How to afford homeschooling 💰
It's not just for the elite
Quick summary:
When families think of homeschooling, they often envision an affluent family who is in a position to hire private tutors and expensive extracurriculars to support their children’s learning.
In reality, according to US census data, the average homeschooling family is just as likely to be poor or near poor as any other family.
In this post, we provide a cost-benefit analysis template to help families compare the cost of homeschooling to traditional education (both public and private schools), share our favorite free and inexpensive homeschooling programs, and share resources to help fund your child’s education : company perks, tax credits, microgrants and school vouchers.
If you’re an entrepreneur or investor curious about the unit economics of homeschooling, this post is also for you.
In this post we’ll cover
PART I. Costs of homeschooling
🎩 1. How much does it cost to homeschool? It’s more affordable than you might think.
✌🏿 2. Two examples: A struggling single mom and an affluent family
💰 3. Common homeschooling expenses
🐣 4. Childcare: Why childcare is the most significant expense in homeschooling
🏡5. Costs of living: how much are you paying in housing to live near a “good” public school? How much are you paying in childcare to live far from grandparents and extended family?
⚖️ 6. School vs homeschool for affordability: How do they stack up?
❓7. Questions to consider in a cost-benefit analysis of homeschool vs school
📝 8. Free cost-benefit analysis template: download our free cost-benefit analysis template and enter your own numbers to.
PART II. Free & discounted homeschooling resources
🏘 9. Free local homeschooling programs
📚 10. Free and discounted homeschooling curricula
💻 11. Free online homeschooling programs
🍎 12. Free tutoring
PART III. Resource-sharing
💞 13. Swapping childcare and education
💡 14. Pro-tip: Reciprocate
🛟 15. Ask for help
Part IV. Funding sources for homeschooling
🚌 16. Getting access to free resources through public schools
🇺🇸 17. Government funding for homeschooling
🌱 18. Microgrants for homeschoolers
🗄 19. Company perks for childcare and education
PART V. Top jobs for modular learners
💪 20. Flexible careers
🚴🏾♀️ 21. Flexible freelance work
👩🏾💻 22. Remote work
💞 23. Shared goods and services
💤 24. Passive(ish) income
Intro
In this post, we’ll show you how to create a cost-effective, high-quality approach to homeschooling whether you’re struggling financially or are in a position to make a larger investment in your child’s education.
Homeschooling is more accessible to low and middle-income families than many realize. It’s no surprise that it’s considerably more affordable than private school, especially with multiple kids. Public school (though technically “free”) comes with its own rising costs: back-to school supplies, afterschool classes, sitters, summer camp, tutors - as well as more substantial related expenses such as renting or buying a home in a preferred school district.
Childcare is the most significant expense to consider when weighing the costs of homeschool vs traditional school. Curriculum is often available for free or a discounted price, but childcare requirements of homeschooling might mean changing to a remote or part-time job, the loss of a second income or hiring a part-time or full-time provider.
However, there are childcare advantages to homechool, too. Unlike school, which typically provides care from 9-3pm, nine months of the year, homeschooling also offers families the possibility to curate a flexible childcare plan aligned with their budget and work schedule. Many families working remotely have made this work through block scheduling: kids study independently in 2-3 hour blocks while parents work, hiring a parent helper or swapping with other families. Homeschooling may also allow families to move closer to grandparents and extended family to help with childcare.
Furthermore, homeschoolers have a long history and culture of resource-sharing, sharing childcare, curriculum, and other expenses (including clothing and food).
Last, but not least, there are many free resources available to homeschoolers (both online and in-person) that we’ll share in this post.
Still not sure you can afford this route? We’ll take you through a cost-benefit analysis to help you make the best choice for your family.
PART I. Costs of Homeschooling
🎩 1. How much does it cost to homeschool?
It’s not just for the elite
Contrary to popular belief, homeschool education is not that expensive. According to the NCES, the average homeschooling family is just as likely to be poor or near poor as any other family.
There is no need to fork over thousands of dollars on private tutors to have a high-quality homeschooling experience. Homeschoolers have a culture and history of resource-sharing and finding free and cost-effective educational and childcare options.
According to a survey of by the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, the average homeschooler spends an average of $600 a year on their child’s education. Time4Learning, one of the largest homeschool curriculum providers, estimates the expenses to be closer to $700-1800/year.
This is in contrast to an average of $864 that school families spend on back-to-school supplies. 20% of families spent over $2000 on back-to-school supplies this year. And it’s also less than private school (which can range from $5,500 to $119,000 per child).
This doesn’t include the considerable expenses of renting or buying a home, and/or costs of living in an area with “good public schools.”
And there are non-monetary gains to consider: having a flexible schedule, curating the ideal education for each of your kids, the upward mobility possible through through a curated education, spending more time together as a family, traveling the world.
