“I Can’t Afford to Homeschool”

 

 

“Some of us aren’t blessed to be able to afford to homeschool.”

I still remember that quote being lobbed at me like a hand grenade.  I remember thinking, “I can’t afford it either.”

And my family couldn’t many times.  But...  we also couldn’t afford not to.

Homeschooling has costs.  Even if you use a free curriculum, there are costs.  There are costs associated in public school, too.  Very rarely is anything actually free.  Money was tight for us so often that I worried I might not be able to afford what was needed to provide my children a quality education.  We endured unemployment, lost nearly everything materially we had at one point, had health crisis after health crisis...  and still we plodded on.

I get aggravated when I hear “we can’t afford it.”  God called me to homeschool in 2008.  I argued with God for months.  I approached my husband about it, sure he would be totally against it, and was shocked when he didn’t outright shut me down.  I researched and was shaking the day I wrote the letter to the school to pull my first student out of public school. 

Homeschooling had a cost. 

Financially, it cost me.  There were some free items online, but twelve years ago, the options were definitely more limited.  The first year I bought some used, a couple new workbooks, and hit the library.  

Some years I could purchase curriculum new.  I usually earmarked a chunk of our tax return for purchases.  But that money could have been used in so many other places.  Instead, there was sacrifice.

We did without.  There weren’t many planned vacations...  or even fancy field trips.  There was a lot of Hamburger Helper for dinner.  We made bread homemade at times.  I grew a garden.  We hit yard sales and thrift stores for clothes.  While friends were going to movies, we had movie nights in with library rentals.  When friends were buying new cars, we budgeted gas money for limited trips to town.  When others were going out to eat, we were gathering around our table at home to another meatloaf or more spaghetti.

But God called me to homeschool.  And now, thirteen years later, that calling hasn’t left. 

I know single mothers that homeschool.  I know working mothers arranging schedules and/or working from home to homeschool.   Some use public school resources.  Some use free curriculum (such as Easy Peasy homeschool) to limit expenses.  Some borrow curriculum from other families.  Some use the library and write their own lesson plans.

I remember, more than once, sitting down with a stack of thrift store books and composition notebooks to create my own “workbooks” for my child.  I printed off free, public domain books from Google books to use.  When I did buy, I often looked for some non-consumable books that I could pass down to my younger children.  At times, I would purchase the cheaper workbooks and supplement with library books. 

Where there is a calling, there is a way.  God will provide.  He may not provide riches or ease.  He may call you to spend your free time planning and placing a dozen books on hold at the local library, but He will guide and provide.  

It wasn’t easy.  It was work.  It wasn’t always lightbulb moments or complete joy either.  I had to suck that kid that hated to read into books with some twaddle.  It’s okay.  I made a lot of use of Netflix documentaries for a couple years to fill in the history studies.  I planned projects using books checked out from the library.  I read blogs and found free spelling lists and free book lists and free scope and sequence lists. 

We baked bread homemade to sell at the Farmer’s market.  I babysat.  We canned vegetables.  We did what we needed to get by so we could continue to do what God called us to do.  

Could I afford to homeschool?  No.  But I was obedient anyway.

 

It was worth it.

It was worth it to watch my kids learn and grow.  It was worth it to get to disciple them.  It was worth it to sit around the table and discuss the Bible together.  It was worth it to see the learning struggles turn into confidence. 

Should everyone homeschool?  No.  I can say with confidence that some parents shouldn’t homeschool.  And, there are even some parents that can’t homeschool.  But, there are more parents that can than have allowed themselves the option. 

Right now parents all over the nation have had to homeschool.  Covid-19 has changed many situations and parents have pulled their children for many reasons.  Many will probably go back to public schooling when the pandemic is over.  Some...  maybe more than some...  will stick with it.  They will discover what some of us have known for a long time: that homeschooling is challenging and hard work but worth it. 

Some will move past the public school at home mentality and delve into the world of Charlotte Mason, Unit Studies, Literature-based Education, or become eclectic in their approach.  Some will stick with school at home and their child will thrive because they can relax at home and learn without distraction or the pressures of the public school environment. 

My friend has three children that are grown.  She has stated that she is glad they are grown.  She couldn’t see sending her children to school during this time in history.  

I am glad we aren’t making big life changes for our remaining, school-aged daughter right now.  We already made that choice years ago.  The pandemic has meant a lot of changes in our lives, but our schooling is not one of them.  We just continue on, learning and growing, as we have for years.