The Affordability of a Great Education!

According to a 2015 study of West Virginia homeschooling families by the National Home Education Research Institute, the median expenditure per year to homeschool a child in our state was about $500.00. The entire range began at under $200.00 and capped at $2000.00. Two out of three families spent less than $600.00 per child.

Converting to 2026 figures, we would expect that private West Virginia homeschooling families spend somewhere between $275.00 per child to a high of $2700.00 per child. The majority spend less than $875.00 per child.

This expenditure statistically produces students who do as well, or better than, students in the public system for whom the various governments (county, state, and federal) pay $14,500 per child. It is also well below the amount of the Hope Scholarship.

Because the past forty years of homeschooling has produced a vibrant community of giving, there’s an entire homeschooling curriculum, developed by a homeschool mom, that is offered FREE to everyone!  In addition, owners of The Old Schoolhouse magazine have developed an online curriculum that costs only $179.99 per year per family (through CHEWV’s link). That means that a family can homeschool their entire family for less than $200.00.

Veteran moms will testify that subsequent children use the resources and books purchased for the older ones. Traditional homeschooling with physical books costs less for each child after the first one. And the more experienced the mom becomes, the more that life’s opportunities become educational opportunities! The reality, in fact, is that we sacrifice for what is most important to us, and that sacrifice in and of itself is important.

Forty years have taught us that private homeschooling is not only possible and affordable, but it’s highly effective!  And when we are all working together, we are capable of great giving and sharing. Invest some moments thinking about, and being grateful for, the strength of the homeschooling community that has been passed down to you by those who have set the example before you.