How much do you spend on kids sports/lessons a month or a year?

[Χά�ων]

Currently? $150 a semester and $5/week sometimes.

 

I was spending a lot more. I do not miss it.

[ikslo]

$0

[sassenach]

Baseball trainer/travel costs- I don't even know. DH does some coaching in trade with the facility, so a lot of it gets written off. 

 

Dance- $250/mo

 

Piano- I trade teaching science for DD's lessons

 

Equipment for all of the above is a whole other cost. I think we safely spend $400-500 a month.

[dirty ethel rackham]

About $300 per month for climbing team 3 days a week and probably another $50 - 100 per month for competitions/travel, etc.  We only started spending that much 2 years ago since she became competitive nationally.  This is our last year with this expense.  If she wasn't dedicated and needing this level of coaching, there is no way we would be spending this much.  

[KungFuPanda]

PRICE MATCH THESE FEES INTO A COLLEGE FUND. I swear that would’ve been a less painful way to pay for college. I wish I would’ve written a matching college check every time I paid dance tuition. Our budget would barely feel college now if we’d done that.

[mschickie]

Ok...

 

$144 a month for trombone lessons ($36 a week)

$433 for Orchestra per year (around $54 per month)

$60 soccer per year

$20 baseball per year

$50 4 h per year

$74 ice skating per year

 

 

This does not include cost of events and incidentals ( gear, travel, clothing...)

 

[lovinmyboys]

I don’t even want to know. Way too much, and the kids would like to do more. Ds11 plays travel baseball, so he has about 10 months of baseball plus he is required by his team to do another sport to “cross train.†He also has private and small group lessons in the off season. Then my other 3 kids do a rec sport each season. Rec sport fees x3 add up.

[Chris in VA]

Viola=$65 an hour lesson (although her teacher is generous, and goes over by a half-hour most days), once a week. 

[catz]

Way too depressing to calculate! Around $300 a month for one kid to dance for starters. And she’s dancing part time. Sometimes she dances full time. I pay for 5 music lessons a week and my son is in an auditioned singing ensemble that meets weekly. They do theater at times. Even if they are in an auditioned show, we donate to the theater every time. Lots.

[MinivanMom]

We spend $60 per sport per season plus the cost of whatever equipment needs replacing. With 2 kids in sports each season, it works out to about $600 per year.

 

We spend another $300-400 per year on Boy Scouts for oldest ds. 

 

We spend about $1000 per month on arts instruction. Half of that is music lessons for 5 different children on 6 different instruments. The other half is just dance lessons for the girls. Older dd takes pre-professional classes and younger dd is headed that direction. That cost per month doesn't include the ongoing costs for things like sheet music, strings, and pointe shoes. Pointe shoes are insanely expensive.

[JonesinIndiana]

Archery classes $150 for 16 weeks 1x week x2 kids=$300

All supplies are provided in their classes, although they will be getting bows for their big gift for Christmas.

[Tap]

When Ds swam competitively, it was about $500 a month all year.  We only did meets we could drive to and didn't travel beyond a few hundred miles.  There were others on his team that flew to swim meets several times per year, staying gone for 4 plus days, so they easily spent $1000 per month.  Ds didn't plan to make a sports career nor planned to attend college on sports scholarship, so it didn't make sense to have him travel out that far.

 

Our other sports have been anywhere from $70-100 per month for rec swim, gymnastics, crew, community martial arts, volleyball.

 

Cheerleading was a bit more in both private and public school, averaging $1000 per season, so about $300 per month. 

 

I don't remember the price but sailing was more expensive too. 

 

 

With 3 kids, we have easily spent $40,000 on sports including equipment/gear etc. over the years. 

 

 

 

 

[mommyoffive]

PRICE MATCH THESE FEES INTO A COLLEGE FUND. I swear that would’ve been a less painful way to pay for college. I wish I would’ve written a matching college check every time I paid dance tuition. Our budget would barely feel college now if we’d done that.

 

I have heard that advice before.  Makes sense

[mommyoffive]

We spend $60 per sport per season plus the cost of whatever equipment needs replacing. With 2 kids in sports each season, it works out to about $600 per year.

