Things I Can’t Get Homeschoolers to Admit (Part I)

UPDATE: This post? Not entirely accurate. I find myself spending less and less as time goes by and I figure out what I’m doing. Some points still apply, though, like books. Because I have no self-control where books are concerned. Anyhow, mea culpa.

There are so many questions a homeschooling family has to answer. What we’re doing is unusual. It’s natural that those around us want to know how we do it and why. Questions come from everyone–grandparents, neighbors, friends, the mail lady.

Especially in the first rocky years of grammar school, when you’re still finding the best path for your family, it’s easy to sugarcoat things when these objections have to be answered.

Who me, worry about PE? Why, of course we have it under control! (Or we will, as soon as we figure out how to fit in a karate class between music and Dad’s weekend science sessions. Quick, honey, call the Smiths and find out what they’re doing for PE before anybody catches on that we forgot!)

I have a few objections to the most common responses I’ve encountered to some of these questions. I’m going to do several of these posts, as I get the opportunity. I’ve got oodles of them, and I’d love to know what my homeschooling friends think. Maybe I’m just doing it wrong!

Today’s Homeschooling DLS (Dirty Little Secret): Homeschooling is (kind of) expensive.

One of the most common questions I hear from those considering homeschooling is “How will we ever afford it?”. Naturally, extended family members who aren’t accustomed to such odd lifestyles ask this question because they are seeking reassurance that we’re going to be able to do this without asking them for a loan to cover the cost.

I’ve seen it a thousand times. As soon as anyone raises this objection, the homeschooling community (God bless their well-meaning souls) circles the wagons around this dirty little secret and tells the prospective home-educator: Oh, it’s OK! Homeschooling is very inexpensive. Why, look at all the designer clothes we don’t have to buy to keep up with the Joneses. And we go to The Most Holy Place the public library twice a week! For some reason, we homeschoolers can’t bring ourselves to admit that it puts a crimp in the budget when the taxpayer isn’t footing the school bill. Unfortunately, this is not an inexpensive lifestyle choice, no matter how many corners we try to cut.

Books. Unless you’re a particularly talented and well-trained teacher, you’re going to need curricula. Lots of it. And you’re going to need supplemental books. If you’re not blessed with access to a well-stocked public library, your librarian may not be quite the resource you’re dreaming of, so count on buying many, many books of your own. (Pardon me, while I get down on my knees and thank God for libraries. I don’t want to completely disregard what they do for us!) You’re also going to need books about education—how to teach, how kids learn, dealing with special needs, etc. You probably will want to buy a lot of those to have around for reference.

Art, music, physical education, dance, calculus, etc. If you’re a supernaturally gifted person, you can teach all these things yourself, it’s true. But how many of us can provide more than one or two things off that list to any degree of satisfaction? If you want these things, you’re going to have to hire help. It’s just a fact of homeschooling. You could skip some of those things, and everything will be fine, but most homeschooling families are trying to raise the standard of education, not lower it. Count on shelling out for everything you can bring yourself to admit you’re not capable of teaching.

Field trips. Not expensive, necessarily, but the taxpayer isn’t footing the bill for gassing up the van, and you’re probably not getting the group discount.

Memberships and clubs. Again, this is something lots of people get by without, but I, for one, don’t want to deal with social workers and school superintendents without HSLDA on speed dial. Sometimes bureaucrats don’t understand the law quite as well as they think they do. Also, homeschooler’s associations, interest-oriented clubs, scouts, etc. are all things that may be necessary, depending on the family.

Those are just a few of the things I’ve found myself either needing now, or seeing a need for in the next few years. I don’t want to discourage anybody from privately educating their children. There are lots of ways to keep costs down–from thrift shops, to book exchanges, to do-it-yourself manipulatives. But for the average family it is going to cost thousands of dollars more to educate privately than it would to utilize the public school system. Per year. Per child. It just is!  It’s not as expensive as most private schools, but it is still not free.

I firmly believe that almost anybody can find a way to afford to homeschool, and it is worth every penny! I’d rather do this than anything else in the world, and I’d pay a lot more than I already am if I had to. The fact is, though, that there are a lot of financial sacrifices involved. We shouldn’t gloss that over just because we’re afraid someone might be frightened away by the cost. There is a reason my husband and I are still living in a rented home and driving beat up old cars. We’ve chosen it, and we’re not ashamed of where our money is going.