What homeschooling costs, from a library card up

Anywhere from almost nothing to several hundred dollars per child a year, and more if you add paid classes or tutors. There's no set price, because you're choosing every piece yourself. A family with a library card, a printer and a used math book can homeschool well for very little. A family buying a full boxed curriculum for each child, plus a co-op and music lessons, will spend a lot more.

I'd be suspicious of anyone who quotes you one average number. The range is the answer.

Where the money actually goes

Most of a homeschool budget lands in a few places:

• Curriculum and books. Usually the biggest line. Math and reading are the two worth spending on first.
• Supplies. Paper, pencils, a printer and ink, science materials, art supplies. Ink adds up faster than you expect.
• Classes and co-ops. Group classes, a weekly co-op, sports, music, or a tutor for one hard subject.
• Testing or evaluation, if your state requires it at certain grades. Check your state's rules.
• Field trips. A museum membership often pays for itself by the third visit.

The cheap version really works

The library is the best deal in homeschooling. You can bring home a stack at a time, and some libraries lend museum passes, science kits, or even musical instruments too. Ask a librarian what your card gets you.

Used curriculum is easy to find. Homeschool families resell constantly, through local groups and online, because a book one child finished is useless to them until the next child is ready. Check the edition before you buy, since a teacher's guide and a student book from different editions won't line up.

And a lot of good material is free. Classic books in the public domain, free printable worksheets, and some very good video lessons won't cost you anything.

Where it's easy to overspend

You know the feeling in August. You've read every review, and the cart has a full curriculum for every subject, a science kit, and a planner that promises to fix everything. Then in October half of it is on a shelf because it didn't fit your kid.

Buy reading and math first. Teach for a few weeks. Then add the rest once you know what your family actually uses.

The cost nobody puts in the list

For a lot of families, the biggest cost of homeschooling isn't curriculum. It's one parent working less, or not at all. That's worth being honest about with yourself before you start. Some families rearrange work around a short school morning, some trade days with another family, and some decide it's worth the smaller paycheck for a few years. There's no right answer, but it belongs in the math.

What Arbor costs, if you're comparing

Arbor, the app we make, is $24.99 a month for your first child and $9.99 for each sibling. Or pay yearly: $249.99 for your first child and $99.90 for each sibling, 2 months free. Every child after your third is free, and there's a 14-day free trial before anything is charged.

Spend on the two subjects that matter most, borrow the rest, and let the budget grow only as fast as your family figures out what it needs.