What does your education budget look like?

[Momof3]

This is the first year we'll be 'officially' homeschooling... Yay!!! :) I'll have ds in 1st grade and dd doing some K4. Anyone want to give me a reasonable cost estimate for schooling (monthly and/or annual) per child? 

 

I know costs will vary greatly between families...depending on curriculum, grade level, etc., so maybe you just want to let me know what you plan on spending on a monthly and/or annual basis?

 

We don't use terribly expensive curriculum... Math Mammoth for Math, a lot of library books, Answers in Genesis Science, SOTW, etc. I'd like to have some flexibility to be able to take field trips, do random projects as we are interested, etc. And I'll probably be going through lots of paper & ink this year! :)

 

Anyone?

[Jerico]

I budgeted $300 for books and such for my rising 2nd grader and k'er.

 

I use spare change for copies. Squeeze needed supplies in with our grocery budget. I don't have a printer. Other things we would discuss as it comes up but we don't do much.

[boscopup]

Add up what you plan to buy, then double that. :lol:

 

This year, my curriculum expenses are expected to be a little under $700 for 3 kids (K, 2nd, 5th). That's buying new. We have zoo/aquarium/science-center memberships each year. I don't do a ton of field trips, and the ones I usually do are free, so I have no idea what I spend on those each year.

 

Paper is FREE. When Staples runs their free-after-rebate deals on paper, my DH stocks up (with my teacher card!). We have so much free paper that we gave a bunch to my church, gave a case to a friend, have about 3 more cases in my garage, and a handful of separate reams hanging around. If you live anywhere near a Staples, there is no reason to pay money for plain printer paper. :lol: I also use a laser printer (Brother 2270DW), with generic toner that cost $11. I got 4000 pages on my name brand toner (that was $44). Don't know if the generic will live up to that, but it is high yield (rated 2600 pages), and I print using the toner save mode almost all the time. The printer was around $80, though you can sometimes get it cheaper. Watch for sales at Staples, Newegg, and Amazon. I think we got ours at Staples with a coupon code while on sale, so I probably paid more like $60...

 

Other school supplies... I stock up on notebooks during before-school sales. I also buy mechanical pencils in bulk. And get crayons and color pencils during sales also.

[Rachel]

I asked 3 friends this question last summer, all three have 3-4 children similar ages. One said $300 per year, one $300 per month, one about $500 for the year. The one friend had 4 kids in a co op which makes her expenses higher.

 

I've spent under $200 for kindergarten this year and part of 1st for next year plus a few things to keep my younger kids busy. That includes things like maps, reference books, and my own copy of WTM. That does not include our zoo membership or trips to art/ science museums.

[Rachel]

Great tip on the printer and paper. We've been wanting to switch to a laser printer.

 

Add up what you plan to buy, then double that. :lol:

 

This year, my curriculum expenses are expected to be a little under $700 for 3 kids (K, 2nd, 5th). That's buying new. We have zoo/aquarium/science-center memberships each year. I don't do a ton of field trips, and the ones I usually do are free, so I have no idea what I spend on those each year.

 

Paper is FREE. When Staples runs their free-after-rebate deals on paper, my DH stocks up (with my teacher card!). We have so much free paper that we gave a bunch to my church, gave a case to a friend, have about 3 more cases in my garage, and a handful of separate reams hanging around. If you live anywhere near a Staples, there is no reason to pay money for plain printer paper. :lol: I also use a laser printer (Brother 2270DW), with generic toner that cost $11. I got 4000 pages on my name brand toner (that was $44). Don't know if the generic will live up to that, but it is high yield (rated 2600 pages), and I print using the toner save mode almost all the time. The printer was around $80, though you can sometimes get it cheaper. Watch for sales at Staples, Newegg, and Amazon. I think we got ours at Staples with a coupon code while on sale, so I probably paid more like $60...

 

Other school supplies... I stock up on notebooks during before-school sales. I also buy mechanical pencils in bulk. And get crayons and color pencils during sales also.

