Why Would You Think That?

I spend a good deal of time answering questions about homeschooling, even when we just stop into the grocery store for milk! Two of my most hated questions/statements have got to be:

1. You guys much be rich! How much do all those books cost anyways?
2. I'd never have the patience for that! You must be a saint! How do you not lose your temper?

Well... do you want to know a secret the truth? I DO lose my temper. I get frustrated and angry just like everyone else does. I made a promise to myself not to yell for 365 days. Has it happened yet? Nope. Have I made it more than 15 days yet? Nope. But every time I fail I start over. One of these times I'll make it.

I'm no saint. I lose my patience with my children from time to time although I try not to do it when we're working on our school lessons. It doesn't help them to learn if I'm frustrated and trying to teach them. We do A LOT of "getting the wiggles out" breaks. I stick to routine as much as possible.

We have good days and bad days each week. More good now than bad, but the bad days are still there. I've never thought more than for a split-second about returning the children to public school and most of the time when that thought enters my head now it's because my back hurts along with my head and the kiddos are going bonkers. I thought about it off and on for almost the entire first year we homeschooled. Homeschooling is not easy when you first start doing it and I try not to give the impression that it is. But, like anything else worth doing, if you keep at it eventually it will "click".

As for being rich? HAH! I wish! Our family is on a strict limited budget. What we get at the beginning of the month is our main income and must last all month long. After paying our bills each month we don't have a whole lot of wiggle room for "fun" stuff. We budget. We plan. We scrimp. We save. We accept gifts from family and friends when it comes to the kids. My mother (Noni) gave the children the laptops you see them with and the LeapPad Ultra. Only the LeapPad was new those laptops were her old ones. She's helped us with books for the children as well as many other things.

I use many online FREE resources. This year we're doing almost all of our science and math from free resources that I've found online. And supplementing our language arts, math, health, and art with those same resources.

Homeschooling can get expensive. Anything can. And when you open that page on your browser (the one that says "add to cart") or flip through that catalogue that they so kindly sent you for free.... all those extra things are so very tempting. We all want the best for our children but none of us should go broke trying to give them it.

This year (so far) the total cost for us to homeschool three children has been *drum roll* $265. That's it. 9+ books bought, a few learning games for the computer, and our basic supplies. It won't reach over $500 even with our catechism classes. And all of those books were purchased new this year from ABeka. No, currently we are NOT doing their accredited program (I'll talk more about accredited programs and if I think their necessary at another time). I don't buy the teachers manuals, answer keys, extra worksheets, or lesson plans. I sit down and make my own lesson plans and go through each question after the kiddos are finished with their lesson and grade their papers by finding the answer myself. When they begin a subject I don't know much about or do not do well at then I will most likely buy an answer key.

My method of planning and grading takes time out of my day EVERY day. However, to be able to afford to homeschool my children I must keep the cost of doing so down to something we can manage.

Not all homeschoolers have a lot of money. We're not all saints. We lose our patience. In short we're like everyone else except for the fact that we teach our children the lessons they learn "schooling" at home.

Have you had any irritating questions or comments lately? I'd love to hear about them! Please, feel free to share either in the comments here or on our Facebook page Homeschool Camper