✌🏿2. A tale of two families
Every family has a different approach to homeschooling. Some families have almost no resources, and others spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their children’s education, because they can and that’s what’s important to them.
A struggling single mom
We know a single mom on welfare (a teacher) who built extraordinarily rich educational experiences for her children piecing together free museum days, activities offered by cultural organizations, library activities, summer programs educational apps, internships, childcare shares, and co-ops.
She traveled abroad, doing volunteer work programs with her kids, benefited from government support (food stamps and affordable housing), and swapped childcare with friends.
She’s happy, at ease and her children have had an extraordinary education.
An affluent family
On the other side of the spectrum, we also know an affluent family (a prominent investor and entrepreneur) who hired 5-10 exceptional tutors for each of their three children, a head of school, family assistant, enrolled them in extracurriculars and paid for them to participate in internships with world-famous artists and chefs. All this turned out to be still way less expensive than what they would have paid to send their kids to the most elite private schools in NYC.
And frankly, it’s hard to say if the first family or the second one planned a “better” education for their kids. Both families had kids who completed extraordinary projects, developed strong initiative and a healthy sense of self, attended top colleges, and are now pursuing meaningful careers.
💰3. Examples of common homeschool expenses
Educational materials are relatively inexpensive. The biggest expense with homeschooling is childcare.
Many families spend as little as $30-40/year on their education-related homeschool expenses. According to Time4Learning, one of the largest secular homeschool curriculum providers, the average cost of homeschooling ranges from $700-1800/year. This, however, does not account for childcare (or the loss of a second income).
While homeschooling varies widely depending on the family, here are some typical expenses families might incur while homeschooling.
Curriculum: Costs of curricula can range from FREE for a complete curriculum such as Khan Academy Kids to $500/year for a complete curriculum, math, Language Arts, and other electives. Many free resources exist or can be borrowed from the library, purchased at a discount, in Ebay in free and discounted curriculum groups.
Costs: FREE to $500.
Educational supplies: Families may want to purchase supplies such as pencils, paper, paints, electronic devices and other supplies.
Costs: These may cost anywhere between $20-300.
Extracurriculars (classes, athletics, field trips): Homeschool classes tend to be less expensive than afterschool classes. Some homeschoolers may choose to participate in both types.
Costs: A year with three classes a week will cost between free (for skill shares and programs offered by libraries, museums and non-profits to $3000-$5000 a year/child.
Homeschool co-op: Some families drop their children of at a part-time homeschool co-op, that can be between anywhere between 3 hours a week to 3 days a week.
Costs: These programs range in costs from FREE (parent-led swaps) to $2500 (for one full day per week for a year)-$10k/year (for three full days/week). Scholarships are often available.
Tutor/s (online or in-person). Some families may choose to hire a private tutor, but it’s certainly not a requirement of homeschooling. Parents are uniquely qualified to teach their own kids, regardless of subject expertise.
Costs: The price of tutors vary widely, from $15/hr for an online tutor or college student to $150-300/hr for a highly trained test prep tutor. There are also many FREE tutoring programs, which we’ll discuss later in the post.
Special services: Some children may benefit from special services such as speech-language interventions, psychological services, occupational and physical therapy, therapeutic recreation, identification and evaluation of disabilities, and other special counseling.
Costs: Depending on your area, special services such as occupational therapy and reading interventions may be available for free to homeschoolers through their public school. In other cases, special services can range from $50-300/hr.
Childcare: Childcare is the most significant expense to consider when homeschooling. Homeschooling might mean the loss of a second income or the need to hire a full-time nanny. Fortunately, hiring a full-time provider can be less expensive hourly than a part-time provider.
Costs: Free (or loss of a second income) to $40-80,000/year for a full time provider. A part-time sitter (a few hours a week may cost $15-25/hr
🐣 4. Why childcare is the most significant expense in homeschooling
Unbundling childcare, socialization and education
When families are weighing pros and cons homeschooling (or designing their homeschool plan), we often suggest they consider unbundling “childcare,” “education,” and “socialization.” All of these are important for childhood development and healthy family life, but they don’t need to be solved all in the same place, at the same time in the same way.
1-1 Mastery learning is highly efficient, so most homeschooling families only need to spend 1-2 hours instructing their kids to ensure they’re way ahead of their peers academically.
Just as with traditional schools, the main cost of homeschooling is childcare.
Childcare, making sure kids are engaged, cared for, and safe takes more time.
To truly evaluate the cost of homeschooling, you’ll need to take a good look at the cost of childcare in homeschool and traditional school.
