How Much Does Homeschooling Cost
I heard once someone on the internet say homeschooling is for the privileged or what they really meant, for the rich. I just had to laugh and laugh… and laugh. Not to make anyone feel bad for thinking that but because as I sit here homeschooling my children, we are far from rich (like far, ask our friends lol). This is an interesting misconception but I get it. From afar it seems the privileged housewife gets to stay home, not work, hire tutors, and hang out with the kids all day. Let’s go deeper though.
I can’t give you an exact number because everyone is going to be different. The considerations below are going to help you very easily determine how much it will cost and if you can afford it. I’m not going to tell you “here is how to homeschool for free” I’m going to give you the tools to determine for yourself if you can and if that will be worth it for you.
What are your core reasons?
To determine how much it will cost for YOU to homeschool you must look at the reasons you want to homeschool. If you’re looking for an education that will have your child speaking 5 languages and playing 3 instruments and to have tutoring to make them 2 grade levels ahead of their peers that’s going to cost money. If your looking to have your child well educated while also letting them live in the real world without having to be stuck in a classroom and you are willing to have wiggle room, your going to be able to control the cost much more. There is nothing wrong with either of these scenarios but you must be realistic with yourself. So step 1 is to write down your non-negotiable homeschool reasons and goals.
Time Is Money
Just like with anything else, when homeschooling, time is money. There are tons of free homeschooling resources but they are not all in one place. They are not setup perfectly for your teaching style and your child’s learning style but they are there. So just like people who coupon have to decide “is the savings worth the time to print and cut out and use” you must also decide are these free resources worth the time to gather, print, and use? Do I want to create this worksheet on my own or buy it for $2 on TpT website?
The answer is not cut and dry. It will be different for all of us. Sometimes it will be worth it. Maybe you are good at that and can whip it up in 2 seconds or maybe you enjoy doing it. For the rest of us, it’s worth the $2 to buy. This was just one example. Homeschool curriculums tend to be more expensive the more user-friendly they are.
The more expensive curriculums will have a script on exactly what to say and a lot of teacher support. The free ones have just as much quality in them but often take a lot more work and tweaking to work for your particular family. So step 2 is to determine, if I don’t choose to spend the money on something am I willing to put my time into making it work. Our family lands somewhere in the middle. I have chosen some curriculums on the more “expensive/mid-range” but I still do some piecing together to make it all work.
Homeschool Parents Work
This one is a big misconception. Sometimes no matter what you do, you may still NEED to work. That does not mean you cant homeschool. You do not have to choose between making ends meet and educating your child in a way you believe is best! Im not saying it will be easy but its possible.
This is probably an obvious statement but the more you work the less time you’re going to have to dedicate to homeschooling. Over the last 4 years, I have chosen to have various, very part-time jobs. These jobs were simply for myself because I wanted them but I used the small income to fund things like ballet lessons, piano lessons, swim lessons, and recreational outings for my family. I worked the graveyard shift at one job, I worked one full long day and schooled the other 4 days of the workweek at another, and still another I went in the early hours of the morning and was back by 10 am to start school. This is just my experience.
Some parents homeschool in the evenings, on the weekends so their schedules are opposite of the other parent so they always have child care. Some are able to take their kids to work some days and other various schedules that may seem unconventional but is totally doable. There is also the option of online schooling so your part is minimal, just a little grading or checking if the child has stayed on schedule. This option is great for older kids that are old enough to stay home alone
. Whatever you do I promise there is a facebook group for it. Full of parents in the same situation offering support eachother. I always reccomend having some kind of support group and FB groups are easily accesible to everyone.
I hoped this has helped you to see the homeschool world more clearly and how us homeschool moms do what we need to tto makee it work. Leave a comment below and let me know what you have done to make it happen. Also visit us over on instagram at lilysandleis_littlefarmhouse