I just tallied the cost for the fall...

[TheApprentice]

and I want to cry. :crying: I will have a 10th grader, 8th grader and 5th grader. Granted the bulk is definitely coming from the high school curriculum, but good grief.

 

So with older ds taking chemistry and an ap course, that's over $900 right there.

 

My whopping total is $2500. And.That's.Without.The.Incidentals/Extras. :crying:

[Critterfixer]

If it cheers you up that would just about have paid the tuition for two semesters for my two boys when they were kindergarten age at our local private school. Not quite--the two would have been 1400 per so 2,800.

[elizabeth rose]

Is that for the fall or the year? If you want those classes, then it's worth it. If you can afford it, don't sweat it, think what college will cost!

[Crimson Wife]

Are you going to be able to re-use any of the curricula for youngers that are coming along? The oldest kid is typically the most expensive because you have to get all new (or new-to-you) materials. But if I "amortize" out the cost among the younger siblings, it makes me feel better :001_smile:

[regentrude]

I can see that the courses are expensive - but on what do you spend the remaining $1,600???

[Koerarmoca]

eek! that seems pretty steep. If you can manage it more power to you!

[*Michelle*]

Are you going to be able to re-use any of the curricula for youngers that are coming along? The oldest kid is typically the most expensive because you have to get all new (or new-to-you) materials. But if I "amortize" out the cost among the younger siblings, it makes me feel better :001_smile:

 

 

As someone just starting out, this is one of the criteria by which I measure a curriculum. I'm really loving the non-consumables.

[TheApprentice]

My older ds is costing my about $1800. This does not include the Landry Academy course I've already purchased (Architecture Drafting 1) or the Teaching Company Courses I've purchased). $1800 is remaining. My middle ds is about $350 and my younger ds is about $315.

 

High school is a bear.

[Mom2TheTeam]

I have 6 children. I'm anticpating spending a lot when they are all in upper grades. 4 of them are within 27 months of each other (2 sets of twins). So, we are going to have 4 in highschool (then college!) at once. I imagine I'll be spending around what you are. My oldest is only going into 2nd grade I'm looking at around $500 for the things I want for just him. That doesn't include my other kids who I want a few things for. But, the youngers are cheaper because I already have most things from my older.

 

Anyway, sorry about the sticker shock. When I added it up for 2nd last night, I was in shock too.

[regentrude]

My older ds is costing my about $1800. This does not include the Landry Academy course I've already purchased (Architecture Drafting 1) or the Teaching Company Courses I've purchased). $1800 is remaining. My middle ds is about $350 and my younger ds is about $315.

...

High school is a bear.

 

I find that really expensive. I have a junior; aside from dual enrollment courses (which are indeed expensive), the only real expense was the chemistry lab kit in 10th grade ($200). Other than that, we don't spend much money on any courses we teach at home - math is $60, literature could be free, programming is free, science is $10, foreign language for three years is $120... it does not HAVE to cost this much.

[AimeeM]

I find that really expensive. I have a junior; aside from dual enrollment courses (which are indeed expensive), the only real expense was the chemistry lab kit in 10th grade ($200). Other than that, we don't spend much money on any courses we teach at home - math is $60, literature could be free, programming is free, science is $10, foreign language for three years is $120... it does not HAVE to cost this much.

Some of us need more expensive hand-holding courses, lol (well, I do anyway...).

 

I have an 11 year old dyslexic. While I'm comfortable in a normal setting teaching writing, grammar, and literature, she needs special curricula and i have no personal experience teaching a dyslexic child - the cost of her curricula reflects that (for example, she will be using a pricey spelling curriculum for children with learning disabilities for many years to come; her writing courses, should I decide to go with Verticy, will be almost $300 a year, every year, and the list goes on). Once everything is said and done, I'm spending almost 1K on her this upcoming fall.

[TheApprentice]

Ok, so here is the line-up for my highschooler:

 

Spectrum Chemistry - $316

 

Advanced Math with Saxon Teacher and Art Reed (Reed for the teaching and Saxon Teacher for the explanations of problems) -

$176, because I have no clue

 

Oak Meadows American History - $75

 

AP Literature (PA Homeschoolers)- $600

 

Japanese 1 Irasshai Vol. 1 and Japanese From Zero! - $86 (Irasshai for speaking/listening Japanese From Zero! for reading/writing)

 

Bravewriter Composition (on-line course) - $250 (I really want someone else to start grading his papers in 10th grade)

 

The Umbrella group he belongs to - $295 (transcripts, social activities and peace of mind)

 

Help me if you can.

