hardship and you're not going into debt to do so, I really don't see a problem with buying the materials that will make it a joy to teach and learn in your home.

[jenangelcat]

I spend about $500/year on books. I can't bring myself to spend money on curriculum. I look at them and hem and haw for ages. In the end I just use them as a jumping off point for writing the curriculum myself.

[Libbie]

A friend of mine spends $20,000/year on private middle school.:eek:

 

My dtr starts middle school next year and I've already spent more than normal for curriculum and a couple of online classes.

 

If we can pay cash for it and it will enhance her education, it's approved.

[Mrs Twain]

I used to believe the myth that public school is free until we had a couple of kids attend one. Even though I was trying to be frugal, I had to spend about $200-300 per year per child. This included things such as back to school supplies, two or three "picture" days, money for teachers' gifts and class parties, multiple book fairs and many other PTA fundraisers, participation in charity events, and many other things such as, "Please send in a white t-shirt next week for Field Day."

 

We now homeschool, and I think that after I average the cost over all of my kids (since I can reuse many things), it will end up either being about the same or cheaper than sending them to public school.

[kristinannie]

 

Also, don't fret that in the beginning you buy so much stuff. You need to buy it, and you need to convince your significant other you need to buy it. :D Enough stuff is ESSENTIAL to feeling like a well-stocked home school Mama. It is a deep-set psychological need. This is well-documented.

 

But keep an eye on that stuff. Don't come back here and say I didn't warn you! It will begin to pile up. In a few years you will crawl over bins of it in your search for that ONE Latin flash card, and then you will say to your significant other, "What am I going to do with ALL THIS HOME SCHOOL STUFF?"

 

And then, of course, you will need to buy BINS and SHELVES. Better start saving now.... :lol:

 

:lol::lol::lol: So true. We just didn't have any of the basics. I am starting to realize what eats up all the funding for the schools! It is all great stuff and I don't regret buying any of it, but I was just adding it up and definitely got some sticker shock!!!!!!

[kristinannie]

When we started, we set our home school budget based on what we had been very willing to pay for pre school 3 days/week--$100 per month. I'm almost done buying for our 7th year and it is still the same budget, and I manage to spend it all every year (now 2 kids instead of 1). There are a lot of "start up" costs the first year. I have never regretted owning math manipulatives, classical kids CDs, good art supplies, or great books. We have a wonderful home library and a good portion of our budget goes towards books. My kids love to read and learn a lot that way. They read books over and over again, so it is nice to have a great selection in our home. As long as it is not a financial hardship and you're not going into debt to do so, I really don't see a problem with buying the materials that will make it a joy to teach and learn in your home.

 

 

I need to show this one to my DH. Very well said! :D

[Tracy]

Oh, I just about choked when I did taxes and added up my receipts, which totaled almost $1,000! :svengo:

 

But this was also our first formal year, and I had to buy all sorts of extra things that I won't need to buy every year. But I also have to pull back on buying those extra Amazon books--just to get free shipping.

[ProudGrandma]

Well, if I didn't homeschool, they would go to private school. So for us it's still significantly cheaper. :)

 

i agree with this too...one private school we looked at here was $3500 a year, per kid...and since we have 3 kids....I am spending WAY less...so I am not too worried!!

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

If I hadn't already made plenty of purchasing mistakes I wouldn't have spent all that much. I'm ready to stop making those now. :D

[CanaryMelody]

I spend more some years than others. This is a "big" year for me. However, almost everything purchased is re-usable. We are also entering middle school and high school years... and things just cost more.

 

This is us. I mean, I always spend too much because I like nice hard bound living books and classics plus I am a curriculum junkie. But having a DD in middle school has significantly increased my costs.

 

And it is still cheaper than private school. ;)

[Pretty in Pink]

Private school tuition here starts out around 7000.00 per student, annually. I consider the 1000.00+ that I spend per year to be a bargain! I know that we could do it for less if we had to. I have done it for much less during leaner years. It is nice to be able to purchase books and supplies that really make learning enjoyable and fun and that I, as their teacher, enjoy using.

