How much do you spend per year to HS?

[Sarah CB]

My budget is $200/month for each older child -- nothing for the baby until he is 4 (that includes all outside sports, art classes, co-op fees, field trips, etc, etc, etc).

 

Is that a ridiculous amount to spend for HSing and outside activities?

 

It really depends on your outside classes. At those ages, you'd be able to do fairly well with $500 per year per child for curriculum - and I would include buying lots of lovely reading books in that.

 

However, when it comes to outside activities they can really add up. My six year old ends up costing more than $200 a month just for his outside activities (violin, jr. orchestra, taekwon-do). We also add a session of swimming lessons per year to that.

 

I like separating the homeschool curriculum, books, and materials from the activities budget. I think it gives me a better picture of what "homeschooling" actually costs. Outside activities can really vary depending on how pricey there are and how involved your kids get. That can throw off a homeschool budget very quickly.

[MrsMe]

Mine is really, really high. My dh doesn't care and it's sort of my hobby too. We don't go on vacations or do much of anything else. But I only have one kid and anything and everything I can I put in my homeschool account that I buy just in case they change the law to say that we get a tax break. So if I find a reader, it goes in that account. If I bought a bulletin board item, that goes in there. Any book I buy that can be construed as a hs item, it goes in this account. Even if I go to Costco and find some good encyclopedias they go in this account. If I buy a book on organizing for homeschool it goes in this account. Homeschool devotional? Yup, in this account.

 

If I count the curriculum I bought it would be about one third of the total, and since I'm an amazon junkie, I'm not telling what I spent! :tongue_smilie:

[Blessedfamily]

People who have multiple dc are going to spend less per dc because they get to re-use stuff. An only dc really is the most expensive way to homeschool, ugh. Now I have a newborn, and he's far enough apart that many things will have new editions, meaning I'm starting totally over with him.

 

As far as our amounts, I've never kept track, but I'm sure it's close to what I put in the poll, and definitely higher than I'd like to admit. I buy all our books, so that adds to the cost. Over 50% of my cost per year is for history, which she adores.

 

/quote]

 

 

This is me. I had an only, and bought things that got used once. Now I have a baby, but these editions will probably be updated when she's ready in four years.

 

I spend a lot on living books which can be re-used. I don't include them in the budget because I would buy loads of science, history and fiction anyway.

[TCoppock]

In the past we budgeted $125/month for homeschool expenses, which included co-op classes, field trips, and books. It did not include DS music lessons. Right now we are very tight for money so that might be more of our yearly budget for the upcoming school year. Thankfully we have a lot of reference books already we can use next year. I think $400/month for 2 children is plenty with enough to save for larger purchases that you may want in the future, like a microscope or musical instruments.

[Spock]

I put 201-400 per child, because we tend to spend around 1200 per year, and with 4 children that's what it comes out to. However, nearly all of that is for the 2 high schoolers (finishing 10th and 11th grades this year), since we have a lot of what we need for the 2 little ones (finishing 1st and 3rd grades) already. Also, high school materials are more expensive, and we can't use the library as much at that level. (Also, I like to own the books if I can, in case we are living somewhere without access to a good library when the younger two get to high school.)

 

When I had two elementary schoolers we tended to spend around 500-600 per year for the two of them. (They are close in age, and could use the same materials for everything except math, grammar, and very early reading/phonics. Also, grammar and phonics were re-usable.)

[Lovedtodeath]

I have been spending around $100 a month but that now will include DS montessori stuff too, b/c I have bought ahead (2 years) for DD in all but math and writing.

[Jenny in Florida]

What is a good fit for my oldest, does not fit my middle ds at all. Yes, I could probably tweak it and make the curriculum work for him. I think it is more beneficial for him, to buy the materials that fit him best instead of him trying to wear his brother's shoes.

 

I have the same challenge. My two are three years apart and have very different personalities and learning styles. So, they are different ages/developmental stages when each one hits each historical era or subject.

 

For example, my son and I are gearing up for another run at the middle ages and Renaissance next year. I have some books and materials left over from the last time my daughter did that era. She was 12 at that point, but was working solidly on a high school level. My son will be 11, but just now transitioning to that level. So, his needs are quite different. I'm re-using the art history materials and a couple of reference books, but that's about it.