 

We spend another $300-400 per year on Boy Scouts for oldest ds. 

 

We spend about $1000 per month on arts instruction. Half of that is music lessons for 5 different children on 6 different instruments. The other half is just dance lessons for the girls. Older dd takes pre-professional classes and younger dd is headed that direction. That cost per month doesn't include the ongoing costs for things like sheet music, strings, and pointe shoes. Pointe shoes are insanely expensive.

 

How much are they? 

With ears kind of covered. 

 

 

How long do they last? 

[mommyoffive]

When Ds swam competitively, it was about $500 a month all year.  We only did meets we could drive to and didn't travel beyond a few hundred miles.  There were others on his team that flew to swim meets several times per year, staying gone for 4 plus days, so they easily spent $1000 per month.  Ds didn't plan to make a sports career nor planned to attend college on sports scholarship, so it didn't make sense to have him travel out that far.

 

Our other sports have been anywhere from $70-100 per month for rec swim, gymnastics, crew, community martial arts, volleyball.

 

Cheerleading was a bit more in both private and public school, averaging $1000 per season, so about $300 per month. 

 

I don't remember the price but sailing was more expensive too. 

 

 

With 3 kids, we have easily spent $40,000 on sports including equipment/gear etc. over the years. 

 

Yikes

 

I haven't even gone to adding up what the spending will be over the years.

 

 

That goes to my other question on this.  

Does everyone feel like spending all this money on the sports or lessons are worth it? 

Edited November 15, 2017 by mommyoffive

[MysteryJen]

Well, for us, after we ran the numbers (last year), the money spent on competitive swimming absolutely paid off. Between ds1 always able to pick up work as a coach (sometimes earning up to $25 dollars an hour, and more with private lessons) and dd1's scholarship, we were better off than if we had just saved the money. Also, all my kids in their chosen sports have learned lessons that I feel are irreplaceable. Most importantly, they learned that failure, even crazy disasterous, public failure, will not kill them. Without sports, I doubt that I could have "given" them that lesson.

 

Tennis, for ds3, is probably financially idiotic, but hey, just having a 5th kid put us on that road.

[Lecka]

Right now my little kids are in gymnastics once a week, it is $40/each, so $80/month.  My older son is in school swimming every day for 2 hours (a short season, it is less than 2 months).  It is free.  He said he may play baseball if his friends play (next season).

 

We are really lucky to be in a no-cut school district right now, as my older son is not a good athlete.  He can still be in a sport.  It is great for his self-confidence and I like the other boys he is around. 

 

That's it for us.

 

I don't work and my husband thinks $80/month is a lot for the little kids. 

 

I am probably going to be back in the workforce 3 years from now, and I can see my daughter (one of the little kids) wanting to be in more activities.  So that should work out. 

 

None of my kids have done very well with organized activities as younger kids, it is a lot of transitions and they would rather play. 

 

Also, before we moved both my little kids did a free drama therapy program once a week after school, it was for children with autism or ADHD and their siblings.  It was wonderful for both my little kids, and it was very nice it was free.  I paid $30/semester, $15/each, for snacks, for that. 

 

My older son and daughter have played soccer here and there, for $30-$60/season.  It has been a year since either have wanted to play soccer. 

 

My kids are 12, 9, and 9.  My 9-year-old daughter I think will want to do more as she gets older.  My 9-year-old son was in Special Olympics for a season when he was younger, and it's likely he will do that again.  It is a nice program and it is free.  He was one of the youngest kids when he did a season of track and field, and it was a good experience, but he wasn't ready for the other seasonal sports yet (we have moved, but plan to move back). 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Lecka

[SKL]

 

Does everyone feel like spending all this money on the sports or lessons are worth it? 

 

The jury is out on the horse lease.  :P  The rest of it is pretty reasonable for what we get.

 

The horse lease - I can see my kid growing in several ways, plus she really does not like any other kind of physical activity.  However, she has no concept of money and keeps thinking of more and more ways to spend mine.  Having a (half leased) horse adds much fuel to this fire.  Plus it takes up so much time that she doesn't have an opportunity to try to earn some of the cost.  I doubt she has any concept of how impossible her life would be for most people.  How's that going to translate into adulthood?  I never set out to raise an entitled kid ....