[justamouse]

You will slow down on the purchases. You'll become a bit jaded, but there will always be that one subject you just love and *need* to buy the newest bestest book on.

 

I would say the first three years were learning curves for me in that regard.

[Critterfixer]

I'm starting to think I got off easy at 500$ for first grade. But then my sister in law has been home-schooling now for a good four or five years and she's very, very good at getting bargains. She and Nana went shopping at a curriculum fair when the boys were in K and got four years of history at a deep discount as well as Math for first grade, so when I counted in supplementary resources and supplies I estimate we ended up at around $500.

I have been able to count on library sales once a year and a great used book store (very supportive of home-school and always willing to hunt for books for me) for most of our supplements. I use the library for most of our science.

 

Our local private school would be around 2,800$ per boy (if we changed our religion:001_smile:). So 500$ for a year ain't half bad.

[Guest]

One of the key things for me is that if I purchased something specifically because it was "non-consumable" then I need to treat it as such! As my daughter is starting to get to the age where she can use things, I need to resist my urge to "try" OPGTR, when I already have Abeka phonics and Spell to Write and Read, AND I like them, lol. I found myself perusing K curriculum again, only to realize I have Galloping the Globe and she will be just fine using that!

 

I spent a TON two years ago. This last year I spent a LOT. For this next year I did good, but still bought a lot of teacher resources. I'm seeing a light at the end of this tunnel. But, then we'll hit middle school and that will be a whole 'nother can of worms.

 

You're normal. Or at least in the company of other "normal" people. :D

[MerryAtHope]

LOL, yeah, sometimes I probably do. Look at it as teacher education...we all have to figure out what will work for us & our kids, some of it gets used, some gets resold, some I just chalk up to teacher education!

 

Merry :-)

[DianeW88]

I budget $1,000 per year per child. Far cheaper than private school tuition would be, and far cheaper than what my local ps budgets per kid per year.

[kolamum]

Over the years yes it can add up. I was just thinking today that anyone who says homeschooling is easy and cheap has clearly never homeschooled before. :lol:

 

That said, I think you CAN save money or at least keep costs low depending on where you live and what kinda resources you have at your disposal. We spent less when we were in the states because the libraries we had access to were better stocked with what we wanted.

 

Here I found myself buying books left and right in an effort to keep doing what we'd been doing so we revamped. Then, I decided to do a major revamp and bought a boxed curriculum that includes lots of "living" books and hands on "stuff".

 

Because the hands on stuff comes on cd and you print it out even that's not consumable! The idea was that by purchasing a boxed curriculum I could conquer two things.. Spending a lot throughout the year & having to stay three steps ahead in the planning game. ;)

[lattekittn]

Thank you for this timely post! I am completely overwhelmed with what to buy, and do I really need it, and is there something better out there? In fact, I think I need to just stop researching since I keep finding more alternatives that sound so good. Being practical and cost-effective is hard! I am hoping I will be able to reuse everything (or most of it) which fuels the search for the "perfect" curriculum. As if such a thing existed!

[huntchaos]

My kids were in a private school last year so, it seems to be a lot less on the surface but *cough* I worked so, hmm...

 

AMAZON, that will be the death of me

 

Today, DH walked in and said, "Oh, another book shaped box." And, gave me this "how do we approach your addiction" look?

[Wheres Toto]

I'm not sure what I've spent so far since most of it has been spread out instead of all at once. We started playing around with homeschooling when ds was 4 and I tried a lot of free, printable resources first. When I got a better idea of his learning style (definite visual spacial) and preferences (loves workbooks), I would buy what I thought would work better than the free stuff for an individual subject, try it out and then continue. We bought ETC first - very cheap. Then AAS - not so cheap but will be usable with dd too and ds loves it so worth it. Then SOTW1 and activity guide even though we still haven't started it. And so on, and so on with lots and lots of book purchases thrown in here and there. I don't think I've ever paid more than $100 for any individual purchase but I'm sure all those smaller purchases add up.

