Financing Homeschooling?

[SparklingGemini]

How do you do it?

Now I know you don't need a zillion materials and programs and things. But there are still supplies that are necessary, as well as field trips and group activities/classes.

So, how do you fit it all into the budget? Especially if you come from a household with a very tightly balanced income.

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by SparklingGemini

How do you do it?

Now I know you don't need a zillion materials and programs and things. But there are still supplies that are necessary, as well as field trips and group activities/classes.

So, how do you fit it all into the budget? Especially if you come from a household with a very tightly balanced income.

We just do what we can when we can. Supplies are pretty subjective in that what you "need" varies from family to family and child to child. We've gotten things like microscopes and games from Freecycle, we use the library and go to yard sales and book sales. We've gotten museum memberships as gifts and utilized their reciprocal agreements. Chain stores like Staples usually have "Back to School" sales where we could get paper and crayons, etc. cheaply.

Often, museums have free admission days/times which are a little more crowded but worth it if you could otherwise not afford to go at all. And, organizing a group field trip means that the admission price is reduced anyway.

For classes that normally meet "afterschool" (like art, gymnastics, etc.) and where the business stands empty during the day, it's sometimes worth it to speak with the owner about starting a homeschool class that meets during the day--you get a good deal, and they get an income during a time when they normally wouldn't have any students.

Sometimes you can barter for lessons (or the kids can do this themselves as they get older.)

And, sometimes my kids have just had to choose one thing over another due to money and time constraints.

[Mittsy]

Buy stuff as you are able throughout the year! homeschool classifieds is a great place to get all the homeschool essentials you need at a decent price, although they are gently used. We also use the library all the time for the books we need on any given subject!

[dotnetdiva]

I started selling my old books and photography equipment on Amazon when funds got low over Christmas. I joined up local network groups to find supplies and furniture cheap or free.

[briansmama]

In our area, the local ps schools request $$ from parents all the time for every field trip, celebration, fundraiser, etc. And, my children and I wouldn't be able to plan the field trips ourselves, but we'd still have to pay for them.

So, I figure hsing saves us $$ in a lot of ways! And I try to remember that although every enrichment class for homeschoolers that comes our way sounds so appealing, we really don't need them all to hs successfully. We try to limit activities to those that really meet an interest in the child. This way, hs doesn't cost us any more than if they were in school and we signed them up for enriching after-school programs.

We also use a literature-based curriculum so most of our books we use can be borrowed from the library and found free online. We don't spend any $$ on textbooks or workbooks of any kind.

One thing I do spend $$ on is a nice gym membership with an excellent kid's program. I consider this a hsing cost because I need the break. So, yes, things do cost $$, but it's all about what your family needs and how best to meet those needs, which is why I love homeschooling so much!!

[Reebekah]

i plan to use a literature based curriculum (Sonlight), which is expensive.....but I have 3 kids....so all my books with be used over and over again, and there are very few consumable items (as opposed to a workbook curric. that would require me to keep buying materials for each of my kids).

i get a lot of stuff from amazon and wait until i have $25 worth so I can always get free shipping OR i buy used for very cheap on amazon (like 1 penny and only pay shipping of under $5)

i use my income tax return to buy most everything i will need for the year (instead of trying to include homeschool materials in the monthly budget)

[jlpumkin]

My #1 money saving tip is to find what works and just do it. The grass isn't greener on the other side of the curriculum fence. Resist every urge to turn into a curriculum junkie. It's difficult and with so many fun learning activities and helps... We also use Sonlight which I intend to just pass down to my other child, one of the selling points for me. Also we invest in regular activities and try to discount. Volunteering at the Cooperative gives my dd free classes, fun field trips with girl scouts are discounted considerably, museum memberships. It means that we miss out on some of the Glitzy field trips or gadgets - but my children are getting a solid education with enough perks to keep it interesting, and nothing more.

[ocelotmom]

I see you're in California. There are a lot of charter schools around these parts that provide money to use for school-related expenses. This comes at the cost of having to abide by whatever oversite and testing requirements they have, but some are pretty laissez-faire.

Beyond that...

Between freecycle, giveaways within our homeschooling group (when curriculum junkies decide to clear out their stash), craigslist, and garage sales, I've had very good luck getting homeschool supplies either for free or very inexpensively. Thrift stores can also be good.

