Cost to homeschool 7th grade an up

[Josie]

Do you find is costs more to homeschool 7th grade and up?

 

What do you spend?

 

Do you use online classes?

 

Do you use co-ops?

 

Do you think the costs are different for children who you know are college-bound verses not?

 

Please include the cost for classes and books.

 

I can tell you that the options I am looking at are very expensive.

Edited February 16, 2009 by Josie
To add a question and a statement.

[SonshineLearner]

For us, we like Classical Conversations. I direct a program in Oregon, and while I can tell you that we need to supplement to give us a well rounded education, the Challenge programs (for grades about 7-12) are worth it for the interaction and friendships that my daughter has there.

If I didn't want to do that, or if it's not available, I would check out a Omnibus Coop. I think I would be very happy with that, too!

With both of these options, the tutor makes a lot of difference. That being said, even if I had to help the student along more than I wanted to...Challenge fills a slot for my daughter that other options do not.

 

Carrie;-)

PS. I think that Challenge is about $1200 a year + books. It runs once a week, all day, for 30 weeks.

I saw on VP, at one point, that they had a spot for coops...Don't know it they still do.

[Melissa in Australia]

the money is spent buying curriculum books. so it will only be expensive for the first child. the books will be passed on to the younger ones (mostly)

I don't use any online classes or co-ops . co-ops are not avalable where I live.

[Laura K (NC)]

My three boys are taking science classes that run 400-500 each. Textbooks are not that expensive, and except for the periodic large purchase (like a good microscope), we don't spend that much money otherwise. Sports, sports equipment, camps and music/art lessons aren't included in my poll choice (500-1000), because we would have those even if our kids went to public/private school.

 

I don't (and won't) rely on co-ops for education for my kids, so my estimate doesn't include those.

[Kareni]

Our first year of homeschooling was 7th grade, and we spent about $20. (That is not a misprint; it says twenty.) We were on a very tight budget. We used the library for the most part, and I picked up some books at thrift stores and used curriculum sales.

 

This year, my twelfth grader is taking classes at the community college, as well as a PA Homeschoolers class, and also some classes at a resource center for homeschoolers. Our total this year is in the thousands of dollars primarily due to the cost of community college classes. If we had had another tight budget this year, things would have been different. I have no doubt though that it could have been done and that she would be learning a great deal.

 

All this to say that costs can vary significantly.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mamaof2andtwins]

Yes, I find that it is more expensive to homeschool the older children. For us it is really just 9th grade and up. I didn't face the larger price tags until my oldest started 9th grade this year. Up until this year the highest amount of money that I had laid out for a single curricula was $75. This past year it was $195.

 

I just sat down and did my nearly final plan for next year last night. I figured out all the costs. My son will cost me a minimum of $800.

 

My son will most likely be taking a biology class that is being offered by a local science teacher. That will cost me about $300, but I think it is worth my sanity to pay her to teach the class. we do not do any on-line courses at this point.

 

All of my children are in a gym and swim program, but we no longer attend a co-op. I didn't include the gym in the price range I selected. Two of my children play hockey, and I didn't include that either. Nor did I include the horseback riding lesson, horse lease or anything related to riding. Also we have one child in the life styles 4-H group. That costs me nearly $300 per year, but I didn't include that either.

 

My 10th grade costs and classes looks like this.

 

Math $185

Biology class $300

History $100

English $182-200 (I haven't worked out some details there) The writing curriculum will be used by all 4 children, so that spreads out the expense some.

Foreign language ? I am undecided here

 

Jennie

[Pamela H in Texas]

I think it depends. I was waffling between the under $500 and the $500-1000 because most years, I would guess, I'm in the $400-600 range. That includes co-op, private school and college courses though. That stuff adds up. Math is probably our most expensive home subject (well, except the year we bought the microscope).

[JFSinIL]

It depends - I would need to buy a "teacher in a can" math program like Chalkdust since I am a doofus with numbers. That can jack up the cost of an education several hundred dollars. I saved my Videotext from an older child to use with the youngest....and it was NOT a good fit and I had to buy Chalkdust anyway.

 

Before anyone asks - I sold the VT last week. Won't be selling CD until she is done with it at the end of summer. ;)

[outtamyshell]

You make the investment in time or money. Otherwise you sacrifice qualify. I started out believing that you could get a quality education for very little money. I was thinking $500/year max. But we've had the best experiences with classes that I've spent more money on. Now I don't even blink an eye at spending $500 on a course and $100+ for the books. I'm a single mom working full time. So, obviously, time is a premium for me. And the courses I pay this much for are college courses, hard to find stuff like Latin III, and private tutors for the subjects where DD requires additional help.