 

That's pretty much my budget - if I spend less than $100 at a time, DH doesn't care. If it's more than that, I need to discuss it with him.

 

Our local schools are actually very good so if we weren't homeschooling, they would go to public school so I can't compare it to tuition.

[boscopup]

Today, DH walked in and said, "Oh, another book shaped box." And, gave me this "how do we approach your addiction" look?

 

:lol: I'm going to probably get that look soon. :tongue_smilie:

 

Thankfully, my son was in private school earlier this year. At $5k/year, going up every year (I think next year will be $5500, IIRC), it's been a lot easier to get away with buying whatever I need. I've probably spent $500 for next year, but that includes some K stuff for the 4 year old, some nice-to-have reference type stuff, etc. I also got math for grades 1-6 in one fell swoop, I bought ahead on a few things that I knew we'd go fast, etc. I think I only spent about $300 for this past year... oh wait, make that $400, as I made an extra purchase early on. :lol: Some of this has been figuring out what works and what doesn't. I haven't sold everything that didn't work yet. I need to list things for sale (like RS A, once I put all the pieces together... not looking forward to that one).

 

Many of the items I have bought are non-consumable, so the next kids will be cheaper (if I use the same items :blushing:). Even if I bought all new items for each kid each year, it would still be cheaper than just sending ONE of them to private school.

[kristinannie]

 

Many of the items I have bought are non-consumable, so the next kids will be cheaper (if I use the same items :blushing:).

 

 

I am so scared that I will have that problem. If it works for us, I am going to try my hardest to use it for all of my kids! I think I can, I think I can.....

 

 

Oh, and I definitely get the looks from my DH when another package arrives. I have completely gotten rid of my yarn and fabric addictions though so we are probably breaking even.... :lol:

[Tracy]

I have completely gotten rid of my yarn and fabric addictions though so we are probably breaking even.... :lol:

 

Me too! This homeschooling addiction has replaced all of my former hobbies. :tongue_smilie:

[MerryAtHope]

Thank you for this timely post! I am completely overwhelmed with what to buy, and do I really need it, and is there something better out there? In fact, I think I need to just stop researching since I keep finding more alternatives that sound so good. Being practical and cost-effective is hard! I am hoping I will be able to reuse everything (or most of it) which fuels the search for the "perfect" curriculum. As if such a thing existed!

 

One question that works for me is to ask myself, "What is my plan for using this?" It's so easy to look at curriculum, think, "wow, we really need work on this!" and want to get it, without any plan. And if I don't have a plan, I've found even great curriculum doesn't get used! So, I stop now and ask if it fits in my plan.

 

Another question I ask is, "Do I have something on my shelf that will work?" I'm getting to the point where sometimes one thing didn't work with my oldest but I still have it & it's a great fit for my youngest--just figured out LA for her next year from stuff on my shelf that I showed her & she loved! Shop at home first, LOL!

 

A final thought--don't fix what's not broken. Perfect curriculum doesn't exist, but there's lots of excellent curriculum out there. Is what you are using excellent? Does it work well? Is it working for you and your kids? If so...don't try to change it and get bogged down in all those choices. Focus on what's not working.

 

THEN have fun shopping, LOL! Merry :-)

[boscopup]

Me too! This homeschooling addiction has replaced all of my former hobbies. :tongue_smilie:

 

True! My sew-jo has been gone for a while, so I've held off on getting a coverstitch machine. :D

[SnMomof7]

We have spent.... a LOT on homeschooling, and we aren't a high income family by any stretch of the imagination. BUT, we live out in the boonies, so all that is really available is public school, catholic school - and both of those would involve a LOT of bussing. If we were going to go private I'd have to drive the children to and fro and that would take as long as I spend homeschooling, gas would be crazy, and tuition? We're pretty much stuck homeschooling ;).