The internet has a ton of free resources, including lesson plans, unit studies, and printable worksheets on probably every subject imaginable.

Use the public library as much as possible. Not just for books... many library systems have videos, CDs, audiobooks, software, museum passes, and other resources available. Find out what yours has to offer that may not be common knowledge.

A big part of it is deciding on a budget and sticking to it, and making what you have (or can buy within your budget) work, rather than trying to find the perfect solution (AKA being a curriculum junkie ). Maybe a certain math program/boxed curriculum/whatever looks absolutely perfect... but if you can't afford it (either new or used) it's not perfect. Chances are there is a more affordable (or free) option that will work well enough, even if it isn't ideal.

[Mittsy]

Reebekah: You should look into Five In A Row, it's also a literature based program but it's much more gentle than Sonlight(I've heard), and it's MUCH CHEAPER than Sonlight. We use it and my kid's beg for their lessons!

[StormySar]

supplies: garage sales and back to school sales, and dollar stores.

Events: free events, suggesting people who wish to buy gifts instead buy passes or admission to local science centers or museums, etc.

[newcastlemama]

I agree with the pps. You have to just find wht works for your family. I just got Heart of Dakota kindergarten curric and we love it! I looked into others that were just way too much money for us and found something that fit our needs/budget and my son begs to do it!

We do lots of free and low cost things to that make life fun--library (and storytime there), hikes, LOTS of parks, projects at home with stuff we already have, gardening, cooking, visiting people (I have an extrovert ), free farm tours.....I find I just have to keep my eyes open because there are lots of free/low cost things to do.

[luv-my-boys]

If we didnt HS here we would be sending our children to private school as we did in another state. So I kinda see our expenses to HS as what we would be paying anyway. I purposely set aside money for things I know we will need or want in the upcoming yr.

Some of the things I've done are:

1. talked to my local librarian about community and library resources that might be helpful to us. I have a nice relationship with our librarian now that she knows we HS she tells us about things that might be upcoming or other teacher resources they are getting

2. I made a list of all the local museums/field trip options and checked to see when they had "free" days or called and found out if they have discounted student/HS days. Most do and in the bay area of CA I have heard from friends that there are lots of great options. If you have filled out the private school affadavit to HS in Ca you are entitled to a student discount (some places may have a minimum # of students for the discount though) that way

3. I buy used curriculum. We use sonlight and honestly I doubt that I would have chosen the curriculum if I had to buy everything directly from them. I was able to piece it together for a 3rd of the cost from auction sites/hs families.

4. if you get gifts from family and friends consider setting up wishlists on places like amazon, school teacher resource places and asking for memberships to places.

[AdalynsMama]

I haven't read it yet, but another hs mama loved the book Homeschooling on a Shoestring. She said it was filled with frugal ideas for homeschool families. Maybe someone else has read it and can give us a thumbs up or down?

[MaterBum]

I think our biggest expense are the hours I cannot work due to needing to be home. BUT I remind myself that some of that would go to some sort of after schoool care/sitter if I was working. And like others have said, there would still be costs for supplies, trips, etc. through the school, not to mention the need for more clothes (at home, no one cares if you only have 3 or 4 outfits you rotate over and over ).

We also keep expenses down by letting our kids only do two extracurricculars. For us right now, those two are an art program and swim lessons with a homeschool group. My dd1 would like to try violin, but the $ just isn't available right now, so she'll have to decide next year if she wants to drop art and swim for violin (the cost would be the same that way).

And like others, we use the library a lot, and we don't buy any expensive pre-packaged curricculums.

[CariOfOz]

Henceforth, I shall finance my homeschooling via winning the lotto REALLY BIG

Seriously though For each kid that went to school here (public) I'd have to shell out 250for uniforms, then 100each for 'classroom fees' (don't ask, I dont' know what it is lol).. so we are up to 700$ now. PLUS about 120each for book/supply packs (total 940) and the inevitable canteen (snack shack) wants, fund raisers (and in the 6mos my son was in school there were SEVERAL), lunchboxes, backpacks, specific school shoes...

In the end it'd be probably 1200bucks for items that we wouldn't normally buy, but would be required for school. So that 1200bucks covers all of our curriculum and probably then some! Plus I budget for special expenses (this term it's art & gymnastics ... 230bucks, I think I put it down to about 30bucks a week) But up until this year that wasn't possible so we found a LOT of freebies!