 

The other kid's activities aren't cheap either.  But for her, she thrives on physical activity and it's really the only area where she feels accomplished.  I can't see taking that away if I can afford it.

 

Due to other lifestyle choices, I don't have a house or car payment or a lot of other expenses some people choose to have, so it evens out.  But I do feel uncomfortable with spending money so my kids can do what they want.  When I was a kid, I used those hours to find my own free activities and/or find ways to earn money for things I wanted.  I'm not sure how these things compare.

[Serenade]

Guestimating due to the varied cost of Boy Scout participation, but for two boys, each in martial arts (year round) and Boy Scouts (year round) we spend close to $6000, or $3000 a boy per year, so $500 a month for two or $250 a month each.  That does not include what it costs my husband when he participates in Boy Scout activities.   Martial arts is really expensive, but my boys take private lessons in addition to some group classes.   The Boy Scout costs are highly variable, depending on the individual activities.  For example, my boys went on a weekend city trip to Savannah this past year, and I think that came in at over $200 a boy.  Yet, they went on a 5 day backpacking trip this summer and we weren't billed anything, although they brought all of their own food.

[mommyoffive]

Well, for us, after we ran the numbers (last year), the money spent on competitive swimming absolutely paid off. Between ds1 always able to pick up work as a coach (sometimes earning up to $25 dollars an hour, and more with private lessons) and dd1's scholarship, we were better off than if we had just saved the money. Also, all my kids in their chosen sports have learned lessons that I feel are irreplaceable. Most importantly, they learned that failure, even crazy disasterous, public failure, will not kill them. Without sports, I doubt that I could have "given" them that lesson.

 

Tennis, for ds3, is probably financially idiotic, but hey, just having a 5th kid put us on that road.

 

Ha.

 

 

I love your perspective.  Thanks for putting that down.  I do tell myself that maybe they can use these lessons to earn money at some point. 

[Serenade]

 

Does everyone feel like spending all this money on the sports or lessons are worth it? 

 

I can't speak about competitive sports, but between martial arts and Boy Scouts (canoeing, skiing, hiking, etc), I think the money is well worth it. I have one child who probably never would have tried a lot of things had it not been for Boy Scouts.  Scouting definitely made him step out of his comfort zone.  Also, for my older child, one of the reasons we initially put him in martial arts was as a form of   occupational therapy.  As expensive as it was, it was still a lot less than the private sessions with the occupational therapist.  There is nothing like martial arts for improving skills in motor planning.  It took this child a long time to earn his black belt, probably twice as long as other candidates, but he did eventually earn it, and I give martial arts a lot of credit with helping him do things that were especially difficult for him. 

[mommyoffive]

The jury is out on the horse lease.  :p  The rest of it is pretty reasonable for what we get.

 

The horse lease - I can see my kid growing in several ways, plus she really does not like any other kind of physical activity.  However, she has no concept of money and keeps thinking of more and more ways to spend mine.  Having a (half leased) horse adds much fuel to this fire.  Plus it takes up so much time that she doesn't have an opportunity to try to earn some of the cost.  I doubt she has any concept of how impossible her life would be for most people.  How's that going to translate into adulthood?  I never set out to raise an entitled kid ....

 

The other kid's activities aren't cheap either.  But for her, she thrives on physical activity and it's really the only area where she feels accomplished.  I can't see taking that away if I can afford it.

 

Due to other lifestyle choices, I don't have a house or car payment or a lot of other expenses some people choose to have, so it evens out.  But I do feel uncomfortable with spending money so my kids can do what they want.  When I was a kid, I used those hours to find my own free activities and/or find ways to earn money for things I wanted.  I'm not sure how these things compare.

 

I think that is something that I think about too.  How to make sure that they don't grow up spoiled.  They are growing up so different than I did.  How do you make sure they are good people? 

[Carrie12345]

My kids play Little League, which is dirt cheap compared to fancy leagues.  It was something like $80 or $100 for 4 kids, uniforms included.  We hand down equipment, buy used, and have team equipment.  I'd estimate we average around $100/yr to size up as-needed.