This is especially true for families with younger children. However, this quickly changes as kids get older. Homeschoolers tend to have a very high level of autonomy and naturally self-direct many of their activities as they get older. As we explored in our post on childcare, there are many creative ways to make homeschooling childcare free, less or equivalent to childcare expenses in traditional school.
In many places in the world, childcare is quite literally a foreign concept.
Grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings pitch in to help raise kids while parents work. It’s more common to have one parent stay-at-home. There are ways to orient. your life so childcare costs are minimal to non-existent, such as living closer to extended family, getting a remote job or sharing care with your community. Another option is for one parent to not work at a company, and stay at home with kids. This can mean the loss of a second income, but it doesn’t have to.
When we unbundle childcare, socialization and education, this is what we find:
Childcare is always expensive (in terms of time or money).
Education does not have to be.
Socializing can even help save money.
Childcare
The younger children are, they more time they need with parents. They have to have someone in the house to keep them safe. Forming a healthy attachment with a primary caregiver is critical for healthy cognitive, social and emotional development, laying the foundation for independence and strong social skills. As children grow older, they will need less constant attention and engagement, and will be able to pursue independent activities. Once they reach their teen years, they can be alone at home, and even explore their city independently. And this is especially the case if they get this focused loving engagement early on.
When weighing childcare costs, keep in mind that costs extend beyond money. What is the difference in quality, for example, of the childcare in having a parent stay-at-home with the children, versus spending all day in a classroom with 30 kids?
Education
In terms of education, a parent will probably only need to spend 30 minutes to an hour teaching math, and 30 minutes to an hour teaching reading. Many high quality homeschool curriculums are free or inexpensive. Since there are so many exceptional K12 educational resources designed specifically for at-home-instruction (and no need to understand classroom management), parents don’t need to be certified teachers to help their children learn better and faster than they would in a traditional classroom setting.
If you want to hire a bunch of high-end tutors, or a full-time homeschool teacher, and have the means to do so, go ahead! However, these tutors are not necessary to provide your child with the first rate-education available to them through the plethora of high quality K12 educational resources available today.
Socialization
Not only is socialization free in homeschooling, it can save you money. Homeschoolers tend to be very keen to share childcare, education and other resources. You may find it very easy to participate in a babysitting co-op or enroll your child in a free science class offered by another parent who also happens to be a faculty member at the local university.
Creative childcare solutions
Childcare doesn’t mean hiring a full-time nanny, but it can. We’ve found that energetic, motivated childcare providers can help children with homeschool curricula as effectively as parents, or even trained teachers. Here are some of the common ways that families address childcare
Stay-at-home parent: One parent quits their job and becomes a stay-at-home parent. While this can mean the loss of a second income, it can lead to huge savings in childcare, afterschool programs, summer camp, and greater family well-being.
Another homeschool parent: Parents hire another homeschool parent to integrate their kids into their homeschool routine. This can support another family’s homeschool, and provide social experiences for kids.
Parent helper: A parent helper is a sitter who works while parents are present. They can engage kids while parents are working, or help with school work or chores around the house. This option can be considerably more affordable than a regular sitter. Even teens and younger kids can make great parent helpers.
Homeschool co-op or learning center: A popular option among homeschooling families is to send their child to a half-day or full-day program. Typically, these programs range from one half-day to three days a week. They might be free, organized by a group of parents who take turns teaching or structured more like a microschool, led by a few teachers, or some combination of both. Sometimes parents stay present at the co-ops, but can work from the sidelines while kids play. A new trend is co-learning centers that function like co-working spaces, but for kids.
Full-time childcare provider: Another option is hire a full-time nanny to engage kids while parent work. For families with multiple siblings, this can be more affordable than private school (or public school + aftercare). With the high availability of curriculum and learning technology designed specifically for parents and caregivers to teach kids, the nanny doesn’t have to be a trained teacher. We’ve found that energetic, motivated childcare providers can help children with homeschool curricula as effectively as parents, or even trained teachers. Or, since mastery learning only needs to happen 1-2 hours a day, parents can still lead the main instructional times, while the nanny is responsible for interacting with kids, engaging them in play and taking them to activities. It’s also often possible to hire a full-time teacher. Parent involvement in mastery hours is preferable, if possible.
Share childcare: Many families rely on other homeschoolers, friends and parents to help with childcare. Swapping childcare can help save money for families and provide valuable social experiences for kids.
Are you happy with the childcare provided by your school?
School typically provides childcare nine months of the year in one place, from 9-3pm starting at age 5. For a modern family working a flexible, remote job, with a potential interest in traveling the world, this does not provide adequate coverage. If we think of childcare as keeping a child safe and their healthy social and emotional development, six hours sitting in a classroom with 30 kids and one teacher, and 30 minutes of recess, no breakfast, and an unhealthy lunch does not level up. The younger the child is, the more important it is for them to build a healthy attachment with a primary caregiver and one teacher responsible for 30 children does not provide good conditions for this.
