Do you set aside a set amount to use for homeschooling each year? If you don't mind I'd love to know what is average per child to spend on homeschooling stuff.

I am going to do 100 easy lessons and FIAR with my 4yr dd this next year. We are on a tight budget so I think this should be ok. I just got my Winter Promise catalog and the prices are getting me a bit freaked out.

Like any parent I want the best schooling for my kids, but on a students income we can only get so much. Maybe we can just use our tax returns!!

Before this year, with a single Kindy-1st grader, I was averaging $200-$300 on EVERYTHING except enrichment (swim, etc.). This year I'll have two 2nd graders and a preschooler (3yo) and we're looking at close to $1000 for everything INCLUDING enrichments.

We are using Winterpromise, which IS expensive, but I got most everything on the used market so I managed to cut the cost by at least half.



~L

Oh, I wanted to add that I think it's possible to have a wonderful, engaging preschool experience for very little money.

With kids that age, there's so much that can be done through just library reading and a subscription to Enchanted Learning.

Oh, and the free Letter of the Week curriculum online.

~L

I didn't spend much when the kiddos were younger. But, it seems as they get older it is costing much more. I plan on spending about $400 in just curriculum for next year.

We set aside $150/month for education expenses. I also usually use a portion of the tax return to buy something. This year I found a way (where there is a will, there is a way) to buy 2 Winterpromise curriculum - Sea and Sky and also Animal Worlds. I know that all of the kids will benefit from this purchase, and we will enjy our school year, too. :) I have also bought 2 math curricula because my kids need more more more math. So... this coming school year's expenses have already surpassed the last few years combined.

When we first started homeschooling, I had $40/month set aside - and I would save up for months to buy something I wanted.

For my 4 yo, I spent about $50 on MCP Math K, Rod and Staff preschool books, and ABC preschool books. I had bought BFIAR used ($15 or so), but didn't wind up using it.

When my son turned 5, I spent $110 on Hands On Homeschooling K, about $30 on Pathway Readers/Workbooks and Learning Through Sounds series, and $40 or so on the first half of CLE Math 1 (which we only used 2 units, then switched to Singapore 1A- $25 or so).

This year I decided to go for broke (LOL), and for grade 1 we will be doing WP's Animals and Their Worlds with WP LA1 and MCP Math A. I spent about $600, but that included materials for grades 1, 2 and future K for my youngest. (so I would say the average for the one grade level was probably $500). Included in that total is WP's Chess Elective, I Can Do All Things Art and God Made Music (these were just splurges because I wanted to). I did snatch up a used text materials package for the AW, but paid full price for the IG and consumables. I guess I would have spent like $350 without all my splurges.

Were it not for the fact I want to do the I'm Ready To Learn theme with my youngest next year and we are doing better money-wise, I'd be spending much less next year (2008-9). I am using Paperbackswap/Bookmooch and picking up other used books piecemeal all along for AS1, IRTL and World Around Me science. I found the AS1 DK Encyclopedia on Ebay brand new for $9! Shopping around is proving to be very fun since I am not pressed for time.

*** I wanted to add that this is a DROP IN THE BUCKET compared to Christian school tuition here.. $4000 per child per year. And Abeka's DVD program for K is like $900 and you have to send the DVDs back.***

I was going to set aside a fair amount for the convention (we have another one in August :rolleyes: ), but that will depend on DH's job. I think for a little person, FIAR alone is enough, and a wonderful, inexpensive choice.

You don't have to buy a fancy curriculum to do a good job. You mostly just need to be there, involved with the kids, and getting them involved in the world. Really.

we budget $500 per year. we take out $45 per month for education expenses. we expect that amount to go up as we start griff and scout -- right now that is just for tucker (with a few things for griff thrown in)

I was going to set aside a fair amount for the convention (we have another one in August :rolleyes: ), but that will depend on DH's job. I think for a little person, FIAR alone is enough, and a wonderful, inexpensive choice.

You don't have to buy a fancy curriculum to do a good job. You mostly just need to be there, involved with the kids, and getting them involved in the world. Really.

That's how I feel for now, but when I look to the future I get a bit worried. This is my lesson constantly, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW!


I really appreciate everyone sharing. I think I'm going to need to start budgeting for next year, that WP looks really cool!!

The curriculum for my 4 & 6 yo dd's isn't that much. I just need math-u-see for Hannah and I should be ready for next year. I bought "cooking up world history," so I'll use that as a base for history/geography with them. I have tons of reading and writing materials and we'll do some science experiments that shouldn't cost me too much.

However, my 16yo dd's curriculum is a whole 'nother story! Between the $300 that goes to NARS for her record keeping, etc., and the study books and reg. $ for her PSAT and SAT, along with the regular curriculum that she needs, I'm guessing the next year will be a little over $1000 for her. Well, unless I get get her dual-enrolled in a few classes, but the local comm. college isn't very well educated on homeschoolers and dual-enrollment. I'm not sure it's a battle I want to fight, either. So I'll need to get her math, science, social studies, English, and an elective or two. We already have Rosetta Stone for Spanish, but I need to buy the test booklet for the 2nd level.

Do I sound slightly stressed out about my 11th grader? ;) I'm getting more gray hairs by the day.

I am SO blessed to have used curriculum sales eery year, a homeworks business to use and GREAT yard sales. With all that I have a small budget for a 1 st grader and a preschooler. We do Classical and it can get expensive, but also it can be done chealpy if you know how to. :o)
Also, the on line used curriculum sales are great!

I spend between 600-800 a year on curriculum every year. The first few years of homeschooling was expensive since I had nothing. Then for a few years it was less, but now that I have 3 school age kids it's back to more like 800+.

I don't add in classes and field trips. I figure those thing we'd be doing even if we weren't homeschooling.

Did you get your 100 EZ book yet? Cause you if you don't, I will send you mine. I tried it a couple years ago and it just didn't work out for me and now we are using something else.


I think you can do things as inexpensively as you want - WP, if you buy the full sets, is pretty expensive. Like Snowhite mentioned above I tend to compare what I'm spending to the cost of private school tuition - which, where I live is nearly $6K per child per year. I spent quite a bit for this next year but I'll be schooling 2-3 kids and I didn't have much so I really had fun using some of our tax return on a lot of the fun things I wanted (art curric, phonics games, math manipulatives, chess program, lego education stuff etc) and on the WP programs we wanted to do and then basics like LA and math. Even with going all-out it was a fraction of what private school would cost for 2 kids full time and 1 kid to go to preschool. I shouldn't need nearly as much for the following couple years since I got so much this year.

Do you have a library available? I think a good library can help so much!

I plan to spend around $500 total for the upcoming school year(we start
August 15th).

[QUOTE=lovinmybabies;2553774]Did you get your 100 EZ book yet? Cause you if you don't, I will send you mine. I tried it a couple years ago and it just didn't work out for me and now we are using something else.


QUOTE]

Thanks for your very generous offer!! I actually got a copy off of Freecycle. I think that we will be setting a good chunk of our tax return for homeschooling next year!! That will be super fun!

I have not developed a budget yet...but I need to. Next year I need to go to the convention on a cash-only system. I imagine we will work out quite a few quirks in the coming year (first official year of homeschool).