The cost of homeschooling......and what it's worth.

Since it's that time of year again --the time of year during which I eagerly await my new Sonlight catalog-- I thought I'd share with you some of the nitty-gritty details about homeschooling: what it costs, what that gets us, and what it's worth. If that thought bores you, well, I'll be back in a day or two with something more interesting : ) If not, read on.

First you should realize -- a Sonlight catalog is a coveted item among Sonlight users. There's a frenzy on the forums as we all wait, wondering who will be first, who will be last, and hoping we fall somewhere in between. People make up songs as they wait, declare "catalog day" a school holiday, rant & rave about how long it is taking, and toss out conspiracy theories about their mailmen, positive that said mailman is holding the catalog ransom, awaiting payment in chocolate chip cookies before delivering a certain piece of mail. Yes, we get that excited about a catalog. No, I will not admit which of the afore-mentioned activities I've engaged in.

With that out in the open, it should not surprise you to learn that once the catalog arrives, we spend hours pouring over it, eventually getting around to planning the coming year and even the many years ahead. It is that long-range planning I'm involved in now which prompted me to write.

You see, I just totaled up our cost for next year.

The number surprised even me.

$726.63 -- wow. That is, no matter how you look at it, a lot of money.

Or is it?

Okay, okay...I know what y'all are thinking. Yes, I admit, $700 (over! $700) is a lot of money. But, perspective does make a difference. I couldn't pay for even a semester of private school for one of the boys for that amount of money. Public school lunches alone for both boys would cost almost that much, in fact. So, comparitively speaking, it's really a small price to pay for the boys' education.

Maybe you'd like more info? You're asking me what, exactly, do I get for my money? Let me tell you.....I think you'll be surprised.

For my $727, I'm getting 104 separate pieces of media (82 books, 9 text books, 8 workbooks, 2 CDs, 4 Instructor's Guides, a DVD and a CD-ROM). That's an average of $6.99 per item.

Now, to be fair, I must admit -- not all 104 of those items will be newly acquired items this year. Twenty-three of the books and one of the Instructor's Guides (IGs) will be re-used items; items originally purchased for Timmy and next year being used for Caleb. Although, to be totally fair, I should also let you know -- to repurchase those materials would add $208 to my total.

Okay, that's the bottom line. $727 spent on 59 books, 9 text books, 8 workbooks, 2 CDs, 3 IGs, a DVD and a CD-ROM. And $208 not spent on the 23 re-usable books and 1 re-usable IG from when Timmy did the level Caleb will be doing next year. Pretty good bargain, don't you think?

If that doesn't convince you.......well, go back and re-read the previous post titled Homeschool Bliss. Or even the one from way back called Homeschool Chaos. Because on any given day, be it a day of chaos or a day of bliss, I am getting more than my money's worth.

Not only are we building a library of real books, books that the kids will (and do already) read over & over again on their own, but we're also growing little boys who will one day (some already becoming) be young men who love to learn. Who understand that the United States holds both a giant and a tiny place in the world. Who understand that Christianity is the one right way, but also understand a bit of how other people come to their beliefs; boys who will be well-equipped men, ready to take their place in the world when the time comes.

And so....the cost of homeschooling and what it's worth:
one year's curriculum for 2 boys......$727
boys who love each other & love to learn.....priceless.