Money isn’t everything. Choosing to homeschool can represent an income loss, but for some families, it’s worth the price.
🏡5. Costs of living
Families are sometimes confused when we suggest they factor in the “cost of public school.” Isn’t public school free? Actually, it’s not that simple.
When considering the costs of homeschool vs public school, it’s critical to factor in costs of living: housing, food, and transportation.
How much are you paying to live near a “good” public school?
Living near a good public school can come with a steep price tag. There’s a direct correlation between property value and the score of public schools. Not only might you have a higher rent or mortgage, but groceries, gas, childcare, and other expenses might be higher.
How much are you paying to live far from grandparents and extended family?
While it’s not always the case, parents and kids who live close to grandparents and extended family can benefit from free childcare. Not only are grandparents are more affordable, personally invested caregivers, but deepening their relationship with your children can bring them joy and satisfaction as they age.
Have you considered living abroad?
Countries such as Mexico, Thailand, or parts of eastern Europe may have a much lower cost of living. Families who have dreamed of traveling the world can also benefit from savings from living abroad.
If moving is an option for you (or appealing to your family), homeschooling can provide flexibility that might not be possible living near a traditional school.
How much are you paying for transportation?
We know of at least one family who chose to homeschool when her five kids were zoned to five different schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was not looking forward to being a full-time chauffeur.
Driving kids to multiple schools, afterschool activities, and school events can use up a lot of gas.
This doesn’t only hurt your wallet and suck your time, it hurts the climate too. Would homeschooling reduce the amount of shlepping around you’d have to do with your kids?
⚖️ 6. School vs homeschool for affordability: How do they stack up?
Here’s what expenses families might want to keep in mind when going through the pros and cons of public school, traditional school and homeschooling.
For homeschool
The cost of changing jobs (for example, changing to a remote job)
The loss of a second income (moving from a dual income to single income household.
The cost of a babysitter or parent’s helper during work hours (less important for elementary age kids and up)
The cost of a part-time sitter for focused time or date night
The cost of a homeschool co-op or microschool for a few days of care
For school
The cost of attending private schools for each child
The cost of living in your preferred school district, for example, purchasing or renting a home in an area with “good public schools” and all the related costs of living in an area with a higher cost of living (taxes, clothes, food, etc), the childcare costs of being far from extended family.
The cost of aftercare, or after-school sitter or after school programs (often higher hourly than a full-time sitter)
The cost of summer camp
The cost of daycare (if a child is under age 5)
Hiring afterschool tutors to supplement struggling performance in math, reading or other subjects.
Therapists for school-related anxiety, bullying or emotional stress (many of these problems disappear when kids start homeschooling)
School fundraisers and time costs such as PTA meetings, homework help, etc
Required school supplies, back to school clothes, devices
❓7. Questions to consider when evaluating costs of homeschooling
Changing jobs or quitting jobs: Will one of the parents quit their job, or change to a remote, flexible job? Will you have the opportunity to start a new business you always dreamed of building?
Remote work: Would your employer consider allowing you to make your job remote? This could reduce childcare costs.
Level of independence: Are your kids old enough to learn independently for blocks of 2-3 hours while you work remotely (typically 6+) ? Are they old enough to stay home alone or with friends for long periods while you work outside the home (typically 12+)? Is this conducive to their healthy growth and development? Different children require different amounts of family time, friend time and alone time.
Resource-sharing: Is there another parent in the homeschool community who could be interested in swapping childcare or education with you?
Microschool: Do you want children to participate in a homeschool co-op to give you time for work? Are there free co-ops in your area?
Cost of living: Do you pay a high mortgage or rent to live near “good schools?” Would homeschooling allow you to live in an area with a lower mortgage, rent or lower cost of living? According to the Economic Policy Institute’s Family budget calculator, the average monthly cost of living for a family of four in the San Francisco metro area is $14,407/month. Compare that with Orangeburg, SC where the cost of living for a family of four is $4,974/month.
World travel: Is it possible for your family to live abroad? Sometimes families choose to live in an area with a much lower cost of living. Nomad List estimates cost of living for a family in beautiful Oaxaca, Mexico is $1995/month.
Grandparents: Would homeschooling allow you to live closer to grandparents and extended family? In many countries, the idea of “paid chidlcare” is a foreign concept. Living close to family can considerably reduce childcare costs if grandparents are excited and willing to pitch in, perhaps even providing a higher quality childcare experience for kids and quality of life for aging parents.
Transportation costs: How much do you spend on transportation, for example by driving multiple kids to school and afterschool activities? Would homeschool reduce these expenses?