[eternalsummer]

I don't keep track of the expenses, but I will say that we buy a *lot* more pencils than I had anticipated.  Also very worth it to get one of those nice electric sharpeners, imo.  We're always running out of pencils.

[lewelma]

Supplies are minor compared to the cost of our violin and mandarin tutors who run $7000 per year!!!!

 

Ruth in NZ

[MeAndTheBoys]

We budget about $250/month, funnel it into a designated savings account. 

 

We draw all activities and school stuff out of there--sports fees (I have 2 boys doing 3 sports each per year, 1 boy doing 1 sport/year so far), music (2 are in homeschool band), Scouts (which we are not in right now), any extra classes (we are doing art this summer), co-op fees, and, of course, basic school materials--books, school supplies, etc.

 

There has been plenty in there for the past few years, and honestly, I'm a little afraid to closely monitor the account or break it down into activities/ curriculum/ supplies/ etc.  I don't want to know :)

 

Spending has definitely increased as the boys have gotten older and into more activities, but I would also say that I am getting better about re-selling things we don't use, and using the things we have bought and looking for deals.  It's nice to be able to reuse a lot with DS3--sometimes I am tempted by the newest thing, but I'm really trying to remind myself if we had a good experience using Product X for a certain subject with DS1 and DS2, it will be good for DS3 and I don't need to change even if something might seem a little "better" . . .

 

ETA--I read some posts higher up, and wanted to add that sometimes we do include travel expenses out of this account if it is a "field trip" or some kind of educational membership.  Or magazine subscriptions.  It really is a catch-all account, so don't think we're spending $250/month on curriculum :)  I am happy to realize that some of my local friends are spending the same amount per month JUST to send their kids to church Kindergartens--and I'm able to do SO much with three children on the same amount. :)

 

Betsy

 

[Desert Strawberry]

I have usually spent about $50-$100 per kid.

 

One year, I went a little crazy and bought all 4 years in two subjects. I spent $250 and never used most of the books. Sigh. 

 

I am making a transition from workbooks ($50 per kid per year for the lower grades) to all reusable/free materials. This year, and next, I will be spending a lot more as I buy up the books I will be using over and over. I'm not making a Big Order this year, buying as we go, but I think it will come to around $200-$300 depending on how fast my oldest accelerates. But my youngest two will (knock wood) pretty much be free. I will already have all the basics put aside for them. 

 

Phwew. Reading that makes me a little faint. 

 

ETA: This is books only. I spend about $40 on school supplies-not including printer ink. I don't include sports or extra-curriculars. IMO, that's not schooling. 
 

We don't do any outside co-ops, lessons, classes, beyond sport and field trips. 

[melmichigan]

9th grade will run around $2700 with some online classes.  

6th grade will be about $1200 between twins with one online class each.  

4th grade is about $2000 because he has a private tutor for math three days a week.

1st grade will cost about $100.

Ok, that makes me sick to add it all up.  I like it when I avoid the big picture.

[ondreeuh]

My budget is about $2k for each student, because I enroll with correspondence programs that pay for materials and lessons. I use this for swim lessons, club fees, office supplies, books, audiobooks, electronics, nonreligious curricula, etc.

 

As part of the programs, I communicate with the contact teachers monthly, submit work samples each quarter, and assign grades. There is minimal standardized testing. I don't need to count hours, teach a specific scope and sequence, or many other hoops independent homeschoolers have to jump through in other states. It's a good deal here.

[JustEm]

I'll have a first grader and pre-k(although we don't do prek but I do budget for memberships and such) next year.  My budget for the year will be $300.  Books have all been gotten off paperbackswap or used from the thrift store or facebook groups.  I spent $40 on books. So that leaves me with $260.  It will be used for buying whatever interest based things my ds and dd express interest in if I feel it is worth the money. A membership to a local zoo will probably be purchased.

[Kathryn]

I only budget for the yearly book buying. Right now, it's around $1000 for everything (I buy extra consumables for later kids at the same time). Next year will be the last time to purchase TOG so it should go down after that.

[mamabear2three]

 Also very worth it to get one of those nice electric sharpeners.

