A typical-ish special needs homeschooling day…

It’s quite hard to describe our typical special needs homeschooling day. Every day is a bit different. And we’re all not that great with rigid routines. We also often have to change and amend as we learn more about the kids and what works for them. But there are certain things we try to do every day in our homeschool and life in general. This is what a day looks like at the moment.

Getting up

The kids are up quite early but take a long time to get started. And this is one of the best things about homeschool. The school run used to be super stressful. And often the kids wouldn’t even eat breakfast. Boy, did I used to get a dressing down from their teacher! Now they can take their time to eat, brush their teeth, make their beds and get dressed.

In the morning

I’m an online English teacher with a pretty flexible schedule. Sometimes I have lessons in the morning so the kids play or watch a bit of TV. Then when I’m done, we start with homeschool lessons. I generally try to keep lessons in the morning because this is the time the kids concentrate the best. We spend a few hours mainly doing English and Math online. I try to keep the sessions short with lots of trampoline breaks in between. Their concentration isn’t great so when I see they can’t focus anymore, we take a break. No point trying to teach a wriggly boy anything!

Lunchtime

Lunchtime is usually at 12 sharp-ish. The kids can easily descend into a messy hangry mood if they don’t eat enough or at the right time. So meals are always around the same time. As with breakfast, the boys tend to take a long time with their lunch. But I think it’s better to let them eat at their own pace, rather than force them to rush.

The afternoon

The kids usually have a free afternoon, so they can play or sometimes use their computers. This is also the time that G uses to do something creative with them. As of yet, it’s not something they’re really into. But we’re trying to expose them to things like music, art and writing. All in due course!

In the evening

The kids are free in the evening because they need time to decompress. They eat dinner at five. And after that we try and let them be as active as possible to get rid of any excess energy. And believe me, there is a lot! In the summer this is the time we go have our last swim of the day. In winter, they jump on the trampoline. Then it’s bath time and time for playing in their room. They like to play with LEGO or we read to them. We used to give them some time on our phones. But we’ve found that they are much calmer without phones, obviously! Parenting is a learning curve, right?

When our special needs homeschooling days go wrong

Sometimes days can be tough. If the kids have a meltdown or if anxiety ramps up or if our nerves are too frayed, we throw the schedule out the window. There’s no point trying to force anything. Then we watch some nature documentaries or go for a walk. And once again, that’s the beauty of special needs homeschooling.

Are you homeschooling your special needs kids? What does your typical day look like? Leave a comment and let me know!