 

And I'm facing similar issues in other subjects. For example, my daughter did two years of Oxford Latin, but hated it and quit. My son is enjoying Hey Andrew and will continue. My daughter started Spanish at the high school level with Florida Virtual School. My son started two years ago with The Learnables, which is working really well for him. So, he'll continue with that.

 

The other thing I'm noticing is that I was much better at doing things off the cuff with my daughter. Her learning style is more similar to my own, and I could get by with fewer formal curriculum materials. My son does much better with other types of materials.

[Mommy22alyns]

I think I've spent around $500-600 for next year for Becca. This is just basic curriculum, not outside activities or various project/art supplies. Our library is pretty sad too, so I end up buying a lot of supplemental reading. I justify it by saying that Sylvia gets use out of it too and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get to re-use some of the nonconsumable things with her when she's ready for K.

 

Plus, we're saving $60/month plus gas expenses by having Sylvia drop out of preschool. Her "schooling" is nearly free right now.

 

In all honesty, even public schooling isn't totally free - there are always fundraisers, fees for PTO (right?), field trips, etc. etc. I think that strictly cost-wise we probably balance out.

[Jenny in Florida]

In all honesty, even public schooling isn't totally free - there are always fundraisers, fees for PTO (right?), field trips, etc. etc. I think that strictly cost-wise we probably balance out.

 

That's true. I've been doing some research on that very issue.

 

The figures I've seen suggest that the average cost of school supplies for the current academic year was anywhere from $25 - $179, depending on location and the grade of the student. That, by the way, was for "mandatory" stuff, not clothing and fun extras. I saw two sites that quoted $63 as the average across the country.

 

Obviously, it's not a one-for-one comparison with homeschooling, though, because we buy some of those supplies, too. And a lot of the fees and costs of public schooling are discretionary. Your child doesn't "have to" have that yearbook, for example, or go on every field trip or play sports that require special equipment. And parents who can prove they genuinely can't afford some of those fees can get them waived or covered. And homeschooling parents pay some of those fees, too, if they have kids in sports or participate in a homeschool co-op that prints a yearbook or whatever.

 

However, just as a nice, round number, I found one charitable agency that was trying to help kids in a homeless shelter. They estimated it would cost them $1,000 per child to cover the costs of sending that child to public school. That included basic school supplies, lab fees, sports equipment, field trips, yearbooks, uniforms (which some public schools now require), etc.

[Lovedtodeath]

However, just as a nice, round number, I found one charitable agency that was trying to help kids in a homeless shelter. They estimated it would cost them $1,000 per child to cover the costs of sending that child to public school. That included basic school supplies, lab fees, sports equipment, field trips, yearbooks, uniforms (which some public schools now require), etc.

 

Ah, thank you for that!

[Elm in NJ]

My oldest does writing online which is about $500 for the year and next year, he will be doing Latin and composition with Veritas. That alone is $1100. I am starting to outsource a lot in the higher grades so by 9th grade, I think we will be spending a lot on outside classes. That said, I checked $600-800 per child for the year because my 3 younger ones are together in a few things and I have a lot of stuff that is re-used.

Edited February 16, 2009 by Elm in NJ
spelling

[Dayle in Guatemala]

If I have a lot of the books we need, I don't have to spend as much. My budget has gone up considerably since we moved here and I had to buy all the books we needed because of the lack of a library. While I was in the US, I was able to homeschool for very little because we used the library and interlibrary loan system. It's also gone up quite a bit as my oldest dd hits the high school grades.

 

ETA: I spend between $200-$400 per year per child. But, most of that is on my oldest and it's really closer to the $200 end.

[coffeefreak]

I voted 400-600 per child, but I want to explain my answer:D

 

Over all, we have spent about $1000-1200 per year for the last two years. This includes all supplies and extra-curricula. Curriculum alone is harder for me to judge. I have been very blessed in that, we have borrowed a lot of curriculum, bought used, and sold what didn't work so it looks "flush" in our checkbook. If I were going to give you an estimate of what I would have to spend next year were I to purchase all the curriculum new, no library and no used, we would be spending at least $800 on curriculum alone. That's no extra-curricula, no supplies. I am blessed with a friend who has the Core I need, so I'll be spending around $300:hurray: