The cost of education

People often tell me that homeschooling is too expensive. I never laugh when they say that, but I think it is funny. This year my son is attending a private Christian school. His tuition was over $5000. That did not include the nearly $400 we spent on dress code clothing. Neither did it include back pack, gym bag, football cleats, knee braces, wrist braces, class ring, letter jacket (he didn't have to have a class ring or letter jacket, but it was something we wanted afford for him if they were important to him), school portraits (which cost more than WalMart!) and class trip (that in itself was nearly $1000).

I'm not complaining about my son's education expenses this year. Letting him go to school was the right choice for this child at this time. Letting him play football was something that was important to him. Choosing to buy him a class ring and letter jacket was optional (as was the class trip). We did choose to go above and beyond the necessities so he could have the best experience possible.

But then I think about what we have spent on our Sonlight cores. All of our cores (except preschool) have been used at least 2 times already, most will be used three or four times by students in this family. A literature rich education is a gift to be cherished and an opportunity to build a great library. Sure, there are some consumable costs that won't be spread between multiple children. Math workbooks and handwriting books are written in, science supplies are used, but most of our Sonlight costs are divided, making them very reasonable.