Struggling to get your child to sit still for 5 minutes of “homeschooling”? Finding yourself in a constant battle with your child?
Add autism, ADHD, sensory processing disorder or anxiety to homeschooling and stress levels are skyrocketing.
Most parents were thrown into this homeschooling or “crisis-schooling” situation out of nowhere with no idea what to expect. And most of us are left thinking “I wasn’t cut out for this teaching thing!”
In our interview with Heather Brace, ESE teacher, she gave us some great tips on how to navigate this time with hopefully less stress and frustration for both us parents and our children. The school year may be coming to an end – but for most of us with children with special needs, we know we have a whole summer ahead of us to work through.
7 Tips to Decrease the Stress and Anxiety on your Child during Homeschooling
- How long is your child currently working at one time? How long is their attention to task or tolerance at school?
- What rewards or reinforcements do they work for at school? Do they use first/then boards? Token boards? Another rewards system?
- What type of schedule are they used to at school? Is it a visual schedule? What does it look like?
*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
It’s so important for our kids to know what to expect. There are a lot of different ways to make a visual schedule. Depending what your child is used to, and what’s important to him/her, you can decide whether or not to include actual times, or just the order of what to expect. This is a picture of the visual schedule I made for Jacob and Noah. You can also check out the links below to some great other examples.
Especially Education visual schedule examples
Many varieties of visual schedules from Teachers Pay Teachers
A first then/chart would be a good first step for children who need more of an immediate reward for each task. The next step would be a token board, where they can complete multiple activities earning a token. Once they earn the number of tokens you decide, then they earn their choice time or reward.
Here is a picture of our token board we sometimes use with Noah. And below are some great examples from Especially Education and a variety of examples from Teachers Pay Teachers.
Especially Education First Then Board
Movement, exercise and mindfulness! Our kids need movement! You’ll be surprised what your child will do. Here are just a couple examples of fun yoga and mindfulness activities just for kids.
We all need to give ourselves some grace during this time! Your child's and your own mental and emotional health is more important than anything!
Know your child’s limits and triggers (and your own) and don’t be afraid to call it a day and do something fun! Our kids learn through plan and fun and will get more out of 30 minutes of calm work some days then 2 hours of stressful exchanges! Don’t forget to breathe and take some time for fun.
Pingback: Tips for Virtual Therapy & Virtual Schooling – Warrior Families
Pingback: Sensory Challenges? Understanding the sensory system and how dysregulation may affect your child – Warrior Families
Pingback: Not All Behaviors Are Created Equal: A guide to understanding why your child may be acting out - Warrior Families