How much does it cost to homeschool kindergarten?

Less than you might think. For kindergarten, the two real things you need to buy are a reading curriculum and a math curriculum. The two I use, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and Math with Confidence, were probably between $20 and $30 each.

What parts of homeschooling are free?

If you homeschool in Washington State, the letter of intent costs nothing: fill it out, send it to your local superintendent, and you're homeschooling. The library is free. Math manipulatives can be free too: Hot Wheels cars, LEGO, stuffies or colored pencils all work. And so much of homeschool is life school, like talking about science on a walk.

What is the hidden cost of homeschooling?

Homeschooling usually requires one parent to be home, which can mean a loss of income. It also costs your time and attention: homeschooling requires your presence, side by side with your child. That's a gift to them, but it's not always easy.

How Much Does Homeschooling Cost? (An Honest Breakdown)

Q: How do I avoid overspending on homeschool curriculum?

Buy less than you think you're going to need. Just like in cooking, you can always add more seasoning, but you can't take it away. You can add more books and workbooks as the year goes on if your learner is ready for them.

So, how much does homeschooling actually cost?

This was one of the biggest questions I had when we started homeschooling, and I wonder if you have it too. Here’s the good news: especially during the early years, homeschooling costs a lot less than you might think.

Let’s take this one step at a time.

What’s free in homeschooling

Getting started (in Washington State)

If you’re homeschooling in Washington State, it’s totally free to start. Your letter of intent doesn’t cost anything. You fill it out, send it to your local superintendent, and it’s done. You are now homeschooling. It costs nothing.

(Here’s my full walkthrough: how to start homeschooling in Washington.)

The library

Another free thing, and one I talk about more than I maybe should, is the library. Your library card is free, and you can use it as much as you like.

We love going on a weekly rhythm. You can get so many different types of books to keep your learners engaged, and it’s totally free.

Math manipulatives

Don’t feel like you have to go out and buy Unifix cubes or base ten blocks, especially when you’re starting out.

Use Hot Wheels cars for one-to-one correspondence or grouping.
Use LEGO.
Use stuffies.
We’ve even just used colored pencils or markers.

Use what you have on hand to show the numbers your child is working with.

Life school

Homeschool is really life school. You go for a walk outside: what can you talk about on that walk that has to do with science? You’re sketching something on paper with your child: how can you bring in different artistic principles?

Those things are totally free, and they’re right at your fingertips.

The two things you actually need to buy

If you’re starting out in kindergarten, here are the two real things you’ll need to buy: a reading curriculum and a math curriculum.

When my kids have been in kindergarten, I’ve used:

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for reading
Math with Confidence for math

The one extra I might add, once my reader is ready, is Explode the Code for phonics. That usually happens later in the year.

I think both of those main books were probably between $20 and $30 each.

One thing I’ll say about Math with Confidence: don’t skip buying the instructor guide. That’s your manual. It has all the instructions for the games you’ll play, and it’s a really important piece of the curriculum.

(I go deeper on each of these in how to choose a kindergarten curriculum.)

The mistake that made me overspend

The thing that really set me over budget at the start was getting excited and planning what curriculum I was going to buy over the summer, and then buying it all.

Then October would come around. Maybe that curriculum didn’t fit my learner, or I’d bought too many books, so we didn’t end up using it. That’s what really caused me to overspend when we started homeschooling.

So, a quick note: buy less than you think you’re going to need.

Just like in cooking, you can always add more seasoning, but you can’t take it away. You can always add more books, more curriculum, more workbooks as the year goes on if your learner is ready for it. But you can’t take it away.

What’s worth spending money on

A reading program you love

I think it’s worth finding a reading program you really love, and spending money on it.

The reading program is the foundation of your child’s kindergarten education, and of their education more broadly. Without being able to read, they can’t read the instructions on the page for math. They can’t read books about science or art or history. Reading is the foundation.

Extracurricular activities

I also find it very worthwhile to spend money on extracurricular activities for my kids. Both my boys play competitive soccer, and my daughter does gymnastics and acting.

It’s a very worthwhile monthly expense for us because it gets them active. My boys are collaborating a lot with their teammates, and it creates a good opportunity for socialization, too.

The cost no one really talks about

One parent at home

Homeschooling requires one parent to be home. I stopped teaching in the classroom so that I could stay home and homeschool my kids full-time. That was a loss of income for our family.

But it has been so worth it for us to cut back in other areas so that I can be home with them.

Your time and attention

The other cost is really your time and attention. Homeschooling requires your presence. It requires your full attention, side by side with your child.

That is such a gift to them. But it’s not always easy to give that full attention. (If that one’s hard for you too, this is what helped me most.)

So, to recap

What’s free:

Your letter of intent saying you’re homeschooling (in Washington State)
The library. We love it.
Math manipulatives: use what you already have.

What will cost you money:

Your reading curriculum. That’s the big one.
Your math curriculum.

And the real cost is one parent’s time, presence and, often, income.

Want to try before you buy? My free Starter Week is a real week, already planned. It can help you see what’s going to be the best fit for your homeschool day and how your child learns. Then spend the money.