Monday, June 27, 2011

Affording Homeschooling

I'll tell ya. This year we are really spending a lot more than we usually do. I've been thinking about how much it's going to hurt to drop that much money all at once on curriculum. I know I could homeschool cheaper. I know I could. A person can do a really great job of educating their children with no budget at all. But something happened today that made me realize what a bargain I'm offering my husband with our curriculum costs this year!

While searching for something online, I happened to stumble on a site for a private Christian school. It's not in daily driving distance from our house, but it's in our general area. Anyway, I was interested in how much it would cost to send the girls to private school next year at this place. (A thing I am in NO way considering.) Are you ready??

For both girls: $16,824.00

That does not include uniforms.

Are you kidding me? $8,000something for Sweetheart +$7,000something for Little Bit (after a 10% discount for sibling) + $75 testing fee for Sweetheart + $50 testing fee for Little Bit + $500 enrollment fee + $250 enrollment fee + $400 in some other fee........SIXTEEN THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY FOUR DOLLARS.

I will be spending $600.

See? It's not looking so bad now, is it? Yes, there will be other fees for field trips but honestly....that won't even total $100. Not even close.

But we don't live in quite that nice of an area. So how do tuition rates look closer to home?

School #2  $11,342.04 for both girls. Glad they got that .04 in there.
School #3  $8,620.00 for both girls.

Again, I will be spending $600.

Homeschooling rocks.

Have you ever looked at private school tuition rates by your house?

9 comments:

  1. Yes! $625/month per child. Not.Gonna.Happen!
    :o) I'm so thankful to be homeschooling!

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  2. Oh wow. I didn't even figure out monthly! And each school was different. Some let you pay over 12 months, some only 10.

    Yeah, between $700something and $1600something a month. So basically, another mortgage payment! And I only have 2 kids!

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  3. My oldest went to Christian school for preschool through first grade and then a private hybrid school for homeschoolers for his first 2 years of high school. It wasn't the tuition that got to me- we knew going in how much it would be and it made things tight but we could afford it. It was the nickel and diming every week. We had to pay for the field trips, and school spirit stuff, and consumable books, and book orders, and this and that. At the high school it was almost another $1000 a year for extras on top of the tuition and $500 book fee (it would have been more but I owned half the books from using Sonlight)

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  4. I wanted to send my 3 year old special needs pre-kindergarten son to the local montessori pre-school. It's a Christian school. But when I looked into it, it was $5,000 a year. For pre-kindergarten. For a THREE year old. That's crazy.

    He goes to public school and is in a special needs class that has been amazing for him, and I hope will be amazing for his autistic and disabled brother this year.

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  5. I've never posted before but this is so funny, the first time I ordered Sonlight my husband said the same thing...."it's cheaper than private school". And we loved our Sonlight, worth every penny.

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  6. Oh, but you just send out those TACKY letters (that the school gives you) to all your friends and family explaining that they can donate to the school specifically for your children and then take a tax write off. (PUKE and TACKY.)

    As for spending on curricula ~ once your youngest is using the curricula you purchased for your oldest, it does start dropping a little more each year. We're always spending on the eldest, but the younger three need less and less each year.

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  7. that is unreal! i remember looking into kindergarten for aj (not even required by nh state law) and it was going to cost over $6,000! and that was only 4 days a week!
    homeschooling really DOES rock!!

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  8. Q, WHAT???? Seriously? That's worse than fund raisers. Oh my word.

    And yes, I had thought about that. Basically, I have 2 kids so I'm really only spending $300. :)

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  9. We spent $630 this year. Those books are about to ship out to me as well. Squeee, I can't wait!

    I remember when we first started homeschooling and what I spent on Eli seemed so expensive. This year when I ordered for each boy and ordered every las thing I wanted for that price I looked at DH and he and I smiled. We now know what they get for that price. In a years time they will have learned so much and for some reason we feel we are stealing their education at just $600 dollars a year for both!

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I don't get to talk to a lot of actual grown-ups during the day, so your comments make me really happy! :)