Less need for special services: If children require remedial services (for example, for reading and math), would learning at their own pace reduce the need for these services?
Mastery learning: Do your children need therapy for school-related anxiety or behavioral issues? Could homeschool reduce the need for such services?
Catch-up: Does your child require tutors or afterschool classes to get good grades in school? Would homeschooling reduce the need for such tutors by allowing them to learn at their own pace using a curriculum ideally suited to their learning modalities?
Public school services: Would you lose access to special services provided by public school, or would your school continue to offer these when you homeschool ?
Free resources: Are there free homeschooling resources available in your community (free classes provided by museums, cultural organizations, homeschool groups, public schools etc)?
Resource-sharing: Is there a large homeschooling community in your area that could be interested in sharing childcare, education, etc?
Why tutors? If you want to hire tutors, what are your motivations?
Do you think you’re either unqualified or incapable of teaching your kids? Many parents assume that they have to be subject experts or certified teachers to teach.
Are you concerned your kids won’t listen to you? Some parents think they can’t communicate with kids around learning because helping with school homework has lead to fights in the past.
Do you think teaching your kids will take up too much time, and you need to work? Many families don’t realize that the teaching part of homeschooling only takes 1-2 hours a day.
Have you questioned these assumptions?
If you feel unqualified to teach your kids (or don’t have time), we recommend taking a look at our post on family involvement in education, which might make you think differently about this.
What’s priceless? What are the costs and benefits that don’t have a price attached? For example, quality of education, ease of family life, social-emotional health, traveling the world, being involved in your child’s education. What are these worth to you?
📝 8. Cost-benefit analysis template
To help you evaluate the costs of homeschooling vs traditional school, we’ve created a template where you can enter your own academic, childcare and cost of living expenses to compare homeschool vs traditional school for affordability.
We’ve listed some typical homeschool expenses and made a column where you can enter your own.
If homeschooling will allow you to move to a less expensive area or get free childcare. by moving closer to friends and family, be sure adjust the “cost of living” totals to reflect that.
How to use the spreadsheet.
Make your own copy
Fill in your own annual costs for school in COLUMN B (School)
Fill in your own annual projected costs in COLUMN E (Homeschool)
Don’t adjust numbers in the other columns as that will impact the formulas.
The spreadsheet will calculate your totals in Rows 22-24.
All kinds of families homeschool
Sometimes when families do the math, they find that homeschool ends up being more affordable than public school, and definitely more private school.
A couple families we talked to were weighing the cost of sending three kids to three different private schools, and found that hiring a full-time teacher was much more affordable for their family, and provided a higher quality education for their kids.
This single parent chose to become a world-schooler, living in places she’d always dreamed of traveling which also provided a much more affordable cost of living
Being a parent is hard in any circumstances. Take advantage of the resources available to raise your child in the best way you know how.
There are homeschooling families with a stay-at-home parent, single parents, two parents working remotely, and two-full time parents working outside the home. No matter the family structure, most families can find the time for the 1-2 hours of daily Mastery Hours.
For 15 examples of real families homeschooling successfully from a variety of different households (two working parents, single mom, stay-at-home dad, with a newborn, while getting a degree, see our post “What’s a typical day look like”)
PART II. Free & discounted homeschooling resources
🏘 9. Free local homeschooling programs
Homeschoolers have a highly interdependent community that is quick to share education and childcare. Likewise, many education providers have made their resources free to the public. Here are the most common ways to find free homeschooling programs.
Skill exchange & childcare exchange
Many homeschool parents offer free classes to other community members. Join your local online homeschool group to find out what’s being offered. Sometimes older kids offer lessons too!
Free Forest School
One of our favorite organizations spreading across the United States is Free Forest School. Families attend with kids - or take turns as facilitators, guiding children through activities that encourage free play and help them learn through nature. If you’re interested in finding (or starting) a local forest school, visit the Free Forest School. They have a fantastic team with a deep commitment to social justice, the environment, and equity in education.
The local library
One of our favorite activities is reading at the local library. In addition to great literature, local libraries often have reputable homeschool curricula on-site. If not, they can request them via other libraries. More and more libraries have online materials, which greatly expand access to the best homeschool curricula. In addition, local libraries often offer free tutoring and other free programs such as foreign language, art, and even makerspaces complete with 3D printers. The Philadelphia library provides over 28,000 virtual programs, including Arabic, Theater, and Mindful Meditation.
Museums and cultural institutions
Like the library, museums, jazz centers, local colleges, universities, and science centers frequently offer free days and programs. Since tax dollars and donations go to supporting these organizations, sometimes families have the option to “pay what they can.” As these are service-centered institutions, it’s always a good idea to ask to go for free if you can’t afford the ticket price.