[regentrude]

Ok, so here is the line-up for my highschooler:

Help me if you can.

 

 

Not sure if this is any help, but I'll compare what I have spent for each of those subjects.

 

Spectrum Chemistry - $316

 

 

Labpaq lab kit for $200 (enough for two students), Chang text for $5. Free online outlines/practice tests from Dr. Tang.

 

Advanced Math with Saxon Teacher and Art Reed (Reed for the teaching and Saxon Teacher for the explanations of problems) -

$176, because I have no clue

 

 

We use AoPS textbook and solution manual for $60, but I understand that you want more if you can't teach math.

 

Oak Meadows American History - $75

 

 

Here I see big savings potential. What do those $75 buy you?

I got Bennett America The Last Best Hope both volumes for a total of $8 (incl. shipping). Plus original documents online for free, and the Hippocampus free online course. And some generic US history textbook for $1.

 

 

AP Literature (PA Homeschoolers)- $600

Bravewriter Composition (on-line course) - $250 (I really want someone else to start grading his papers in 10th grade)

 

 

I see the value of the AP course if you get college credit (otherwise I would never spend this much on English). I can understand that you want somebody to grade assignments, but why do you need both? Aren't there graded composition assignments in the AP Lit course? For $600 I would expect grading of writing assignments.

 

Japanese 1 Irasshai Vol. 1 and Japanese From Zero! - $86 (Irasshai for speaking/listening Japanese From Zero! for reading/writing)

 

 

That sounds good.

 

The Umbrella group he belongs to - $295 (transcripts, social activities and peace of mind)

 

 

I write my own transcript, and we do social activities with other homeschoolers for free. $0.

[Shellydon]

Does your area offer dual credit from a local college? There are scholarships available (here) for homeschoolers taking dual credit.

[klmama]

I think the AP Lit class plus Bravewriter is going to be too much at the same time unless your ds is quite driven, loves to write, and has no outside activities. (Japanese is extra time consuming, too, because of having to learn a completely new way to write.) I would probably choose Bravewriter, if you think he still needs work on writing, so he can bring his skills up to the level he'll need for an AP lit course, in which he will surely have to write quite a bit. The extra maturity from being a junior for the AP course might be beneficial, too.

[TheApprentice]

Thanks regentrude and klmama. My ds is actually a pretty good writer, so I'll probably drop bravewriter. I will definitely look into the history alternative.

 

:001_smile:

[Mommy22alyns]

I know it seems like a lot all in one, but for 3 students including a high schooler, that looks pretty good! I spend about $1000 for both girls, not including incidentals.

 

ETA: Wow, almost $300 for the umbrella? Granted, we don't have a high schooler, but I just spent $81 for both girls.

[bethben]

We're sitting at over $1500 for our three next year. No, it doesn't have to be so expensive, but my husband wants me to have less on my plate, so we've chosen to farm out a couple of classes for my ds#2. The rest of the expense come from a literature based history program (TOG - just the books at this point, I own the curriculum) and to avoid having to rely on the library, we buy the books we need. Most of our expense comes from the oldest one where we are buying a lot of books, lab equipment, and textbooks that will be handed down to the other two siblings. It's nice when I tally up my upcoming 1st graders needs and have a grand total of $30. My dh feels that taking as much stress out of homeschooling for me is worth the money spent (my oldest special needs child takes quite a bit of energy). If they were going to private school around here, we would be spending over $15K, so it's a nice trade off. I don't think $2500 is too much. Don't feel guilty about it.

 

Beth

[mims]

Just a side note to parents of high schoolers. When considering financial aid it looks like our daughter's college might consider homeschool costs of the other kids. To establish how much it costs I had to round up receipts from the last year. I bought a lot used so couldn't come up with a complete number. So my lesson - keep track of your education expenses!

[JenC3]

I'll probably top out at around 6-700 for my 2, but I will also pay for half day kindy at a church school for my will be 5 yr old. We also spend in average $400 amonth on lessons. Highschool won't be as expensive since my dh and his mom both teach English and Math at the college level. I'll still be paying for serious science for my dd.