 

:iagree:  I tried to use cheap $7 electric pencil sharpeners and after going through 3, my husband made me buy a "classroom" rated electric sharpener that is amazing!

[NoseInABook]

I spent $350 in books and will be reusing a lot of this past years' with younger kids. I'll probably end up spending another $250 in paper, pencils, ink, art supplies, etc. during the back to school sales. That's about it for us. My oldest is starting 2nd grade this year so they're still young yet which may make a financial difference.

[Hunter]

Disclaimer: My boys are graduated and I am a divorced empty nester who is merely self-educating and tutoring. No children are being neglected or harmed.

 

I spend every penny I can on books, art supplies, tech, and assorted other educational supplies. I am addicted. I do not want to deal with my addiction. I have friends who enable my addiction and most of them don't mind; in fact I think some of them enjoy it. They are the kind of people who feed the ducks, birds, and squirrels, too.

 

My life is very very very hard. Books are my comfort. I'm a touch on the spectrum I think, and I get onto tangents where I just want to gobble up information–it soothes me.

 

To fund my addictions, I resort to hand-washing clothes, paying for toilet paper with pennies, and just not buying food at all knowing friends will feed me when they see me going hungry, especially when I do the fainting thing. Honestly, last month, I only spent $5.00 to $10.00 a week on food.

 

Last night a friend bought me a giant meatball sub and a big piece of red velvet cake, that I'm still eating. Yummy. Another friend gave me two apples and a cookie. And another gave me day old bagels and muffins from a donut shop. Why would I change my ways? Other than I sometimes eat too many carbs, even if I do burn them all off with nerves and miles and miles of walking.

 

I don't budget. I just spend every last penny that I can.

 

 

[KrissiK]

Well, curriculum expenses for my four for next year who will officially be in school will run me about $1100. I don't keep track of paper and ink and all that, since we print other stuff besides school stuff! And pencils..... I don't even want to know.

[Cottonwood]

$650 a yr.  Last year that was for one kid, this year I spent that on two, of course, using a re-using some materials for the second child, but not a whole lot.  Middle schoolers.  That is literature driving curriculum and the accompanying literature.  School/art supplies for the school room are sprinkled in somewhere down the line and don't account for much.  Music lessons aren't included in this.

[SemiSweet]

Hm, I spread it out, so it doesn't happen all at once, but I also don't track it so if I were to guess I'd say about $1500 a year for my two olders including field trips, we live in Hawaii and there are tons of awesome field trips.

[TKDmom]

I spent a lot more when I was just starting out with a 2nd grader and K'er. All those manipulatives and reference material and Sonlight cores that I "needed". I think I spent about $1200 per kid/year.

 

Now I spend maybe $50/month on 4 kids. Or maybe it's more--but not a lot more. I don't really keep close tabs on it anymore. And I'm pretty sure I own most everything. ;)

 

Eta: that doesn't include field trips and extracurriculars. We would do most of those things anyway.

[Bree]

We spent about $700 for curriculum but most of what I buy can be reused for my little ones. We do pay about $100 a month on top for piano lessons for my 2 oldest :)

[CrunchyGirl]

A lot. I should add it up but it would be bad.

[jar7709]

I usually don't answer these threads because....it is a lot probably compared to some. I don't keep an exact budget, but it is at least $300/month, not including extracurriculars and activities and other things they would still be doing if they were in public school. Every month I think I must finally have everything we need, but then things come up, books get finished, new interests need feeding, replacements are required, whatever. I am sure it could be done more cheaply but here we are, and it is ok for us. I don't actually feel bad about it. If we were spending beyond our means, or the materials weren't being used, then we would cut back, but as it is the kids are thriving and it is going well.

[Seeking Squirrels]

I spend more than I need to. :o  I just ordered everything for first grade next year and it came to $650. We put $50 a month into a checking account that's just for school stuff and then we use our tax refund to top off the account with however much I need to get what I've settled on. I use the fund thoughout the year for school supplies including crafts and basic stuff that we'd get anyway. So it's nowhere near the $600 it would be if left alone for a year. DH is planning on changing it to $100 a month sometime soon and then I will use only the school fund. That's the plan anyway ;)

[lifesadream83]

Okay. now that I have read other posts I don't feel so bad.  I spend about $2k in the beginning of the year.  Then I spend money throughout the year on books, ink, paper, art supplies, science supplies, activities, dance,  trips etc.  1 kid but MOST of the stuff I buy I will use for my little one, I just buy the extra workbook or replacement sheets now that way if something changes or is revised by then I am still covered with what I own.  