📚 10. Free & discounted homeschooling curricula
Homeschoolers tend to be very generous - and once they’ve used their curriculum, they don’t need it anymore. Here are three ways to get free or discounted homeschooling curricula from other families.
eBay: Families frequently sell used curricula on eBay. Here’s a link to discounted homeschool curricula.
Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op: The homeschool buyer’s co-op sells used homeschool curricula and buys curricula in bulk to help families get discounts. They also have a Facebook group.
Facebook free curriculum groups: a quick search on Facebook will reveal many great groups where families are giving away their curriculum or selling it at a discounted price.
Curriculum discussion groups: One of the best ways to find free and discounted curricula is in the community groups for that particular curriculum. Many curricula, such as Blossom and Root and Right Start Math, have active online communities devoted to their resource on Facebook.
Free and recycled technology: During the pandemic, we partnered with PCs for People to provide free computers to kids. AFTRR offers a comprehensive database of local and national programs that provide free computers, iPads, and other electronic devices to families.
💻 11. Free online homeschooling programs
So many exceptional, free educational resources have been created for families, funded by grantmakers - or just developed out of the kindness of the creator’s heart. This is a list of 200 free, high-quality, secular mastery-based programs we’ve created for families.
Highlights include Khan Academy Kids, Prodigy Math Game, and Teach Your Monster to Read.
Make sure to check out our favorite free educational youtube channels as well, with highly engaging shows like Physics Girl, Art for Kids Hub, and Cosmic Kids Yoga.
See the top free online homeschooling programs for PreK-12th grade.
🍎 12. Free tutoring
It’s valuable for your child to have influences and relationships beyond their immediate family. And so many organizations have sprung up to provide 1-1 mastery learning with highly trained volunteer tutors.
The local library often offers free tutoring programs.
At Modulo, we offer live, free math tutoring with via our non-profit, masteryhour.org. Students can drop in four days a week and get live tutoring on zoom from volunteer math majors and aspiring teachers in top colleges and universities.
We also recommend schoolhouse.world for exceptional free tutoring. Schoolhouse.world was founded by Sal Khan, who created Khan Academy.
Part III. Resource Sharing
💞 13. Swapping childcare and education
As discussed in the childcare section, the homeschool community is very effective at sharing resources. Especially if you’re homeschooling as a single parent, you’ll have to get used to a new lifestyle where parents lean on each other for support. Join a babysitting co-op, homeschool co-op, or find another family interested in swapping a day or a few hours of childcare once or twice a week. Bringing some more kids into the homeschool mix might even save you time because kids entertain each other.
Babysitting swaps can especially benefit only children, as it expands their family circle and gives them surrogate siblings.
For more on swapping care and education, see our full section on childcare.
💡 14. Pro-tip: Reciprocate
Many homeschooling families have created free resources, taught free classes and given free tutoring and babysitting to homeschooling friends. The more you support this culture by sharing your own talent and expertise, the more it will continue to encourage others to do the same. And you’ll make friends in the process!
Have a great homeschool freebie or educational discount to share? Put it in the comments so other families can benefit!
Homeschooling can help you build a high-quality life for your family and a high-quality education for your child no matter what resources you have to make it happen.
🛟 15. Ask for help
While it may feel uncomfortable to ask for help, it does take a village to raise a child, and if you want to raise your child well, you’ll need to lean on the village for support. Get used to asking for help from friends, other homeschoolers, family, curriculum providers, your company, the government, and anyone who is in a position to help.
“Excuse me, may I have your seat?”
Research suggests it’s very difficult to say no to a polite, humble, direct request. In an NYU student, a professor made their students go to the NYC subway and politely ask riders to give up their seat. They provided no explanation and didn’t appear to have any compelling reason to need a seat. Some of the students were so scared to ask for someone’s seat that they felt they were going to throw up. The results were astonishing. 68% of riders gave up their seat when asked by the students.
Ask for what you want.
Curriculum providers will say yes.
In general, good education companies feel at least some moral imperative to make quality education accessible to all families. No one who is developing educational resources for the right reasons wants to feel like they’re just privileging the elite.
If there are curricula you’re interested in purchasing but can’t afford, consider contacting the company directly, telling them that you love their resource and want to make it accessible to their child but can’t afford it. If possible, you can offer to pay what is possible for you to afford. Many companies will make their resource available. At Modulo, we have a scholarship process that makes our resources available for free to any family who can’t afford to pay.
Often curriculum providers have specific funding set aside for exactly this purpose.
Your company will say yes.
Likewise, your company hopefully knows that recruiting and retaining parent employees is advantageous. Hiring is more challenging than ever, and parents are a critical part of the workforce.