[Random]

I'll probably top out at around 6-700 for my 2, but I will also pay for half day kindy at a church school for my will be 5 yr old. We also spend in average $400 amonth on lessons. Highschool won't be as expensive since my dh and his mom both teach English and Math at the college level. I'll still be paying for serious science for my dd.

 

JenC3, do you mean $6000-$7000 for your 9 and 6 year-olds?

[QuirkyKidAcademy]

I read that as $600-$700.

 

We are doing Classical Conversations Essentials in the fall of 2013, so almost $600 there. I'm going to use as many of the curricula available online as I can from there, though I am lusting after TOG logic middle ages. DS wants chemistry, so there's at least a nice kit. I really need to start playing the lottery.

[Georgiana Daniels]

((Hugs)) whenever I get stressed about the cost of homeschooling, I compare to what we spent on our oldest for the four years she went to a private school. As long as that compares favorably (it does) I roll with it. Also, as parents we should consider the cost of NOT properly/thoroughly educating our children--a price I'm sure none of us are willing to pay.

[momto2Cs]

Haven't tallied this up, so let's see....

 

Math:

Ds: Big expense here will be Teaching Textbooks 7, which I am hoping to get used, AND which will be saved for dd. Roughly $100

If we go with Saxon 7/6 instead, it would be $70 brand new for the homeschool package

Dd: Already own all of Math Mammoth's Blue series.

 

Language Arts:

Ds: WWS1, $20 for the student book, and $15 for a used copy of the IG, so $35

Dd: WWE2, $23 for the student book, and $14 for a used copy of the IG, so $37

Now, if I manage to implement Brave Writer/The Writer's Jungle better, I can cut out spending anything here, plus I have other resources on hand already

Spelling for both: The Natural Speller, which I already own

Literature: Hello library!

 

History:

I already have K12's Human Odyssey vol. 1. Not sure if we'll make it into vol. 2, but if we do, that'll be roughly $25

 

Science:

Using BFSU 2 as our "spine", which I own already Scratch that. I just bought Prentice Hall's science Explorer Physical, Life , Earth and Astronomy on amazon, for a total of $25.

 

Arts:

A Child's History of Art: Painting, w/the cards from Calvert, $12 from a fellow boardie

Leonard Bernstein's Concerts for Young People, free on you tube

New Augsburg's Drawing, free on google books

 

Geography:

Richard Halliburton's books, $8 for the one I don't have

Globalmania, free

 

Logic/Philosophy

A MindBenders book for each kid, $10-11 each, so roughly $20

Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery, already own

 

Total, at most (does not include art supplies, paper, etc.): $230 make that $255

 

Of course, it is only that low because I overbought in the past :glare: . And they're not high schoolers yet :tongue_smilie:

[bobbeym]

Our total is ~$600 for DS and DD, since they're taking the same courses this fall. DD might have a couple extra courses added on later in the year, depending on how quickly she finishes things up (another ~$100) but those courses would be saved for DS's junior year. Driver's Ed will be an extra $400 if we let DS take it this coming school year.

[happypamama]

 

Math:

Ds: Big expense here will be Teaching Textbooks 7, which I am hoping to get used, AND which will be saved for dd. Roughly $100

If we go with Saxon 7/6 instead, it would be $70 brand new for the homeschool package

 

This just happened to catch my eye, because I used Saxon 7/6 Homeschool with my DD this year. I managed to get the textbook and the full solutions manual (which includes the test answers) for $18 shipped, via amazon. (I was given the test packet for free.) I was pleasantly surprised at the very good shape both were in -- no writing in them, just a few slightly dinged corners, but plenty of life in them. I also just scored the next level of DD's Latin book via amazon for, no kidding, $4.25 (including shipping) -- very gently used (you can hardly tell it was ever opened), no writing at all, really great condition. So I am encouraging people to check out amazon's used books for good deals. :)

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

That seems about right. I budget around $1000 per child for curriculum. If I need lab supplies then it is more. I do sell my old curriculum so get somewhere between 25-50% back.

[momto2Cs]

This just happened to catch my eye, because I used Saxon 7/6 Homeschool with my DD this year. I managed to get the textbook and the full solutions manual (which includes the test answers) for $18 shipped, via amazon. (I was given the test packet for free.) I was pleasantly surprised at the very good shape both were in -- no writing in them, just a few slightly dinged corners, but plenty of life in them. I also just scored the next level of DD's Latin book via amazon for, no kidding, $4.25 (including shipping) -- very gently used (you can hardly tell it was ever opened), no writing at all, really great condition. So I am encouraging people to check out amazon's used books for good deals. :)

 

Love Amazon for this. I'm now completely set for science books (PH Science Explorer) for the next two years at a total of $25, including shipping. Not bad!

