I’m very sorry for not updating this as frequently as I should.  We have been busy lately with our children and some other complications.  While we had suspected that our youngest was an ADHD child, it is starting to look much more like an Autism Spectrum Disorder. We are hoping to know a final diagnosis by March but in the meantime are traveling to the doctor’s office to meet with different therapists 2 times a week.  It will be a very long road, but we have enjoyed a lax homeschool environment lately with the main focus just being trying to survive the new more stressful schedule.

I will get back on track in the very near future and apologize for the long absense.

Tags: about me, complications, reasons why

You know that there are days when you feel like doing nothing more than getting up, packing the kids into the car and driving to the nearest school that you can find.  These days are when the burnout has set in.  You do not feel like continuing your homeschool journey regardless of the benefits that you know exist.  The reasons for burnout vary significantly but almost all families will experience it at one point.  The success of your homeschool program depends heavily on how you actually react to it.  If you are not willing to make some changes you will find that your burnout is growing, rather than getting better.

You should first take some time to really determine what you are upset about.  Many people are unhappy with a specific type of curriculum, others are not pleased with the progress that they are making and still other parents dread subjects more than the child does.  These can all add up to some serious reasons behind the burnout.  Taking the time to really determine why you are burned out will be useful in trying to establish ways to improve the situation so that thigns can get back on track.

You should also take a bit of time to get away from it all.  A few days without school work is a great way to help beat burnout.  Taking a trip to the beach, aquarium or part just for fun without trying to focus on always packing in a full day of educational activities can help yo uto really rediscover the simpler things that drew you to homeschooling as well.

Tags: complications, reasons why

There are plenty of times when life happens right?  I know it has happened here.  No matter how hard you try things seem to skew badly out of control.  Taking a bit of time to look for a solution only seems to throw things further into chaos as well.  How are we supposed to cope with this and still ensure that our children receive the necessary education?  The best solution is often taking a break.  Not only will this allow your child some relief from the stressful situation, but you will be able to take the time needed to straighten out your situation.  If you are determined to get started before things are straightened out you will usually find that things only get worse.

Never feel bad about taking a small break.  These are often quite useful to allow you time to get back on track and ensure that you can devote proper attention to the materials that you are wanting to cover.  After all, a small break never hurt any child.

Tags: breaks, complications, getting started

If you find yourself in the position where you’re trying to homeschool a child with ADHD is very important to take some time for yourself not only will you need the extra patience but your child will benefit as well. As we start on this journey is very important to realize that our actions now have huge consequences for our children is now and in the future children with ADHD need additional time to learn how to properly manage their behavior and sometimes additional review time to learn the material. Because of this is very important to speak to your doctor pertaining to any problems that you experience.

Many parents ignore the problems and hope that things will get better. Typically speaking it is best to work on problems as soon as they are noticed. Showing your child techniques that will help them to better manage their symptoms is extremely important. Understanding as well that your child does have some disability is very important so that you have reasonable expectations. While many children with ADHD are able to live highly successful lives it is through the work of their parents that they manage to become successful.

Michael Phelps is an incredible example of what is possible for ADHD children.  Encouraging your child in positive behavior is a huge benefit that you need to consider proper time and attention spans will allow your child to grow and improve.

If you find yourself working with an ADHD child consider yourself lucky to have the opportunity and be sure to take advantage of all help and assistance that you need.

Tags: complications

Most parents who homeschool know and realize just how complicated it can be to stay legal while you are homeschooling.  States like California tend to send shockwaves all across the homeschool community, and even places talking about such things as requiring parents to be certified creates even more hassles.

Regardless of where you live, it is VERY important that you take some time to review your states website.  This is one of the best locations for information that pertains to your particular state.  Not only will you be able to usually find copies of the forms that you will need, but you will also get the exact legal requirements.  This will then allow you to easily start moving along to make sure your staying within the confines of the law, while still keeping your children your first priority.

Tags: complications, getting started, legal issues

As human beings we all know that we have a breaking point.  The place where we all stand and just start screaming because we are losing our calm.  This occurs with children as well, but instead of always screaming they might start acting out and ignoring the material that you are trying to present to them.  Such an experience occured here recently when my youngest (whom I highly suspect is ADHD) stopped paying attention at all to her reading lessons.

While she loves the book that we are using, she just cannot sit still.  Each lesson would end with me putting my head to the pillow and screaming while everyone else in the house looked at me as if I was crazy, and she bounced away without remembering anything.  After several days of this I stopped working on her reading.  She was still permitted to “read” books on the couch, and such to help encourage her reading habits, but the actual lessons stopped.

Just the other day I decided to give it a try again, she had been driving me insane asking for another reading lesson.  We gave it a try and it went along fabulously.  In fact, it was one of the best reading experiences that I have ever had with her.  Regardless of the reason, this was now the perfect situation to blog about.

When you find that you are hitting walls with your child and everyone is walking away from lessons unhappy it makes the perfect time to take a break.  Look for different ways to still encourage learning during that time, but instead of the focused lessons look for a different approach temporarily.  Then after a week or two, come back to the material and try again.  You just might discover that the small break was the perfect opportunity to clear the air and start all over again positively.

Tags: complications, curriculum, unusual learning

If you are starting to homeschool you have likely worried that you are not doing enough for your children.  The state in which you reside likely has some specific laws that pertain to how much formal education time your child should have, but is that really enough?  Is it possibly too much?  Most people never really know until after they have started getting into a routine, and even some seasoned homeschooling families never figure it out.

For the state of Tennessee, where I live, you are required to have your child schooling for a minimum of 4 hours a day for 180 days each school year.  This is quite slender compared to some states, and stricter than others.  While some parents worry about how to cram the entire 4 hours in, others are worried that they are spending closer to 8 hours each day.

The truth that is important is you need to realize, your child is learning regardless of whether the 4 hours are all together, or they are broken up into smaller pieces.  Typically, a good streamlined homeschool program can be wrapped up in around 2-3 hours a day.  If you are diving further into depth it might take longer, if you have a child that requires extra attention it can also take longer.  Additionally, if you have more than a single child, it will take quite a bit longer as you juggle the assignments that everyone has.

Tags: complications

We have all had days, weeks or even months where NOTHING seems to go right.  Those times all find us wondering exactly what are we teaching our children.  The reality is, most of us grew up believing that schooling and in turn actually learning required the usage of desks, a rigid schedule and a teacher with a chalk board.  Missing any of those critical elements meant that someone was not getting a proper education.

As homeschooling parents we know well enough to realize that this is grossly inaccurate, but how do you really try to ensure that small problems in scheduling do not keep you from overlooking the critical aspects of your child’s education?  For many parents tools of the trade are invaluable, they feel best with their chalkboard and other typical educational tools, but for others, it is important to ensure that there are additional options available.

To help ensure that when disaster strikes your child is still able to stay on target there are a few different ways to prepare ahead.  You can look to laptops, Nintendo DS systems, and even some small books to make immediate portable schooling options.  The degree of depth that can be covered this way will of course vary, but these are all tools that can be quickly gathered and taken if you end up taking an unexpected road trip.

What are you to do when you are still at home though, things have gone wrong and your schedule is out of wack?  For the average family it is just a matter of survival.  Get through as much material as you can, without losing your sanity.  If your child misses math for a few days, they will survive.  Come back and cover the lessons once things settle down again.  There is no need to stress if you are not able to cover all of the material on the exact day that it is scheduled.  Your child will still succeed, and the world will continue spinning along happily.

Tags: complications, technology, unusual learning