Ask your HR department if stipends or other childcare or education benefits are available. The more you ask, the more these types of benefits will become commonplace in the workforce, as employers start to see this as a key draw for new recruits and a way to retain their best employees.
It might feel uncomfortable in the beginning to ask for freebies, but remember that having the courage to ask opens the door for other families in your situation to get the resources and support they need to raise their children well. It’s unrealistic that our society expects parents to raise children without help.
You can pay it forward by writing a glowing review of the company that gave you an employee perk or educational resource that gave you a scholarship or free resource
Friends and family will say yes.
Friends and family will help you with childcare and other resources. It may even be an honor and privilege for them to be more involved in your child’s life.
Get used to being part of an interdependent community, not a nuclear family on an island, and the world will reward you.
We’ll say yes!
If you’re a homeschooling family or you’re considering homeschooling, and you’d like to participate in the Modulo membership community, but you’re struggling financially and can’t afford it, ask us for a scholarship! We’ll most certainly say yes. Hopefully this will give you a post of confidence to encourage you to ask others to support your child’s education and family life.
PART IV. Funding sources
In this section, we explore a variety of great options to help fund homeschooling.
🚌 16. Public schools
Even if you register as a homeschooler, you may be able to take advantage of some of the resources your public school provides, such as special services or participation in clubs, cub scouts, and team sports. In some states, special-needs students are eligible for up to $8000 in homeschool expenses.
Congress allotted billions of dollars to public schools to help them recover after the pandemic. Homeschoolers can sometimes access this funding through their public school.
We strongly encourage families to ask friends in their local homeschool group and contact their local public school to see what resources might be available to them.
🇺🇸 17. Government funding for homeschooling
Depending on the state a family lives in, funding and tax credits may be available to help subsidize homeschooling, education, and childcare.
Here are some different avenues you can explore for financing your homeschool education through the government.
State funding and tax credits for homeschooling
The school choice movement is growing, and has had some recent big wins in several states, expanding access to private schools and homeschooling.
There are five main types of government funding available to homeschoolers (depending on the area you live)
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs): Parents receive public funds for education into a restricted savings account. Here are the 10 states with ESAs.
School Vouchers: Parents receive a voucher partial or equal to the amount of funding the state sets aside for their education which they may use to pay for private school, or homeschooling.
Tax-Credit Education Savings Accounts (ESAS): Parents may receive tax credits when they make a donation to a nonprofit that manages parent-directed K12 education savings accounts. They can use these funds to pay for education-related expenses. Some funds allow parents to pay for a combination of public and private services.
Tax-Credit Scholarships: Taxpayers can receive full or partial tax credits when they make a donation that nonprofits that offers private school scholarships, and in some cases innovation grants providing assistance to students choosing alternative education options.
Individual Tax Credits and Donations: This program allows parents to deduct educational expenses from their taxes. Here are nine states with individual tax credit/deductions.
Several states are rolling out, or have started programs to offer funding to homeschoolers
Here are some programs you can take advantage of, depending on your state.
For an up-to-date list, see edchoice.org’s map of School Choices in America or the National Center for Education Statistics updated table of states with school voucher programs.
Arizona
In Arizona, every school-age child qualifies for a $7000 voucher that can be used towards private school or homeschool expenses, including curriculum and extracurriculars.
Arkansas
Arkanasas provides a limited number of vouchers to families through the Succeed Scholarships and is actively considering legislation to pave the way for universal school choice.
Colorado
In Colorado, families qualify for a percentage of per-pupil spending.
Florida
Florida has several programs available to help parents fund homeschooling including The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO)
Minnesota offers a K-12 education credit for qualified educational expenses.
Ohio offers a K-12 Home Education Credit of up to $250
Oklahoma offers a Tax-Credit scholarship and has a voucher program for students with disabilities.
Iowa recently passed universal school choice. Their ESA program will provide all K-12 students in the state with approximately $7,600 per year if they choose to homeschool or attend private school.
Idaho Empowering Parents program provides families with grant funds they may use towards eligible education services and devices to help recover from learning loss. they may receive a credit for $1,000 per child up to $3,000.
Indiana provides a homeschool tax deduction of up to $1000 per child.
Nebraska is now considering a universal school choice law that would provide a partial to full scholarship at private schools. It’s unclear whether this would cover homeschoolers.
New Hampshire had the country’s first tax-credit scholarship program that included homeschoolers. Homeschoolers can be reimbursed for educational expenses.
Texas is considering a bill that would offer parents $10,000 per child for tuition, technology and education-related transportation expenses.
Utah recently passed H.B. 215 which will give homeschoolers $8,000/year to fund their education through the Utah Fits all Scholarship. Families will be able to apply starting March 1, 2024 for the 2024/2025 school year.