[Mama Anna]

I'll put in my 2 cents, not because I've got any highschoolers, but just because curriculum-shopping has taken over my life for the past 4 weeks or so. As it does this time every year. :)

 

I'd suggest trying to lower the Chemistry cost. I know that any lab kit is going to be pricey, but if you try for a combining a couple of partially used sets (which would require you to research the contents of each and ask specific questions about what is still there), you could be surprised at how much less you'll spend. Also, whatever text is used will most likely be available separately due being the non-consumable part of the entire kit.

 

Here's what I do. (Note: I follow WTM fairly closely, so I use that heavily in my research.) First, I figure out what specific books/kits I need. I record the MSRP for each one, and then research it (new) on Amazon and Rainbow Resource Center websites. If possible, I base my budget on this second total. (It makes me feel so much better about the large number when I realize how much lower it is than MSRP.) After a discussion with dh where I run the curriculum and numbers by him, explaining why I want to get full sets or an especially expensive lab kit, I got to work.

 

Because I know exactly what I'm looking for and exactly what I'll have to pay for it new on Amazon or RRC, I can tell at a glance whether a used price is too high. I look for stuff on Amazon (really good for used texts, I've found), Ebay (you can save your searches to easily do them over and over again), and here on the classifieds. Note: remember to look at the shipping cost when deciding whether to snap up a "deal" or not. Inexpensive items are the hardest to save money on because the inevitable shipping eats up your potential savings.

 

Then I just try to check each site for my items each day. Ebay is the easiest because of the saved searches. You want to be careful about used workbooks, though - sometimes the person entering in the item doesn't do more than a cursory look and you find yourself with a lot of answers to erase.

 

Any money I manage to save from the budget (which doesn't initially cover school supplies, etc.) is mine to play with for more art supplies, more history stuff, extra science, or just a really nice electric pencil sharpener or something. Or, whatever I realize I completely forgot in the midst of my curriculum choosing.

 

In the midst of all of this, I have to be ready to flex for a different curriculum if I find a huge price difference and can rationalize the different coverage/learning style/whatever that didn't make me choose it in the first place.

 

I admit, I'm somewhat compulsive about this. (No, really? :) ) But I take until our local HS conference (and the curriculum fair, one of my favorite places in the world) to shop and then buy my leftovers at RRC with free shipping. Except for the odd kits that they don't offer and I have to buy online.

 

Does that help?

 

Mama Anna

[VeritasMama]

The private high school I am contempleting sending my oldest in 2 years is over $5,000 a year.

 

The city we lived in a few years ago was a failing school district, with plenty of drug busts, fights, etc. at the local high school. The only private high school in the county was $15,000 a year.

 

Think of it as a bargain!

[speedmom4]

My costs for next year will be around your total as well. I will have one in 10th, 7th, and 6th. I think it's wonderful when others are able to reuse things and find good deals but that hasn't been my experience and I've been homeschooling 13 years.

 

Good luck!

 

Elise in NC

[Carrie12345]

I'm right around there with my will-be-6th, -5th, and -1st graders.

 

Could I bring it down? Sure, but I would be giving up the materials I feel are best for each of my kids and for me as their teacher/facilitator and would eliminate one of my favorite reasons to homeschool.

I am very appreciative of the fact that I don't have to do that.

[TheApprentice]

Thanks for the perspective. :001_smile: I do feel like the choices I've planned are for the best, at this moment (with a couple of minor changes, like switching out AP Lit for AP English Language), so I guess that's going to cost me. Still cheaper than private school, still a better choice for him right now that public school. (We sort of can afford it, but not really)

[Soror]

Well, I'm only schooling 2 and they will be 3rd and 1st, which should be cheap. However, I am quite enjoying my much enlarged budget this year so I can splurge on some extras, buy exactly the programs I want, and greatly expand my own library. As my husband said I don't think we will regret spending too much on their education(assuming of course that it is not done to your own financial detriment).

[KarenNC]

Maybe these articles will help you feel better about it. Public school is far from free.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576313572363698678.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2012/10/06/the-hidden-costs-public-school/MYXoLV7p3BNQ6O25gh2VWN/story.html