 

Karate, otoh, was $250/mo for 3 kids. And that 3rd one was "free".

 

I've erased dance finances from my memory.

 

Music lessons were $20/half hour before our local music store closed.  Maybe because lessons were $20/half hour.

[mommyoffive]

Spending as of right now, although we are always looking at adding things.  We have stopped some things as the kids hated it.

 

Violin lessons every week for 4 kids 

10 weeks of private lessons that are 30 mins per kid and also a group class that meets 6 weeks in addition that is an hour long.

 

$230 per semester per kid

 

Rentals on top of that.

 

 

 

Swim team

$107 a month - for 3 kids

 

Although the kids should move up a level so it would raise it $40 -50 ish bucks a month

But we can't make the practice times due to other classes, plus the kids don't like it much. 

 

Swim lessons for 2

6 week session depending on how many days a week we go.  Usually we do 3 days a week so $75 per kid

 

 

Not counting gear

Although we did pay a lot of money for swim meets, but the kids didn't enjoy them so we stopped doing that. 

 

 

 

Dance

 

Not counting any gear.  Also not counting the summer right now, just the school year. 

 

4 kids who currently dance.  Youngest will be starting soon. And we are looking at adding more classes and maybe moving to an academy as they are each taking one class there now and performing with it. 

 

Kid 1 takes 5 classes and helps in 1 per week

kid 2 takes 4 classes per week

kid 3 takes 5 classes per week

kid 4 takes 4 classes per week

 

$2000

That includes all the recitals and costumes too.  

There are 18 recitals

 

 

Spanish Tutoring

I just got them packages online so $340 times 4 kids

 

 

 

Things we are looking at adding back in again

gymnastics

martial arts

rock climbing

fencing

horse back riding

Piano

orchestra

scouts, or 4h

 

Edited December 9, 2017 by mommyoffive

[Julie Smith]

Running club, which is twice weekly is free. Technically I do have to pay for shoes, but sometimes we win them. The boys also often get free socks or gloves and stuff. I do buy lights and batteries for them so that we can be seen at night. 

 

Piano, is 35 dollars a week for both boys. If for some reason we can't go, we don't have to pay. 

 

French Board Game Tutoring, Once a week (less often since we are busy with month) I hire a teen to play board games with us in french for 90 minutes. This is for myself and the boys. We pay 15 dollars for the 90 minutes. 

 

Rock Climbing, we go about once a month. It is ten dollars for each both to climb for 90 minutes. Harness included. 

 

Teen Group, which is at the library is every other Tuesday and is free.

 

Swimming, About once a month we go swimming as a family. I think it is 13.50 for family. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Julie Smith

[Reefgazer]

We spend too damned much, LOL.  Well, actually about $810/month for both kids.  It breaks down like this:  $300/month swim for DD (travel meets for a competitive club are a fortune!), $175 horseback riding lessons for DD, about $25/month DS soccer, $300/month DD French lessons, $20/month on average for DS Boy Scout membership and campout fees, and $15/month month in tournament fees DS academic competition.  That is just the cost of participation, not the cost of soccer cleats, riding/show clothes/tack, and swim goggles/suits.

Edited November 15, 2017 by reefgazer

[Wabi Sabi]

Climbing team- $75/each (both)

Piano lessons- $12/lesson (both)

Waldorf class- $25/class (only the youngest)
Nature School- $50/month (only the youngest)
Foreign language tutor- $30/month (only the youngest)

So that works out to be $351/month right now which is actually much less than I've spent in the past, but I have one child now in public school so he doesn't have as many outside classes/activities as he did when he was still at home. Even when money is tight I've always been willing to pick up extra shifts at work, find random stuff around the house to Craigslist or eBay, and even drove for Uber a little bit last year to cover the cost of these extras for the kids because they're all things that I feel strongly about wanting to be able to provide for them. 

[historically accurate]

Extra-curriculars come to about $130/mo between 3 kids, who are in high school, middle school & elementary.

