What kind of families practice home schooling for kids in USA? richer families or which can afford it?

All kinds of families homeschool. In our family both parents work (yes, it is possible!) but I do not work full time so we do lose some income. We are in NJ, which is considered a fairly well off area. We have families in our circle of friends who homeschool that range from a mother of six with two homes and a full time housekeeper to a mother of three who lives very frugally on one small income. There are lots of families in between that. As far as how much it costs, that varies as much as the families do. I know it frustrates the general public who really want to put us into a box and say things like all homeschoolers are working out of fundamental christian point of view workbooks. Wake up and look around. Not true at all.

Homeschooling moms are amazing at clipping coupons! There are definitely "poor" people who homeschool.

Of the homeschool families I know, a wide variety homeschool. The pediatricians that my children see (they have their own practice) homeschool their children, and I know a low income family that homeschools. The majority are middle class, atleast of the ones I know. Several celebrity families homeschool their children, including Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith. Homeschooling can cost thousands of dollars per year for each child, or cost next to nothing depending on how carefully you research your options and whether you use a box curriculum or one you put together yourself. EDITED TO ADD: It looks to me as if a poster before me is rather ignorant about homeschooling, and believes in the stereotype of homeschoolers being in their home all the time. In order to give him a better idea, I just wanted to state that homeschoolers are out learning and socializing in the real world, rather than locked in a classroom with 29 or so other people their same age. The only other place you encounter a similar setting is a nursing home! The real world is certainly not that type of environment. Also, my children-and most homeschoolers-have the ability to participate in MORE activities than they would if they attended public school. It certainly looks as if public school is good for one thing, atleast-teaching people to believe there is only one right way and that you can not think outside the box. As for not hiring homeschoolers-your loss, we certainly will not fret over it. There are plenty of others that recognize the merits of homeschoolers. BTW, you do realize that that is discrimination, right?

My family has always been middle class, so not exactly poor, but definitley not rich either. I like to call it "just right". When I was little we didn't have musch money (although I never realized this till I was much older) so we bought used books, traded books with other homeschoolers, and saved things so they could be used for my brother. Ten years later, along comes my little sister, my dad makes more money, my brother and I both have jobs and pay for our own things, so my little sister gets brand spanking new books every year. I know some families with very little money who make do, and I know others with money coming out of their ears. Homeschoolers come from every income bracket.

All kinds of families homeschool. One of the misconceptions about homeschooling is that it takes a lot of money.. One can homeschool for free by using the public library. One can homeschool for very little by combining the library and the Internet. When one considers the high cost - educationally, emotionally, and socially - of having children attend school - homeschooling is inexpensive.

The wonderful thing about homeschooling in our particular state is that we can create our own curriculum. We use online, library books, used books, television, videos and audio. My theory is that an education is more important than a diploma. Our public schools give out diplomas for attendance. Our family is not rich and we homeschool for the cost of internet service and gasoline for trips to the library.

Anyone can homeschool. You do not need to be wealthy.

We homeschool after we experienced an unpleasant year with our child enrolled in the public school system. I would say we are middle-upper class, both my husband and I hold graduate degrees, but that has not really influenced my ability to homeschool my child. In retrospect, some of the most effective teaching advice I've received has been from a woman with only a high school diploma. Her children are articulate and well rounded. Financially they are not exactly well-heeled but they take advantage of the abundance of free resources, including recycled materials, to educate their children. I have met fundamentalist Christians who homeschool their children and I've met athiest attornies who homeschool. We all want the best for our children, it is not easy, but it is satisfying indeed.

All kinds of families home school. Some people home school for religious reasons, others because a traditional school doesn't meet the needs of their child. There are those who home school because their public schools are unsafe or ineffective, but tuition for private school is too expensive for them. Others home school because they believe it is the best fit for their child, or because they want to spend more time with their children. Obviously, a family home-schooling needs to be able to live on one income, because one of the parents must be at home with the children, teaching them, but home schooling is not tied to one specific socioeconomic group.