West Virginia passed universal school choice via their hope scholarship program. State funding will be equal to per pupil allotment for public school (approximately $4600)
There’s a big lobbying effort to get more funding to parents to help them educate their kids. Edchoice.org is a great source for updates on the latest available options for government funding.
Childcare credits
As we discussed earlier, childcare is a more significant expense than education when homeschooling.
Fortunately, childcare credits are much more common than homeschool credits. Twenty-five states offer dependent care credits that incentivize companies to provide childcare to employees or give parents a childcare tax deduction.
To see resources available for funding for childcare, visit childcare.gov and search for your state.
Umbrella charter schools
In states like California, families can enroll in umbrella schools such as Ocean Charter that allot a certain amount of credits for vetted extracurriculars.
As your local homeschool office what charter schools are present in your state.
Be aware that since charter schools are accountable to the state, they may have more rigorous requirements around testing and curriculum than purely parent-directed homeschooling.
🌱18. Microgrants
Several non-profits offer small grants to individual families or small groups of families homeschooling. Here are a few of our favorites.
HLSDA provides grants for curriculum and technology to families struggling with financial hardship, and grants to homeschooling families facing natural disasters.
EHEP provides Homeschool Budgeting Assistance, Technology, Free Live Classes and Tutoring, K12 Free EdTech Subscriptions, Free Wifi, School Supplies In-Kind Donations and Micro-Grants (up to $100-$250 per family)
Vela Ed fund may award microgrants to a small group of families looking to innovate their children’s education. Some recipients have included parents forming homeschool co-ops or getting homeschool coaching for their children and friends.
Families may also want to look into funding not specifically tagged for homeschooling, but available to single mothers, gifted students and students with special needs.
🗄 19. Company perks for childcare and education
Many companies offer childcare and education benefits to employees, so you should ask your company what might be available and take advantage. More and more companies are offering backup childcare, tutoring, and college counseling as part of their company perks.
In August 2022, the Muse featured the best companies for working parents.
We can all help each other out by asking and insisting that companies offer these types of benefits to support working parents.
PART V. Top jobs for modular learners
If homeschool is a long-way away, or you’re considering transitioning to a career to better support homeschooling, here are some of the best career paths for homeschooling families. Having a stay-at-home parent is a great option if that possibility is available to you. Otherwise, remote and flexible work tend to lend themselves better to modular learning.
For more information on job opportunities for homeschool families and the best companies to work for, see our blog on “cool gigs for homeschool parents.”
💪 20. Flexible full-time careers
Careers with high flexibility tend to lend themselves better to homeschooling. Companies are increasingly seeing how offering employees flexible, remote work leads to higher productivity and employee retention. Some of the most successful career tracks we’ve seen for homeschoolers include:
Entrepreneur
Investor
Nurse (and other health professions)
Software engineer
Teacher
Truck driver
Server (and other hospitality professions)
🚴🏾♀️ 21. Flexible freelance work (in-person)
Working as an independent contractor can help families set their own schedule, and devote more or less time to working as education, childcare and financial needs evolve. Here are some of the freelance jobs we’ve found work well for homeschool families.
Catering
Doordash Driver
Private Tutor
Uber Driver
👩🏾💻 22. Remote work
Even better is a job that does not require a parent to be on-site, and is also flexible.
Bookkeeper
Online teacher
User Testing
Technical Writer
Tech jobs (engineer, marketing, design)
💞 23. Shared goods and services
Sharing what you have can save time and make homeschooling possible. Here are some ways homeschoolers have successfully leveraged their resources for additional income.
Rent out a spare room (or an entire home while you travel)
Homeschool another child (bring another kid into your homeschool routine)
Host a home-based preschool
Sell used goods on Amazon or Airbnb
💤 24. Passive(ish) income
Making passive income can take a little work in the beginning, but lead to great returns. Here are a few ways to earn income while you sleep (or teach your kids).
Create a homeschool curriculum and share it online
Create a blog with affiliate links
Sell photography online
Flip retail products
Rent out household items
Write an e-book
Summary
Homeschooling is much more affordable than many realize. Since mastery hours only take 1-2 hours a day and parents make exceptional teachers, the most significant expense to consider is childcare. When taking into account the costs and benefits of homeschooling, be sure to factor in costs of living and think about whether living in another area, or close to friends and family could save money. In the meanwhile, start taking advantage of all the wonderful free homeschooling resource, and culture of resource sharing that this flexible approach to homeschooling makes possible.
What’s next?
One of the reasons modular learning has become more affordable is because of the software and online resource that have emerged to support this path.
Next week, we’ll share some of our favorite software and tools to support high quality, cost-effective modular learning, and set up an environment conducive to learning.
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Super enlightening article. Thank you!
Great breakdown of costs!