• Robotics team $140 in fees annually (x2 kids), 1-2 nights in hotel, so anywhere between $75-$200 -- $400-$500/year, so about $40 per month
• Tumbling $50/mo (1 kid) New this year
• Chess club $180/yr (1 kid) Dropping after this semester since she's maxed out the included lessons; only way to get lessons at her level now is private lessons with the coach for which he charges $20/lesson. Chess tourney fees, maybe $200/yr (fluctuates between 1 and 2 kids - all have played in the past, but only one kid really loves it). Grandmother has paid for the one hotel for the one overnight tournament kid plays in; I hope that continues. Approx $50/mo currently, dropping to $20 after Dec. 
• Cross - country (2 kids) club is free, but there are racing fees - maybe 4 races per year so 80-120ish/yr.

Co-curriculars are about $30/mo during the school year. 

• Art classes - I let them choose 8 classes each out of 20 options -  $150/yr (2 kids)
• Science classes (random 1-offs) approx $120/yr

We also do a lot of free classes through the library. The piano teacher stopped teaching this last semester, and I haven't looked too hard for a replacement yet due to finances. That was about $35/week for 2 kids. I'd also like to squeeze swimming lessons in there somewhere but haven't found any within our budget for the last few years. The youngest really needs to refresh her skills since she hasn't had lessons in years. 

[madteaparty]

I feel ya! We own three horses and they are boarded. Just their board is about $1000/each horse per month. And then you add in all of their tack and the many horse shows that my daughter travels to. :scared: Not to mention the vet bills, the farrier bills, the chiropractor bills, etc.... Yikes!! I honestly don't know how we got in so deep with the horses! I used to say that we would only lease and never own a horse. Now we somehow own three!!

I think you win with 3000/month in horse boarding alone!

And I feel so much better. We don't have many activities but DE and camps add up to a very small private school tuition i imagine.

Edited November 15, 2017 by madteaparty

[Joyofsixreboot]

Piano $60/month. Ballet $45/month. Various sports are $30-$40 a season. My kids only play received league or my son PS high school track. Rural midwest pricing.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[Ausmumof3]

TKD is about 150 per month for three kids with grading costs although there is also the uniforms. Kids are currently doing cricket which is $80'month for two kids. It varies though. Depends how much we want to have going on at the time.

 

Costs limited us more when they were younger. I regret that a bit and wish I could have made it happen. kids have given up some things because they wanted to try something else and we couldn't afford both.

[edelweiss]

How much are they? 

With ears kind of covered. 

 

 

How long do they last? 

 

 

Pointe shoes are ridiculously expensive!  I agree with Minivanmom.

 

Pointe shoes are typically between $80-110 a pair.  How long they last depends on how often someone dances on pointe per week.  My niece only takes 1 half hour class a week, so a pair for her lasts 6-9 months or so.

 

My daughter, on the other hand, dances on pointe 5-6 days a week.  This includes 1-2 hour classes, plus rehearsals many of the days.  She typically rotates 4 pairs of pointe shoes at a time (if she lets them completely dry out between wearings, the pointe shoes last longer, so she never wears the same pair two days in a row).  There are different tricks that she uses to get them to last longer, but a pair of pointe shoes usually lasts about a month at the most until they are "dead" and she can't use them anymore.  Sometimes she "kills" them in a week or so.  Ugh!  She wears Freed pointe shoes (about $100 a pair) which don't last as long as others, but they are the ones that fit her best and make her feet look the best (an important consideration in ballet!).  I can sometimes get a quantity discount which I definitely try to do!  

[MinivanMom]

How much are they? 

With ears kind of covered. 

 

 

How long do they last? 

 

Pointe shoes cost about $80-120 per pair. A beginner might have a pair last for 6 months or more. A more advanced student will go through a pair per month. Dd's ballet school just did a student performance, and some of the girls went through a pair or two over the week with all the rehearsals and performances. There was one girl who did not dance up on pointe much in the performances - because she is younger and less advanced - but she has a really strong arch. She managed to kill a brand-new pair of shoes over the weekend - even trading it out with another pair. As in she wore the shoes for the first time on Friday, wore a different pair on Sat, and then wore the first pair again for the Sun matinee, and they were completely dead.

