Successfully Homeschooling

Ten years ago I began a new journey. It was a decision my husband and I made after we saw how much our child, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, was struggling in school.

He had started kindergarten at our neighborhood school. Every day he had “bad behavior “and I was receiving calls from the school. He could not sit still, stop talking, or focus in the classroom. They were punishing him by taking away his recess. It was a vicious cycle.

The only thing my son was learning was to hate school.

I was already a stay-at-home mom with two younger kids, so we decided to put all of our energy into homeschooling him. Ten years later, I am a homeschooling mom to 3 children, all with disabilities. Here is how our family has approached homeschooling:

• I cannot stress enough: Support! Find a local homeschool group as soon as possible. Most of these can be found online (including on this website). You can also check with your local library.
• If you live near a big city, there will be more choices. Many times, the bigger homeschool groups have smaller sub-groups and some will have a subgroup for families with children who have disabilities.
• If you live in a smaller town, try to find any homeschool group. Smaller ones can be better for some children. Even if you only join the group for an activity one time a month, you and your children will benefit from the connection. Your children will make friends and you will too.
• Another good way to find activities or groups for homeschoolers is calling local kid’s venues. The gymnastics, dance or even museums sometimes have homeschool events.
• Social media (such as Facebook), has many groups. There are groups for moms homeschooling children with specific diagnoses.
• Having real-life connections and online support has helped me through many crises. To be able to ask another parent, “What can I do when...?” or “Do you have any suggestions about…?” is critical in helping me stay happy. I can get ideas from other parents. If I find a group that homeschools children who have disabilities, then I get double support. I would not have been able to continue this lifestyle without having support from others doing the same.

Check here for additional information on connecting with other parents.