Homeschooling is incredibly flexible in regards to how much it can cost. It can be adjusted to accommodate any budget. Some parents may have a large budget to allot to homeschooling; as such, they may choose to purchase all of the elements, both essential and optional, of one of the more expensive curricula. They may choose to take the more expensive field trips and outings; they may involve their students in several very costly co-curricular activities.

Yet homeschooling families on the other end of the spectrum can have just as rich of a learning experience; a lot of money is not necessary for providing a student with a rich learning experience. Granted, the less money a parent has to spend on their student’s learning, the more creative and resourceful they will need to become, in order to ensure their student’s schooling is complete. There are many different price points for homeschooling; here are a few.

The easiest but most expensive option is to simply choose a predetermined curriculum for your student, selecting all of the essential components and even some or all of the optional components. Many companies write curriculum specifically for homeschooled students, and their accompanying price tags vary; yet an all-inclusive, comprehensive curriculum is, imaginably, about the most expensive option there is. A homeschool curriculum is often comprised of what the manufacturer considers to be the essential elements—the elements that must be purchased—and the non-essential or optional elements—the elements that are not necessary, but can still add to the student’s learning experience. The cost increases for well known, well-established companies and curricula. You can make this option less expensive by not purchasing all of the essential elements; perhaps you will select a core guided manual, and selectively choose the essential elements as you decide. The longer you homeschool, the more you will discover that not all essential elements are essential. Your comfort level as the teacher will increase each year, and you will rely less on the guidance offered in the curriculum; you will also find out that your student tends not to use all of the essential elements, as well.

An inexpensive but labor-intensive option is to design the curriculum yourself as the homeschooling parent. While this approach might not be an option in the very beginning of your journey, the longer you homeschool, the more you will be able to determine what you want your student to accomplish, and how you will approach the learning. You could conceivably craft an entire curriculum from free online

sources, but great care is needed to ensure that the sources are credible. But, again, this takes time, as you can well imagine. The less you can spend, the less ready-made materials you can purchase, and the more time it will take to create those necessary elements yourself.

Homeschooling parents who can’t (or won’t) pay anything can opt to use a virtual charter school (VCS). While a VCS is not homeschooling in the truest sense—the school retains oversight, and mandates the curriculum and directs the content being taught—some parents see this as a viable option for learning at home for their students. The VCS provides everything that the student needs, free of charge—just like an on-ground charter school, as they are both public schools. So, a parent on a limited budget that selects a VCS does not have to purchase a computer, or books, or supplies, or anything; it is all sent to the home, free of charge. The trade-off, as mentioned previously, is that the learning path is not determined by the parent. Instead, the school considers you to be their student, and you must follow their curriculum, even the elements you may not approve of. You can of course supplement the curriculum with anything you feel it may be lacking, and you can even present troublesome topics in the way you may deem fit, but the material must still be taught, with evidence of the teaching displayed through artifacts and/or tests.