 

It probably would have helped if she had 3 or 4 pairs that she was trading out so they could dry completely, but nobody expects that with a 13-yr-old who is only dancing about half the performance en pointe. And you want to be cautious about buying a bunch of shoes in one size if your daughter is still growing, because the only thing worse than wearing out a pair of shoes is outgrowing new shoes.

 

Yikes

 

I haven't even gone to adding up what the spending will be over the years.

 

 

That goes to my other question on this.  

Does everyone feel like spending all this money on the sports or lessons are worth it? 

 

Yes. For the arts, particularly music, absolutely yes. We don't do it for college admissions or scholarships - if that was the purpose then the money would be better off collecting interest in a bank account. We do it, because the arts enrich our lives. I wouldn't go into debt or spend money we don't have, but I would much rather spend disposable income on music lessons than on fancy vacations or nice cars. But I know we're fortunate to have the extra income to work with.

[mommyoffive]

Pointe shoes are ridiculously expensive!  I agree with Minivanmom.

 

Pointe shoes are typically between $80-110 a pair.  How long they last depends on how often someone dances on pointe per week.  My niece only takes 1 half hour class a week, so a pair for her lasts 6-9 months or so.

 

My daughter, on the other hand, dances on pointe 5-6 days a week.  This includes 1-2 hour classes, plus rehearsals many of the days.  She typically rotates 4 pairs of pointe shoes at a time (if she lets them completely dry out between wearings, the pointe shoes last longer, so she never wears the same pair two days in a row).  There are different tricks that she uses to get them to last longer, but a pair of pointe shoes usually lasts about a month at the most until they are "dead" and she can't use them anymore.  Sometimes she "kills" them in a week or so.  Ugh!  She wears Freed pointe shoes (about $100 a pair) which don't last as long as others, but they are the ones that fit her best and make her feet look the best (an important consideration in ballet!).  I can sometimes get a quantity discount which I definitely try to do!  

 

Holy smokes a month??

[edelweiss]

Holy smokes a month??

Sadly, yes. When she goes away to summer intensives where they dance all day long for 6 days a week, we plan on a pair a week. For a 5 week intensive, I send her with 8 pairs of pointe shoes. Last year she came home with 2 unused pairs, but the summer before, all 8 pair were "dead" by the end of the 5 weeks. Ugh!

[slackermom]

For Irish dance:

 

I think about $1,500 for lessons over the course of the year. Weekly, that is 2-3 regular classes and a semi-private class throughout the school year, plus 2-3 team classes, with teams practicing together for about half the year.  Also, another 20 hours of dance camp for one week in the summer.

 

In addition to lessons, we pay at least $500 in competition fees. Shoes are at least $300 per year, depending on growth. We paid for a team dress and a solo dress, annually that works out to around $500, which is low for Irish dance, but I usually buy them used and do our own alterations. Add in another few hundred dollars for tights, wigs, etc. This weekend we are going out of state and staying at a hotel for a big annual competition.

 

So, I guess the total cost adds up to about $250 every month, and it is totally worth it for us. 

[rebcoola]

About  $350 a month for Gymnastics including privates. Plus a 1,000 Booster and travel expenses.

Luckily the other kid is happy in activities through our charter and a few cheap city activities that are like $30 for the season.

[kiwik]

Are you including music lessons? If so 😱. Both my kids take weekly violin lessons at 80 dollars/ hour. So 160 per week!! Accompanist is 70 per hour, so 4 times a year for concerts adds to an additional 500. And DS's music exam was 550 dollars this year. I started tutoring to pay for the music lessons!!

 

Luckily for me, swimming is 1.50 per lesson, badminton is 2.00 per lesson. Sports here are subsidized for kids through the clubs.

 

Ruth in NZ

Not in Nelson they aren't.

 

Ds10: summer soccer through school $40 for 8 weeks, tennis $70 for 10 weeks plus club membership (tennis is much cheaper than I expected). Ds8 homeschool swimming $90 for 10 weeks (reduced from $150 for after school classes), gymnastics $110 for 9 weeks. About $35 to $40 a week for two which is a stretch but worth it.