[Erin]

Trap and I were *just* discussing this. It's still just numbers at the moment, but I'm already well over $500 for the upcoming year. :(

But then the upcoming year starts highschool, so I guess I can expect it to get pricier from here out...

[Critterfixer]

I did about 700$ last year for two fourth grade boys. 

I think we may go up to 1000$ this year if I get the microscope I want. But compared to private school for both, we are well under the cost of tuition.

[StartingOver]

I spend $2000 at income tax time, and usually $50 -$100 bi-weekly through the year, skipping major holiday months. Because of my son's lung health we buy new.  They love reading and I have a major curriculum addiction.

 

Edited for for auto correct.

[Targhee]

Very rough estimate of $600/yr budgeted for 2nd, 4th, 7th books and supplies. That does not include music theater (and costumes), instrument lessons (and instruments), co-op, art class, sports/lessons, math circle, admissions/tickets/etc for field trips, lego league/science olympiad fees, scouts, and all the other books I end up reading to help me homeschool...

[Yolanda]

We didn't do WTM when dd was in K but did FIAR among other things free in the community. I spent less than $200 i think and most of it was reruns: used books, h.s. gatherings where moms were getting rid of their old curric. So, it was not very much. I spent more time offering events and activities for dd for music, art, library outings and events. Just getting out in the world and meeting different peeps from different cultures was a learning experience in itself.

 

 However!

 

 I do like that I've been tracking yearly what we spend, where we go, what she reads, who she plays with, and what she does or volunteers for because i can include that in our 'year end review' book. Like an annual type book. And now, as she is a rising 12 y.o., the costs are rising as well :)

 

 Just another POV for the future :)

[Peaceful Isle]

Oh man, not sure really. I don't budget, but I try to buy in advance. I have most of what I need for next year. I just need a few more things..... ;)

[CadenceSophia]

If I paid for it all myself, I would probably spend around 500$/year, excluding lessons and activities. Certainly we could do it on less but that was about what I naturally wanted to buy. We used a homeschool charter this year and I found spending the $2k allotment on kindergarten rather challenging (ohh but believe me I managed ;). I am sure the older grades get a lot more expensive.

[mamabear2three]

Oh I forgot to answer the question... I spent $200 for PK4, and about $400 for K... Looking at probably $300-400 for 1st? (including supplies but not including dance class, that adds another couple hundred). I am hoping to reuse much of what I buy for the little ones, so at least that number won't multiply as I add children.

[8filltheheart]

When my kids are little, next to nothing. My budget for my younger kids only allows for replacing consumable workbooks. (So around $25-$50 total.). If I had to purchase the entire programs, it would require whatever the cost of Sing, Spell, Read, Write's 1 st grade package costs (I use it for both k and 1st) and Horizons math.

 

My older kids' budgets, though, can individually be several thousand dollars.

[73349]

For next year I've spent around $600 in books and supplies. That doesn't include the ProClick (which obviously will get several years' use), paper and ink, or a couple of hundred dollars that I'll probably spend on PE and nature programs. It also doesn't include music education--I hope to get him playing the piano--or museum membership, which we would be paying for even if he went to school. It does include art stuff.

 

It seems like a lot to me, but then it's much cheaper than when he was in 2-mornings-a-week preschool, let alone what we'd pay for private school tuition! We do use a lot of library books. With one kid, there are no academic hand-me-downs, but I have been able to buy a few things secondhand.

[shanvan]

Another I'm not sure, but I'm kind of glad I read the thread and am thinking about it.  

 

Ds in 11th next year about $550 for online Latin, $600 for AP Language & Comp (probably close to another $100 for books), about $100 each for texts for history & chemistry.  I already purchased his algebra books, so that's done but was about $90.