 

I am a bit of a curriculum junkie though, so I'm thankful our province gives us $770 or so to spend, but I always spend (ahem) more than that. Thankfully, my second daughter will start receiving that next year (2012/2013) as well,, so maybe we'll finally break even for that year.

[Susan in KY]

In the early years I did this, especially. Now that we're 6 years along, I have figured out what gets used and what doesn't, and I am a little more discretionary.

[kristinannie]

We have spent.... a LOT on homeschooling, and we aren't a high income family by any stretch of the imagination. BUT, we live out in the boonies, so all that is really available is public school, catholic school - and both of those would involve a LOT of bussing. If we were going to go private I'd have to drive the children to and fro and that would take as long as I spend homeschooling, gas would be crazy, and tuition? We're pretty much stuck homeschooling ;).

 

I am a bit of a curriculum junkie though, so I'm thankful our province gives us $770 or so to spend, but I always spend (ahem) more than that. Thankfully, my second daughter will start receiving that next year (2012/2013) as well,, so maybe we'll finally break even for that year.

 

 

I was in the same boat. We are Catholic and I probably would have sent the kids to Catholic school, but it is 45 minutes away. That is just no doable. I am so jealous that you get money from your province. Even though it doesn't cover everything, it still helps out!

[twoforjoy]

The first year, YES. But I felt like I needed to use a boxed curriculum, and that's expensive.

 

A big part of why I was so attracted to TWTM was that it was the first clearly laid out plan I saw that made me feel like I could provide my kids with a quality education without spending a fortune (and while having the freedom to customize).

 

We're book buyers anyway, though. I think I was probably spending $80-100 on books per month before we started homeschooling--yes, I have a problem, although that did include books for me, for DS, and for DH--and so now I just figure that a lot of that will go toward school stuff.

[SnMomof7]

I'm thankful for that $$ too Kristin, but we'd likely spend the same whether we had any funding or not. Homeschooling is a very high priority for our family, we won't go into debt for it, but we want to have the resources that enable me to teach our children well, giving them a rich education, in a way that works for all of us :).

[2cents]

I spent more when I first started. Now I know what I like and have been able to hand down curriculum from college son so that helps. I still spend a lot but it's cheaper than private. :)

[kristinannie]

I'm thankful for that $$ too Kristin, but we'd likely spend the same whether we had any funding or not. Homeschooling is a very high priority for our family, we won't go into debt for it, but we want to have the resources that enable me to teach our children well, giving them a rich education, in a way that works for all of us :).

 

I completely agree. We are not in financial trouble, but don't have tons of extra money either. I have had to give up some other things I would like (eating out, my crafts, etc) to afford to homeschool, but I know that it will all be worth it in the end when I see my children grow up to live the life that God calls them to!

[Lovedtodeath]

I think that my problem has been spending my money in the wrong areas. I tried to save money on math by using Math Mammoth, when math is our biggest struggle. DOH! I spent money on history programs and books when science is what DD loves. duh. Phonics Road: the most expensive LA I can think of for a kid who naturally picks up on LA subjects. Time to rectify some things.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Our budget is much smaller than a lot I've seen on the board. We use the library a lot... We use sheet protectors in consumable workbooks, so I can reuse them with the next child. With my oldest in 7th though, the costs are starting to creep up. This year we'll have a much higher science cost to buy a microscope, slides, and other lab equipment for life science. We'll also have a cost for literature (beyond an 2-3 paperbacks) since we'll be using Omnibus 2. In the end I usually end up with a balance somewhere between what I want and what I actually need based on what we can afford.

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

I think that my problem has been spending my money in the wrong areas. I tried to save money on math by using Math Mammoth, when math is our biggest struggle. DOH! I spent money on history programs and books when science is what DD loves. duh. Phonics Road: the most expensive LA I can think of for a kid who naturally picks up on LA subjects. Time to rectify some things.

 

 

Oooo, good thoughts to consider when I'm making purchasing plans.