 

I whole heartedly agree with the endorsement for the Classical Conversations Challenge program. It is well worth the money. Cheaper than private school and you still have the flexibility of being the homeschool mom. I modify assignments and schedules to meet our needs. And yet I don't have to relearn Biology, Chemistry, Algebra II, etc. They even had a formal 'Protocol' night this month. The people there are wonderful. I would say CC is the biggest blessing we've had in our life in the last 10 years. Really. I wish we would have started homeschooling in 7th grade so DD could have progressed through the curriculum as designed. But I had no idea when dd was in 7th grade that our family of two could manage to homeschool when dd was that young. With CC I think we could have.

[In The Great White North]

We did a PA Homeschoolers course this year, which is the only reason it's over $100. His textbooks were used (old enough to be <$5) and he's not into art supplies. He bought his own computer a few years ago.

 

I do not count anything he did in school or would do if he went back to school (swimming, BS, CAP, SAT/AP tests, etc).

 

It will be higher next year, as I will have two high schoolers, and one will want to take German and the first one is leaning more and more toward DVDs.

[Miss Marple]

I think the cost goes down with each subsequent student one has going through those upper level years. I spent a LOT of money when my oldest was entering high school (really around 8th grade), but those resources have been re-usable with all my younger kids which has made the whole expenditure very cost effective. So now I would say that I spend $200 or less per year per each subsequent child. But the initial expenditure was probably around $1000-$1500. We purchased a lot of Teaching Company dvds, reference materials, books for various programs (WVWW, Great Books, etc.) which have been used by all the kids. This, of course, doesn't include private music lessons or sports.

[lllll]

Do you find is costs more to homeschool 7th grade and up?

 

What do you spend?

 

Do you use online classes?

 

Do you use co-ops?

 

Do you think the costs are different for children who you know are college-bound verses not?

 

Please include the cost for classes and books.

 

I can tell you that the options I am looking at are very expensive.

 

 

Honestly, I can't remember how much money I've spent on curr over the years. Too much, I'm sure. But most of it wasn't spent on 'educating' per se. More on trying to find a curr that we liked, and wasn't all fluff, smoke and mirrors.

 

We've never done online, co-op, outsourcing, etc. Just stayed home and did school.

 

Obviously, it cost more for the first dc than the fifth dc. And one of the wisest investments for our hs'ing has been a copier. ;)

 

We've given our dc the same ed - college bound or not - so not sure what you mean by that - unless you're talking about SAT or ACT type testing?

 

I think it can cost as little or as much as you want it to cost. A lot of it depends on your confidence level. At this point, I'm almost willing to say that I could teach using only my library card (and maybe my copier ;)). But, then, I already know which books I'd use, whereas, when I was beginning hs'ing, I didn't. Live and learn, I suppose....

[Gwen in VA]

You make the investment in time or money.

 

I agree strongly with this statement!

 

We have chosen to do lots of online classes, which do cost $$$$. For us, online classes have worked wonderfully.

 

I think part of the beauty of homeschooling is that we can all try to do what works for us and our unique family situations. Some do primarily home-based learning even in high school; some outsource heavily. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

 

One of the things I love about this board is that we all approach this thing called "homeschooling" quite differently. I have learned so much from listening to all of you discussing your own unique approaches to giving your children the best education FOR THEM!

[laughing lioness]

I aquire between $500-$1200 worth of curriculum a year for high school but I don't spend that much money. I trade, barter, rep, have curriculum given by suppliers etc. I did not spend any cash last fall but we had several hundred dollars of new curriculum in hand. Outtamyshell says "time or money" and I agree.

Edited February 16, 2009 by laughing lioness
missing 0

[tmkclscroggins]

For us, high school has been very expensive. We've chosen to do quite a few online classes. There are just some things that I really don't want to teach and would not do a good job doing them! (Science!) We also want our kids to take a few AP tests so we've gone the PA Homeschoolers route and don't regret one minute of it. One child does a lot better if she has to be responsible to another person. Another child gets upset when I critique his writing. Each child is different and each year is different.

 

For next year we are planning on using the following online classes:

German 3 ( OSU)

Progymnasmata writing - year 2 ( Regina Coeli) - may rethink this one

Latin ( memoria press) or Spanish Luna

Either AP Economics or AP English Language from PA homeschoolers

Possibly Algebra 2 from Veritas ( or Chalkdust)

 

It does get expensive but I think the outcome is worth it.

 

 

melissa

[Miss Marple]

Another advantage for us is FREE concurrent enrollment at any state university. This allows us to pick up advanced courses in 11th and 12th grades free.

[Michelle in AL]

Yes, for us it's more expensive because we use online classes.

 

This is how it breaks down:

2 Online classes total about $1100

Algebra 2 $85

Biology texts:$125

LA:$66

Omnibus 1 + books $150

xtra lit guides: $100

History: $40