Edited November 16, 2017 by kiwik

[DawnM]

When the boys were younger:

 

Soccer- $300/year roughly for one boy

Boy Scouts- $1000-$1500 maybe????   (This covered all 3 boys for all dues, summer camps, campouts, etc....)  

$1000 for misc. activities- one year art lessons, one year music, etc....

 

 

[Tenaj]

Well, right now basketball season is starting up so I'm just handing out money left and right.  So far:  3 boys x $150 basic fee is $450, One JV/Varsity warm-up shirt $40, boys are required to wear black pants, white shirt and tie to every game so that was about $150 yesterday including socks for games, compression shorts and shirts for under uniforms, and there's still a fund-raiser that I'll either have to sell 6 $25 coupon books or buy out.  That doesn't include buying season tickets for the home games for the rest of the family tomorrow at the first game which usually runs me about $100 or more.  I don't want to add it up.

 

We also play baseball in the spring which should end up around $450 this year for the four younger kids and includes buying out the fundraiser rather than selling whatever they come up with this year.

 

This year will also include the oldest two still at home (eighth grader and tenth grader) playing baseball for a high school team.  Last year that probably ended up costing about $300 total.  Those fees change from year to year so I'm not sure about that one yet.

 

That also doesn't include gas for our 12 passenger van.  Basketball and the high school baseball  practices are 30 minutes away everyday of the week for 9 months  or games which are up to an hour away.  I don't want to think about how much that costs us - LOL!

 

It's worth it to us.  We're thankful for the small private school team that allows homeschoolers to participate with no further requirements of classes.  It provides our kids with their main social outlet -  that's where they have their friends!

 

Edited November 16, 2017 by JanOH

[teachermom2834]

"Worth it" is just so hard to put an answer to for me. We did a lot for oldest with sports, mostly travel baseball. We always tried to pick a team that was not at the most expensive end but there was a lot of money spent on it for sure. He is a good D3 college athlete now. The sport seems to have opened doors for him professionally. He has been sought out be recruiters on campus who like athletes or companies that have an athlete from his school working there. It seems to functioning as a fraternity might as far as networking. He is extremely disciplined and good with time management and calm under pressure. All things he attributes to sports experience.Plus, he really enjoys it! How to put a dollar value on that, I am not sure. The biggest thing for me, however, has been that he knows his parents provided the support for him to see how far he could take it. As a kid that was always a standout and had some kind of extra ability, I am glad we were able to let him see how far he could go. For him, it was only D3. But he will never think to himself "I was awesome at Little League and I could have gone pro." He got the support to see where his limit was and I am glad we could give him that.

 

The same level of support would not have been "worth it" for the other kids for any reason other than to show we didn't favor their brother. I am glad we were not put in that position. The next two kids just didn't have that drive or aptitude so it kind of took care of itself. We spent a lot of money letting them try things but not the kind that comes when a kid specializes in a sport or activity in the middle school and up.

 

My youngest is my dd that is in dance. I feel like her studio overcharges for what it is and on its face is not "worth it". But the options for her to participate in activities are limited. She is not in school and our homeschool group is a bad fit for religious reasons so she will not make friends there. She needs the exercise or she would read and draw all day and I'm not good about getting her out myself. She loves it and it makes her feel good about herself. She does not have to drive or the physical gifts to make it a serious endeavor but it might be a nice activity throughout high school and have many benefits. So, to us right now it is worth it. However, she will not do pointe because the shoe expenses would cross that line for us. She is, by design, at a studio that offers many types of dances other than pointe. While it is available at her studio it is not emphasized (as in it being a big deal when someone gets pointe shoes) and many older girls there never take pointe and still have a nice experience. I am sure if my dd was more driven or gifted that would be a harder decision for us.

 

Long rambling post just to say that the "worth it" is just so hard to quantify. I sometimes get judgemental about what I see people spending on dance when they don't seem to have it to spare but I know people probably have thought that about my oldest when he was playing ball. For that matter, I get people who are judgemental about what I spend on academic resources. Everyone has to figure that out for their own family but sometimes it won't make sense to anyone else.

