Average Cost of Homeschooling in California
Some people in California have been turning to homeschooling for their children. But how much does it cost to homeschool your children in California?
To homeschool in California, it generally costs between $700 – $1,800 per school year per child. This cost includes school supplies, the purchase of curriculum, and field trips. You may also have to have your children tested so that they can go into public school, which may come with a cost of its own.
Some people may wonder why people are homeschooled. Why do people like homeschooling? Here are a few more answers to questions you may have.
What is The Cost of The Curriculum
When it comes to the curriculum for homeschooling, it depends on which one or ones you purchase. Parents could spend from $0 if they create their own curriculum, all the way to thousands of dollars for a complete curriculum. Some people come up with their own curriculums, which are completely free to use while homeschooling.
These curriculums often are created so that the children can be taught the way that the parents want them to be taught. Sometimes the parents will focus on math, English, religion, history, or any number of subjects.
When it comes to buying a curriculum, many parents will search for one that matches their child’s personality and learning style and adapt it to what they want their children to learn. Many times they will use the curriculum to supplement their own teachings or vice versa. They will take teachings from the book and add to it, or take away some things that they disagree with. However you do your curriculum, it is your choice.
Other parents will search for a complete curriculum that teaches their child the complete subject. These curriculums can cost a lot due to all of the research and time that goes into compiling the information into one large textbook. Sometimes, parents will be very knowledgable in some subjects, but lacking in others, so they will buy a curriculum for that certain subject and teach the other subjects themselves.
What is the Cost of Public School Vs Homeschool
These costs honestly depend on how you do things. If you are homeschooling, you do not need to pay for school clothes, whereas with public schools you do. If you are homeschooling, you do not have to pay for transportation to the school.
You will need to pay for three meals a day, instead of 2 or even 1 if your student is getting breakfast and lunch at school. If you are in public school, you do not pay for the curriculum. Whether you are in public school or homeschool, you have to pay for school supplies either way. Paper, pencils, pens, markers, or any other types of supplies.
The main cost difference is said to be the curriculum. If your child is going to public school, you do not have to pay for the curriculum, but if he is homeschooled, then you do have to pay for a curriculum or make your own. Another thing to think about is that if you homeschool, then you know where the money is going and can use your own budget, but if you are in public school and have to pay fees, there is no telling where that money is going to end up.
There are so many differences between homeschooling and public school, and there are good and bad about both, but it all depends on what you want to do and if there is anything specific that you want your child to learn.
Why People Decide to Homeschool
There are many different reasons parents may decide to homeschool. Maybe your student is having too many behavioral problems, or they are being bullied. Some kids are homeschooled because they have ADHD, ADD, or other learning disabilities that make it difficult for them to learn.
Other times, parents, like my mother, will homeschool their children because the students are succeeding in some subjects but falling behind in others. My mother decided to homeschool me when I was in 7th and 8th grade so that I could study math at my own pace and relearn some of the subjects that I would need for further math classes.
When I went back into public school, I got A’s in most of my math classes and was ahead of my peers in some areas. My mother also homeschooled my brother because he was falling behind in his English classes. He does a lot better now since he was homeschooled and is able to write with a lot more clarity.
My mom also wanted us to develop emotionally before she let us back into the world that is middle and high school. The stability that we had at home helped us to develop into better thinkers and to know that we did not need other people’s approval. It cost my mother a lot of time and money to be able to teach us like this, but she knew that it was for our benefit so she sacrificed a lot to help teach us.
Some parents will homeschool their children because they do not like what the public schools are teaching. My mother did not like what they were teaching us in history because they were leaving out so many major events that happened. They were teaching us a filtered version of the reality that the school board wanted us to see, not the actual events that have occurred.
There are so many different reasons why people homeschool their kids, though it can be expensive, homeschooling can be very beneficial and can teach the students a lot of what they may not learn otherwise. It can be a great time for them to discover who they are and what they want to be.
The schooling can be completely whatever the students want to learn, what the parents want to teach, and it can be at the student’s own pace. Though the cost may be expensive, the benefits can surely outweigh the sacrifices that will be made.