 

So, for 11th at this point about $1550, still have to decide if he's taking an outside chemistry course locally, that will be around another $550

 

Extracurriculars he pays for himself with money from his part time job.  

 

Dd in 7th next year will probably not cost us much since I will be using what I have around the house already.  Our biggest expense for her is her extracurricular.  2 - 3 dog classes a week plus piano every other week, total of 30-60 a week, depending on which she has.  We can decide about the dog classes from week to week.  Then there is the cost of shows/trials.  She may have a way to make some money grooming soon.  That helps.  

 

ETA: I've sold off some of my curriculum online recently and made close to $400, plus had a yard sale that brought in about $200, so that has helped fund new books.  Ds is contributing to his AP class since he is hoping to use the class & test to skip freshman comp in college.  That will save him money on tuition.  That's another help.  

[Kelly1730]

I don't keep track anymore :ohmy:.  The boys piano lessons are about $1280 a year. Other than that, I just buy what I need when the budget allows it. I'm homeschooling twins so I can double up in places, they don't always need their individual copy of a book. OTOH, I can't pass anything down either. We used MFW from K-1850-MOD so the package averaged $300 plus extras, field trips, co-op, etc. I am doing my own thing for 7th & 8th grades so it will be interesting to see how it all adds up. We make much use of the library as well. 

[Runningmom80]

I don't keep track either. I'm only HS one at the moment, I probably spend ~$500 a year on books and supplies. Activities are a whole other (budget busting) story.

[petepie2]

I'll probably spend $1000-$1300 next year for four children, K4-5th grade. That doesn't include piano lessons, museum memberships ,etc.

[Angie in VA]

I don't keep track either. I'm only HS one at the moment,...Activities are a whole other (budget busting) story.

 

Yup!

[melmichigan]

Activities are a whole other (budget busting) story.

Activities are not part of my homeschool budget.  They are part of my family budget.

[Sahamamama]

We have an account set up exclusively for homeschooling. Every paycheck, $40 is automatically deposited into that account. I purchase in spurts, so when I'm not buying, the fund builds up without us thinking about it much. I never have to ask if it's okay to use the money, I always know just how much will be in there by the end of the month or quarter. It's nice, having that autonomy (and my husband's trust). For three students (7, 7, and 9), it's $2080 per year.

 

With that money, I purchase math (Horizons), grammar (FLL), spelling (AAS), writing (WWE), French (EP), Latin (LC), music (various), logic (BTS), school supplies, paper, desks, shelves, lamps, and anything else for school. So far, the girls don't take any outside lessons and aren't in organized sports. We do music at home and through church, and have plenty of opportunities for exercise right outside the door. We may add for-pay music or art lessons at some point down the road.

 

Our main expense is books. :) We buy a lot of books and audiobooks for our home library -- Bible, Literature, History, Science, and Nature Study. In the end, buying the books is easier and cheaper than buying all the gas to go back and forth to our library, which probably won't have the books we want, anyway. And the fines.... :blushing: In our library system, when you have an item overdue, you can't renew online until you physically go to the library and pay the fine. Duh. When I'm snowed in, that's when I need to renew online.

 

Now when the UPS man comes up the driveway, the girls cheer, "Yippee, more books!" It's always more books (unless it's a part for an anesthesia machine). Like Hunter, I'm addicted, and have no desire to change. Hunter, I'll have to try that fainting thing. :lol:

 

Edited to Add: We've only been able to set things up this way for about the past two years. Before that, we had about $100/year + the library, but it worked out great because the children were so little. Now things are different and... I'm making up for lost time. ;)

[Mbelle]

I used to spend around $700 a year during the 3rd grade through 7th grade with 2 kids.  It went up last year as they both took a couple of on-line classes.  My oldest will be in high school next year and I am outsourcing 4 subjects so it will be more expensive.  We budget $200 a month into the school fund and at the end of May I will sell all the things we don't need.  I usually get $300-$400 out of those sales.   

