The Finances Of Homeschooling Children With Additional Needs {week 27 lesson plan recap}

The finances of homeschooling children with differences is a complicated topic, mostly because what works for one family is likely not going to work for another. In this week’s lesson plan recap, I want to address this very real aspect of our lives as parents and homeschoolers. This is week 27.

As gas prices have skyrocketed and our grocery bills seem to be intent on inflicting physical pain, one question that has come up a lot these past few weeks is how we manage the finances associated with our weekly lesson plans.

It’s a timely topic for my family as well. Beginning this week, my youngest will be at specialized private school for a second half-day. We have been saving for almost a year to be able to make this change.

The Finances Of Homeschooling

Table Of Contents

It is possible to homeschool on a very limited budget. There are free resources all over the internet and the library is always a homeschooler’s best friend.

That being said, we have always spent a large percentage of our disposable income on educational expenses, including therapies that would otherwise be included through the public school system.

The reality is, when your children have additional needs, the finances of homeschooling can really start to add up.

Financial Planning When Your Child Has Special Needs

Let me start by sharing a few examples of what is not happening when it comes to our finances.

At nearly 48 years old, I do not own a house. We rent.
My car had duct tape holding on a piece of the roof until about 3 weeks ago.
Our retirement accounts look more like a childless, young couple in their early 30’s than one staring down their 50’s.
We have not taken a vacation since 2011.

I am not sad about these things (although I do worry about the retirement part, not knowing how much we will need to financially support them long term). We made these choices knowing that the above costs allowed us to have money left over each month for:

My ability to work from home and part-time
Random computer and guitar parts
Private college room and board (his college had no test requirements for enrollment vs. state schools – it was the right choice and he received a full tuition scholarship, but there are still increased expenses every semester)
Part time classes at a specialized, private school
Rock climbing classes (my youngest son’s interest and also the adult equivalent of occupational therapy for his sensory needs)
Stupidly high out of pocket expenses associated with our medical and mental health insurance plans
Paying off a $40K hospital bill from 2016
Special diet restrictions associated with my youngest’s medical needs

It’s all been a trade-off. Moreover, I consider myself to be extremely privileged to be able to make these choices at all. It wasn’t that long ago that I was a single mom, desperately trying to figure out how to pay for a daycare that could accommodate my children’s needs, and not being able to do it.

Most importantly, this is a snapshot of our family, at this point in time, based on my children’s needs. It is what works for us. It may not work for you or your budget.

Also, this quote pretty much sums up how I feel about sharing any of this –

The only real advice I want to share is true for homeschooling, parenting, and for finances and is simply this –

Do what works and don’t let anyone else’s life choices pull you away from what you know is best.

Last Week’s Homeschool Lesson Plans vs. Reality:

Monday

THE PLAN

Husband’s Birthday and 4th of July – no plans
Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Celebrated my husband, watched Clue (the movie) and then played the board game
Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours

Tuesday

THE PLAN

YouTube Video – together
Math – Either Beyond Personal Finance or CTCMath
Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour
Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
Ocean Unit Study

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

The 5 “-stans” – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan Map study (Older brother’s choice – he taught us)
Dark Tourist Episode about Turkmenistan
Drivers Ed
Math – Finding the average, and average vs. median
Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour

Wednesday

THE PLAN

Physical Therapy – 2 hours
Drivers Ed
Audiobook and Discussion
YouTube Video – together
Free trial of Vocabulary Quest
Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Physical Therapy – 2 hours
Audiobook and Discussion
Current Events Discussion
Free trial of Vocabulary Quest
YouTube Video – Greek Mythology

Thursday

THE PLAN

Audiobook and Discussion
Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
Art class – 1 hour

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Audiobook and Discussion
Social Time with friends – 1 hour
Art class – 1 hour
My oldest and I wandered around a local book store and antique store while my youngest was in class.
Rock Climbing class – 2 hours (He is still not 100%, but was able to climb!)

Friday

THE PLAN

Driver’s Ed
History – taught by brother
YouTube Video – their choice and educational
Audiobook and discussion

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Drivers Ed
Audiobook and discussion
Cambodian Genocide Overview (again, big brother is teaching us)
Ocean Study – The Tides