Yes, you CAN homeschool gifted kids! In fact, you can do it quite well since homeschooling affords you the wonderful opportunity to meet unique needs perfectly. While each family’s situation certainly requires homeschooling to be tailored to specific needs, there are some very common trials that parents face in teaching gifted students that I’d like to tackle today.  How To Homeschool Gifted Kids The questions I hear most often from parents of gifted children are: What do I do when my child devours every curriculum I provide? How will I homeschool well when my child knows more than I do ..read more

Are you considering homeschooling your gifted child? Learn more about the pros and cons of gifted homeschooling from a mom who knows! You could have never convinced me I would be homeschooling. I live in an excellent school district – so good, in fact, that it was the exact same school I attended as a child. I personally knew members of the school staff, teachers, and the superintendent was one of my former high school instructors. The stars had aligned, and my son’s public school experience was going to be perfect… until it wasn’t anymore. I had a kid with a special need that could not be me ..read more

Special needs homeschooling was the right decision for us. There were many reasons that made us decide to follow this path, and we are very happy to be able to offer this to our twin boys. That being said, it is not without its challenges and disappointments. And it definitely requires oodles of patience, hope, and courage. So if you are considering special needs homeschooling for your kids, then I hope this post will help you see what is involved in teaching your special needs kids at home. The Transition to Special Needs Homeschooling can be Difficult If your child was or is in school, then ..read more

Do you have a child who is struggling with math? Try these simple midline exercises before math that activate both sides of the brain. About ten years ago, I was struggling with teaching my son. He was language delayed and had several learning issues. At that time, he was undiagnosed, and I was researching everything I could get my hands on to find something that would help him. I found a couple of authors that really helped, and I’d like to share some of what I learned. There are exercises that can actually help your child learn math! To be completely honest, I was a little worried that the ..read more

One of the questions my kids get asked often is, “What grade are you in?” It’s also the hardest for them to answer because we don’t follow grade levels, and at any given time they are likely in multiple levels depending on the subject! Here’s why you might want to ignore grade levels in your homeschool so your students will thrive. A traditional school system prescribes grade levels as a way of grouping students so they can more easily teach a large number of students in a systematic method. It doesn’t mean that everyone is on the same academic level in that group.   ..read more

Homeschooling a child with mental illness comes with a unique set of challenges. For some parents, their child’s mental illness is the reason they began homeschooling. The truth is, homeschooling allows a positive environment where a child with mental health issues can be safe while healing. It is without the pressure from teachers and peers in public school to perform to a specific standard. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. When a family member has a mental illness it has a ripple effect on those closest to them. Parents and siblings become the front line on a battlefield. To win any w ..read more

Having a child who is smart sounds like rainbows and sunshine. And it can be at times. But, when that child shows abilities that are far beyond what is typical of their age it can be quite daunting. When a child has an insatiable need to fulfill their desire to know a topic to the fullest, moms can start to feel ill-equipped to provide for their needs. The mere idea of your 6-year-old taking classes at a 6th-grade level, yeah, that’s super daunting to think about. But, if you are homeschooling a gifted student this is what it’s like every day. Some moms will begin to wonder if ..read more

Homeschooling can be challenging, but special needs homeschooling adds a whole new level of possible complications. There’s more to consider than just the curriculum. Having raised four special needs kids myself, I have had to factor in sensory issues, regulation and transition issues, meltdowns, and more. When you homeschool an entire family, it’s easy to burn out trying to meet the needs of all your children, not just the special needs homeschooling. So, I found that nature offers tremendous opportunities for satisfying all the various physical, cognitive, and social/emotional needs of spec ..read more

Homeschooling special needs students can feel intimidating, even when you’ve found the perfect curriculum that suits your child’s learning style. It’s even more intimidating when you either can’t find a good fit or you’re so bombarded with therapy schedules and doctor visits, that you wonder how to make one work. Not that long ago, I found myself in a unique situation that I never expected. Based on necessity, we had to make some changes. Not using curricula is something that I never considered when I started homeschooling. But being a mom of many, with several children of different ..read more

Even in the best of circumstances, being a homeschool mom requires giving yourself lots of grace, right? But when you also struggle with depression, you need it even more. At least I know I do. I’ve dealt with depression since high school and have been treated for it off and on since then. When I told my friends and family that I wanted to homeschool the children, many of them expressed concern, not for the kids but for me and my mental health. So I had to find a way to reassure them and also myself that I could indeed teach my children and teach them well, even while struggling with the unpre ..read more