[Crimson Wife]

Back when I started we had very little disposable cash to put towards HSing and chose to HS via the private school affadavit route so I didn't have a charter stipend. My one big splurge was Right Start Level B. I did buy it new because I knew it could be re-used with younger students. I bought the manipulatives a la carte as I needed them and substituted home-made things for anything I could. For reading I borrowed Spalding and BOB books from our library. For grammar I bought FLL 1/2. For history I bought an encyclopedia and the SOTW AG (oldest DD had proclaimed the main SOTW text "boring" but liked the KHE) and supplemented with library resources. For science I bought Janice Van Cleave's "Biology for Every Kid" and supplemented with library resources.

 

If I were starting over today with a very low budget, I would probably start out with MEP and then later get the Math Mammoth package when it comes on sale at HSBC. I also would use Mr. Q for science (the life science one is free, and the others bought during his January sale).

 

A lot of the programs that I like are expensive (MCT, AAS, Singapore DM, Beast Academy etc.) but we now are enrolled with a charter that provides a stipend.

[Garga]

Been homeschooling all along. I can't remember what I spent in the beginning, but the past two years I've spent about $700 each year on curriculum for the two of them.  That doesn't include supplies for science experiments and the karate lessons ($1800 a year, not including special 'karate camps') or any field trip expenses.  

 

The kids are in 3rd and 6th right now.

 

I have a tiny part time job helping to assess essays at a test prep center.  I make about $800 a year, which is what pays for the books.

[Ewe Mama]

I'd say about $500/child, including art supplies, paper, ink, etc.

[Saddlemomma]

I watch a toddler in foster care 3 days a week.   My checks go directly to curricula and Christmas presents.  That way, nothing comes out of the household budget for those items.

 

In this way, I'm usually able to purchase the nice extras I wouldn't normally be able to get to supplement our main curricula.  Things like Uzinggo, Visual Latin, Amazon Prime, BrainPop, some android apps, etc., really enrich our school year.  I'm also able to purchase curricula I probably wouldn't be able to access using the household budget like TOG and purchasing many of their recommended books, getting Philosophy Adventures, and the complete First Form Latin package with DVDs. It also allows me to try different curricula and not feel too bad about selling the initial purchase before purchasing a replacement if the original isn't a good fit for us.  It's really great; not to mention the fact that the little guy I watch is so cute and a pleasure to babysit.  It's a perfect scenario because his foster mom (in the process of adopting him) is a teacher, and I get the summers off.

 

I do know that he will probably enter pre-school at three.  So next year I plan to purchase whatever curricula I can foresee that I will need in the future, especially the more expensive science and math texts through high school.  DD will be going into 6th grade next year, so I somehow need to decide way ahead of time what we will most likely be using. 

 

For this reason, I really don't keep track of what I spend because I would probably faint!  Not to mention my dh's reaction.  Right now dh doesn't even ask about it.  I just keep getting boxes throughout the school year.  Dh will get a package, hand it to me, and say, "Another school book?"  "Yup!" I reply.

 

For maximum use of my resources, I use the site: Bigwords (http://www.bigwords.com/ ) to purchase used books whenever I can.  It's a fantastic search engine site that searches all the used book dealers (Abe Books, Alibris, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, half-books, etc)  to find the absolutely cheapest price, including shipping, for used books.  It will also lump the books into one dealer to give you the option of purchasing from just one dealer for a little more money, or going with the cheaper option of buying from multiple dealers.

[Walking-Iris]

I budgeted $300 for books and such for my rising 2nd grader and k'er.

 

I use spare change for copies. Squeeze needed supplies in with our grocery budget. I don't have a printer. Other things we would discuss as it comes up but we don't do much.

 

This is us...although we do have a home printer/business printer.

 

When I first started we had less to budget, but I had one child, and I was able to cover k-1st grade with use of the local library and the internet. I bought a math and spelling/reading curriculum. That was it.

 

I budget 300 each year, that I usually spend in one go in early Spring. I haven't yet used all of that 300. It's used to buy next levels of any program I want to continue, any teacher guides I feel are necessary, and big supplies/materials that I find necessary (usually science, math, and art related) and so on.  Any printing costs from big files I send to a printer are budgeted in that 300. I save our home ink for small, random jobs.

