Homeschooling a child with special needs is rewarding and challenging. Parents tend to spend their time and energy locating the best Special Education Homeschool Resources to help their child. However, neglecting to find a store of special education homeschool resources just for you, the parent, is a mistake.
You have a lot on your plate already, allowing yourself to get run-down or burnt-out is not part of anyone’s plan. It takes time to find balance in a homeschooling life. As part of that homeschooling life, you need to include ways to take care of yourself – ways to speed up or make household tasks more efficient, ways to vent on bad days, and celebrate on good days and ways to maximize the education of your child. There is no one-size-fits-all solution – you will have to experiment until you find what works best for you.
1. Around The House
Homeschooling affords you the chance to create a specialized learning environment for your child. Homeschooling can also invite disaster into your home with learning materials, projects, and simply the lack of time to get everything done. There are ways to tackle everything you just have to decide which works for you. In the end, it’s likely you’ll end up using a mix of the Homeschool Resources below.
- Fly Lady – Fly Lady is a lifesaver for thousands and thousands of families. For others, she’s a fly in the ointment. Her entirely free method of keeping house is based on short amounts of time each day spent on specific tasks along with a manageable routine. She encourages families to get their kids involved as well. It’s easy to overdo it at first, but if you stick to her suggestions and take the “baby steps” you will find yourself in an easy routine with an uncluttered, guest-ready house in a few months. It’s worth a try. You can adapt her methods as you need.
- Motivated Moms – If you prefer to work on your own, check out Motivated Moms. You are not tied to your email and you can use it on your computer, in book form, or as an app on your phone. They give you guidelines to maintaining your house on a daily basis as opposed to dedicating every single weekend to putting your house back into a “workable” order.
- A Bowlful of Lemons – This is a beautiful website but don’t be intimidated. They have some great organizational and cleaning tips here. Put homeschool into the search engine to get ideas on organizing homeschool supplies and areas.
2. Make It About You
You know the saying, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” If you’re not taking care of yourself while you are homeschooling and managing the house, work, and life in general, something’s going to give. Don’t let it be you. These special education homeschool resources are given with your needs in mind. Nothing has to change at once, think about things that might work in your own life and try to apply them. Your entire family will benefit.
- Seven Sisters – This is a blog post homeschooling moms should read every six months. You are not alone. It’s nice to have a reminder that an exhausted you, is not really doing much for you or your family.
- Simple Homeschool – There are some great ideas here about time management. When you’re homeschooling it’s easy to lose an entire day on one subject or no subject on a really awful day. You don’t need a rigid routine, but a routine helps. Take the suggestions for mandatory quiet/rest time each afternoon to heart. That hour or two each day can transform your life.
- Be a Healthy & Fit Homeschool Mom – It’s a fact that exercise reduces stress and makes you a more effective person and teacher. Most importantly, recognize that you are most likely already stretched thin. Find daily workouts – with different levels so anyone can jump in.
3. Additional Special Education Homeschool Resources For Parents
There are a few unrelated items that are excellent Special Education Resources for homeschool parents. They are listed below in no certain order. Even if you don’t need these resources immediately, bookmark them. You never know when they’ll come in handy.
- Special Needs Apps – While you’ll be taking a bit more time for yourself, take advantage of the multitude of apps designed for kids with special needs. Each app on this site has been screened and tested so you can trust them.
- Friendship Circle– A well-maintained blog with resources and constantly updated articles directly addressing the needs of parents who are homeschooling children with special needs. This non-profit organization is based in Michigan and is an outreach program of the Chabad Lubavitch. It’s open to all and it provides some excellent insight to parenting a child with special needs.
- Special Education Tutoring– Sometimes it’s necessary to seek the assistance of a special education expert. Special Education Tutoring has exploded in recent years as school budgets and resources continue to decline while the need has increased drastically. For parents who homeschool their child with special needs, having consistent weekly one-on-one session(s) can truly help speed up the rate in which your child absorbs information. The best part? You don’t even have to leave your house! Special Education Tutoring is available in an interactive platform online, with a special education tutor who is an expert in understanding and teaching a child in the way they learn best.
Don’t underestimate the importance of taking care of yourself – mentally and physically. If you’re stuck in a rut, give yourself time to make changes. You’ll start and stop many times before you find the right routine for you and your family. That’s fine. If something seems like it should work and it doesn’t, move on without beating yourself up. It’s life, not a race. You’re the only one keeping score so, just don’t if it stresses you out. While the special education homeschool resources listed above might not seem like homeschool resources – they are! Without you, there is no homeschool. For once, go ahead and put yourself first. It’s a worthwhile investment.
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