It is hard to tell you that CM costs such-and-such amount because we all buy different books. I also have a 1st grader, and we've been hsing for nearly 2 years. Just guessing, I would say that I've not spent over $500 for one school year. I also get nearly all of our books from the library. I've said it on here before, and I'll say it again: make your librarian your best homeschooling friend, and you will be set! I don't even have to go into my library to look for books anymore; I simply e-mail my librarian a few days/weeks ahead of time with the resources I'll need, and she always gets them for me. Anyway, here's what we're using this year to give you an idea of what I've spent:
Bible: Child's Story Bible (purchased on Amazon for $18) and my personal Bible (free!)
Poetry: A Child's Garden of Verses (found used for $2)
Composer and Picture Studies: I check out CD's of music from our library as well as coffee table books of art, so those are free. I did buy several of Mike Venezia's books about artists and composers, and those varied in price because they were on Amazon. I bought 8 of those books for a total of about $20.
Math: Math-U-See...this is where I spent the $$. We started w/ Primer and that was a total cost of $85, and we finished that in 4 months. So, I then bought the next level, Alpha, for $65. I'm glad it's taking us longer to work through Alpha!
History: Module 1-Gen. thru Deut. (We haven't started this yet.) $9.95. I have already checked w/ my library about the suggested books, and I will be able to get all of them, so those are free!
Copywork: I buy lined paper from Mardel for $5.99 per package. We've gone through 2 packs in a year and a half.
Geography: Me on the Map (from Amazon, $3) and a wall map w/ labels on sale for $5.
Beginner Reading: We finished Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons almost a year ago, and that was $21 from Mardel. Now, we're doing the Pathway readers Days Go By and More Days Go By (each $6). Other books we get from the library (Little Bear, Frog and Toad, etc.) My son was also given the Biscuit books for Christmas. I consider them twaddle-y, but he loved them because, at the time, they were easy for him to read on his own.
Literature: We've read Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan, Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte's Web, and Mr. Popper's Penguins, all of which I got at the library. Free! I have joined Paperback Swap, and recently acquired Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Black Beauty, and others. Those, of course, were free, except my cost of postage to other swappers. I did buy the Blue Fairy Book off Amazon last summer for $7, and we used it for one term. We did not enjoy it at all, so I recently swapped it on PBS.
Science/Nature Study: 106 Days of Creation Studies ($9.95). The suggested books I found at my library for free. I recently acquired an American wildflower book and an American bird book from Paperback Swap to aid in nature study. I have the Handbook of Nature Study on my wishlist. I also bought My 5 Senses by Aliki on Amazon for $7, but it didn't take us long to get through that one!
Handicrafts: I've probably spent about $20 at Hobby Lobby for crafts for the kids to work on. My dd loves to paint, and her Prang watercolors were gifts for Christmas and birthday.
There are probably other resources that I've bought and not included, but this is pretty much it. I hope it's especially helpful since I also have a 1st grader. My dd is almost 5, and she's using many of the same resources. I will have to buy a new Primer in Math for her when it's time for her to begin Math, but that won't be for a while. And I'll eventually need to buy more manipulatives for Math when it's time for them to share.
Does that help?
Lindsey
P.S. I know someone who's used Sonlight in the past, and she spent nearly $800 on that! CM is way cheaper!