 

After that initial big spend (which I plan for, I know exactly what I'm getting) I don't really budget what I spend the rest of the year. 

 

School supplies (pencils, paper, erasers and so on) I'll buy in bulk at back to school sales, and just replenish as needed when at the store.

 

I tend to look for books used first. I have actually noticed that my oldest ds is who I buy for more often. His books are typically more expensive. BUT I try to look for things that are not consumable and multi-leveled and  right now I have several programs for science and history and art and language arts that I really enjoy that I will use again. So I'm sure I will spend less with my younger children (other than consumables). I try to plan for the future now when looking at curricula. 

 

I don't budget for reading books. We buy books from various places used or online throughout the year for our home. Or use the library if it's something we really want to read, but not necessarily own. 

 

I've noticed that each year, I buy basic subjects less and less. Because I use curricula that may have been an investment at first, but will pay for itself as I use it again and again. I used most of our budget this year on myself for a homeschool retreat this summer. There wasn't anything I needed to get for my kids except some consumable workbooks.

 

It took some hits and misses at first, but my initial planning has paid off, and now I don't have to budget for those basics as much.

[ByGrace3]

Next year for 4th, 2nd, and K4 my budget is $1,000. That doesn't include science center membership, membership and monthly science classes at a local history museum. It also doesn't include the 2x monthly field trips, piano lessons, and sports. Music and sports would be a cost even if we didn't homeschool so I don't count them, but even with the high amount of everything else it is way less than the $21,000 it would be to enroll them in the private school they would go to if we didn't homeschool. (I have to remind myself of that often) ;)

 

Most of our curriculum budget this year is books (roughly $400) and science kits ($400) so I feel like it's money well spent.

[Soror]

The first 3 years I hardly spent anything. Last year I budgeted $1000 and spent it all and then some. I actually ended up going a little crazy and bought too much, the year prior my only budget was what I could finance by selling other material so I went a little crazy last year with the extra money.

 

This year, well, I'm not sure yet however most of what I'm spending will be books.

Curriculum I'm buying (have bought) will be-

 

dd: $35 for math ($17 for reusable textbooks and $17 for consumable workbooks) and $60~ for reading (next level of LoE- $38 reusable text and $17 consumable workbook)

 

ds:

math- $81(next 3 BA books as they come out)

writing- WR Bk 3 and 4 TE only $40

MCT  Town(grammar/vocab/poetry) $100 ~ used

Spelling- I bought apples and pears 4 levels of TE and student books (part used) for $90 but I might be selling that and using what I already have. So that is for more than this year if I do use it.

Mechanics- Haven't decided for sure but it will be less than $20

 

I have another $525 Amazon gift card which will be buying books for lit, history and science and some misc supplies. I've already spent at least $150+ on books besides that. I'll be buying some magazine subscriptions as well. Any outside activities are separate, right now that is just TKD and Scouts for ds and AHG for dd. DD will be starting dance this summer though and I am hoping to start art classes for both this coming year and possibly piano.

 

I've not had much luck with reusing material yet but I'm finally feeling settled at least with reading/phonics/spelling instruction that I should be able to get by with just the workbooks for k-2 for the next ones coming up. I'm hopeful as well that perhaps we finally have a math that we can stick with my younger ones. I plan to use WR with my girls when they get old enough. It seems I keep falling for new programs which are hard if not impossible to find used and it has taken awhile to find my groove so I've not been able to reuse much yet. I'm looking forward to being able to reuse some things and saving money that way because I can see that the older they get the more expensive everything is. 

 

I do have a good chunk of material I'm selling this year and I hope to recoup a bit of what I'm spending and I'm trying to be more judicious with what I'm buying, like making sure I actually have time to use it. I could save money by not buying our books for science, history and lit but (1) I like having a good home library, (2) having the books here means I'm more likely to use them and (3) quite often what I want is not available locally so it is a big pain logistically arranging ILLs when you are not even sure when they will come in and then you only have 2 weeks and I'm just not that organized to make that work well.