[Shellydon]

The only thing we do is homeschool classes, which is around $600 a month for four kids

[Kalmia]

$150 for studio art

$160 for swim

$185 for voice and guitar

[mommyoffive]

Sadly, yes. When she goes away to summer intensives where they dance all day long for 6 days a week, we plan on a pair a week. For a 5 week intensive, I send her with 8 pairs of pointe shoes. Last year she came home with 2 unused pairs, but the summer before, all 8 pair were "dead" by the end of the 5 weeks. Ugh!

 

I am having a mild heart attack over here. 

 

Do boys have pointe shoes too?

[mommyoffive]

"Worth it" is just so hard to put an answer to for me. We did a lot for oldest with sports, mostly travel baseball. We always tried to pick a team that was not at the most expensive end but there was a lot of money spent on it for sure. He is a good D3 college athlete now. The sport seems to have opened doors for him professionally. He has been sought out be recruiters on campus who like athletes or companies that have an athlete from his school working there. It seems to functioning as a fraternity might as far as networking. He is extremely disciplined and good with time management and calm under pressure. All things he attributes to sports experience.Plus, he really enjoys it! How to put a dollar value on that, I am not sure. The biggest thing for me, however, has been that he knows his parents provided the support for him to see how far he could take it. As a kid that was always a standout and had some kind of extra ability, I am glad we were able to let him see how far he could go. For him, it was only D3. But he will never think to himself "I was awesome at Little League and I could have gone pro." He got the support to see where his limit was and I am glad we could give him that.

 

The same level of support would not have been "worth it" for the other kids for any reason other than to show we didn't favor their brother. I am glad we were not put in that position. The next two kids just didn't have that drive or aptitude so it kind of took care of itself. We spent a lot of money letting them try things but not the kind that comes when a kid specializes in a sport or activity in the middle school and up.

 

My youngest is my dd that is in dance. I feel like her studio overcharges for what it is and on its face is not "worth it". But the options for her to participate in activities are limited. She is not in school and our homeschool group is a bad fit for religious reasons so she will not make friends there. She needs the exercise or she would read and draw all day and I'm not good about getting her out myself. She loves it and it makes her feel good about herself. She does not have to drive or the physical gifts to make it a serious endeavor but it might be a nice activity throughout high school and have many benefits. So, to us right now it is worth it. However, she will not do pointe because the shoe expenses would cross that line for us. She is, by design, at a studio that offers many types of dances other than pointe. While it is available at her studio it is not emphasized (as in it being a big deal when someone gets pointe shoes) and many older girls there never take pointe and still have a nice experience. I am sure if my dd was more driven or gifted that would be a harder decision for us.

 

Long rambling post just to say that the "worth it" is just so hard to quantify. I sometimes get judgemental about what I see people spending on dance when they don't seem to have it to spare but I know people probably have thought that about my oldest when he was playing ball. For that matter, I get people who are judgemental about what I spend on academic resources. Everyone has to figure that out for their own family but sometimes it won't make sense to anyone else.

 

Hmmm maybe I should be going that route?

[teachermom2834]

Hmmm maybe I should be going that route?

Depends on your goals. The studio my dd is at does not send kids on to professional companies, etc. But we just arent' interested in the pointe shoes/intensives route.

 

My nieces dance at a studio that does Nutcracker so they would miss out on parts if they didn't do pointe.

 

It just depends on your goals and tolerance level for the expense. It is recreation for my dd.

[edelweiss]

I am having a mild heart attack over here. 

 

Do boys have pointe shoes too?

 

No, no pointe shoes for boys!

[redsquirrel]

honestly, I don't even want to think about it, lol.  Right now I feel like we are getting off easy. We've got both boys in ballet and one in piano lessons.  But in the past we've had both boys in ballet and both boys in piano lessons and maybe TKD and also voice lessons or choir etc. 

 

And thank goodness no pointe shoes for boys, lol.  I get off so easy on that front.

[mommyoffive]

No, no pointe shoes for boys!

 

well that saves one.  

[LLMom]

$425 per month for 21 hours per week competitive gymnastics, $75 per month ( during season which is May-September) for select baseball and third child is in public school playing tennis so we only spend a bit on privates once in awhile. It's the gymnastics that kills us and thus the reason I work full time while homeschooling.