- library activites
- bunnings free kids diy classes (like home depot )
- free art gallery work shops for kids
-free days at museums
- our local botanical gardens!

For curriculum type stuff, I found a LOT of free or very cheap stuff on the web (enchantedlearning ftw!)

[PGTlatte]

For now, homeschooling is still saving us money because I'm not paying for preschool tuition.

Beyond that, I'm very frugal with what I spend money on. I simply do not buy expensive curricula. At all. I'm using the least expensive workbooks from Teacher Created, Critical Thinking, and a few other companies. When they are available as a pdf instead of a printed workbook, I buy the pdf. It usually costs less, has no shipping charges, and I can just use the pages I want and then use them again for our younger son. Most of the books we read are from the library. The ones I buy, I almost always buy used from Half.com or Amazon, or get them free from paperbackswap (I've been swapping some of my old books to do this). When I need to buy some manipulatives or other supplies, I shop around to find the best price for them. For basic school supplies, I stock up when they are on sale at the beginning of the school year. When I can find something for free online that is useful, I use that instead of something I could buy. Every once in a while - like once a year - if I spend $20 on something, that feels like a huge spree - because I almost never spend that much money on anything for homeschooling.

Our biggest expense is classes and lessons - gymnastics, a nature/science class through the park district, belonging to a baseball league, swimming lessons, and violin lessons. Those are all pricey. But we would probably be doing three or four of those even if they went to school, so I can't really call those homeschooling expenses.

The other expense is gas. We end up driving quite a bit. But I think if they were in school, I would probably be working, and I would be driving a lot for that too.

[RiverSky]

Homeschooling can be as inexpensive as you want it to be.

I know I've seen "complete curriculum" books in the last few days, huge things, truly, at Barnes & Noble for $19.95, for an entire grade. There is plenty of free stuff online. Once you join a homeschool support group, chances are they will have events during the year where everyone brings their extra stuff and sells it cheap or gives it away on the free table. You could even post to the group something like, "On a really tight budget right now, but am looking for ________, anyone have an extra, perhaps partially used copy that you'd be willing to part with or loan out?"

Field trips are usually free through our homeschool support group and reduced price field trips are always optional. There are quite a few inexpensive classes that cater to homeschoolers offered via local museums and parks and recreation, which is very nice.

In our group, we have quite a few "clubs" where parents get together and take turns setting up projects for the kids. For instance, we have a chapter book club, craft clubs, drama clubs, art clubs, literature club, chess club, 4H, Roots & Shoots, and more, all free (or incredibly cheap, perhaps small amounts for supplies). In the past, there have been math clubs, Spanish clubs, learn French clubs, study pioneer life clubs, history clubs, gardening clubs, etc.

I truly think that having a small budget should not dissuade you from homeschooling, at all.

[oceanbaby]

I see you're in the Bay Area - so am I. Classes can definitely add up, but there are ways around it. My older son is a super high maintenance, social junkie so we do a lot of classes, but it does take its toll on our finances.

I'm not sure exactly where in the Bay Area you are, but there are a lot of low cost/free resources around, you just have to start digging. First of all, almost all curriculum and supplies can be found for free somewhere. Online, freecycle, craigslist, etc. We signed up with a charter school, and get $600 per kid this year, which is a lot less than other charter schools, but still really helps. I used that money to order the kids rock collecting guides, a rock hammer, bug collecting kits, field guides, math and language arts curriculum, and paid for a few classes.

If you want classes for the educational aspect, check the rec center and local after school programs. I have also found that most teachers will work out a payment plan with you. If you are want classes for the social aspect, check out other options, such as 4-H, girl scouts (I am anti-boy scouts), Little League, swim teams, etc. Get to know your librarian really well, as they are a wealth of information. If you are in a more populated area, check out the other libraries too.

Check your local Open Space district for ranger led walks (we go on awesome ones, always free) and other educational opportunities. Get on the mailing list of all the museums and science centers - there are almost always free days or low cost days. Ask for memberships as gifts.

It absolutely can be done.

[heket]

You don't need a zillion things, as you state. And the internet is a great free resource,.. *if* you are willing to spend the time researching. Libraries are great for books.

We pay to participate in a local co-op -- not free, but perhaps in the Bay there are some resources (I'm in SoCal.) Our kids also participate in ballet and judo.

I think it just depends on your circumstance and what you are willing to afford.