Tag: Help with Homeschool

Understanding Clumsiness: Proprioception Explained

Understanding Proprioception: Is It Clumsiness?

Your child walks through a room and clips every single piece of furniture on the way through. Is this just clumsiness, or is there more to understand about proprioception? They hug their little sibling and someone ends up crying. They sit next to a friend and somehow end up practically in their lap without noticing.

They play tag and it turns into a collision. They pick up a glass and it’s always on the verge of being squeezed too hard. They write with a pencil like they’re trying to carve the letters into the desk.

You’ve wondered about their coordination. You’ve reminded them to be gentle so many times the words have lost all meaning. You’ve watched them barrel through the world like they can’t quite feel where they end and everything else begins.

That last part?

That’s exactly what’s happening.

The Sense You Were Never Taught About

Proprioception is the body’s sense of itself in space.

It’s the system that tells you where your limbs are without having to look at them. It’s what lets you type without watching your fingers, walk down stairs in the dark, shake someone’s hand with appropriate pressure, and sit in a chair without falling off. It’s the constant, background awareness of your own body — its position, its movement, the force it’s exerting on the world around it.

Most people never think about proprioception because it works automatically, quietly, in the background. The feedback loop between muscles, joints, and brain runs continuously without any conscious input required.

But when that system works differently — when the proprioceptive feedback the brain receives is muted, delayed, or inconsistent — the body loses its reliable sense of itself.

And that changes everything about how a child moves through the world.

What Do Proprioceptive Differences Look Like?

Proprioceptive differences manifest in various ways, often mistaken for clumsiness. A child may bump into things, not know their own strength, stand too close to others, or seek rough play. These behaviors occur because their proprioceptive system isn’t providing accurate feedback to the brain about body position and force.

The Child Who Bumps Into Everything

This is the most recognisable one. The child who walks through a doorway and catches their shoulder on the frame. Who sits down at the table and knocks over the glass that was clearly right there. Who navigates a perfectly clear path and still manages to clip the corner of the coffee table.

From the outside, this looks like clumsiness. Inattention. Not looking where they’re going.

But what’s actually happening is that the proprioceptive system isn’t giving the brain accurate enough feedback about where the body is in relation to the objects around it. The brain’s map of the body in space is slightly off — and the collisions are the gap between the map and the territory.

This child is not careless. They are working with unreliable spatial information and doing their best with it.

The Child Who Doesn’t Know Their Own Strength

They pick up the cat and hold on too tight. They pat the baby and it’s more of a thump. They play with other kids and within minutes someone is hurt — not because they meant to hurt them, but because the force they applied felt completely normal from the inside.

Proprioception is what regulates the force we apply to things. When the feedback from muscles and joints is under-registering, the brain doesn’t get accurate information about how hard the body is working. What feels like a gentle squeeze is actually a grip. What feels like a soft pat lands harder than intended.

The child who keeps hurting people without meaning to is not aggressive. They genuinely cannot feel the difference between the force they intended and the force they applied.

The Child Who Stands Too Close

Personal space is, in part, a proprioceptive skill. Knowing where your body ends and another person’s begins — and calibrating the distance between you accurately — requires reliable body-in-space awareness.

Children with proprioceptive differences often stand closer than social norms allow, not because they’re ignoring boundaries, but because the felt sense of their own body’s edges isn’t precise enough to give them accurate distance information. They’re not invading space on purpose. They genuinely can’t feel that they’re doing it.

The Child Who Seeks Crashing, Wrestling, and Rough Play

Here is where proprioception connects to sensory seeking — and where a lot of parent confusion lives.

When the proprioceptive system is under-responsive, the nervous system seeks the strong input it needs to register the body accurately. And the most reliable source of strong proprioceptive input is heavy, resistive, or impact-based movement.

Crashing into cushions. Wrestling with siblings. Jumping off furniture. Carrying heavy things. Pushing and pulling. Squeezing into tight spaces. Rough and tumble play that always seems to go slightly too far.

This is not aggression. This is not poor impulse control. This is a nervous system that has found the input it needs to feel regulated and grounded — and is seeking it out with the urgency of a genuine physical need.

The child who crashes into the couch cushions repeatedly, who always wants to wrestle, who gravitates toward the heaviest physical play available — that child is self-regulating. Imperfectly, sometimes disruptively, but effectively.

Their nervous system is getting what it needs.

Why Is Heavy Work the Answer?

Heavy work provides strong proprioceptive input, helping regulate the nervous system. Activities like carrying, pushing, and jumping offer the deep input an under-responsive system craves. This input is calming and organizing, reducing seeking behaviors and helping children focus. Incorporating heavy work into daily routines can be a powerful tool for regulation.

In occupational therapy, the category of activities that provide strong proprioceptive input has a name: heavy work.

Heavy work is any activity that involves the muscles and joints working against resistance — carrying, pushing, pulling, climbing, jumping, lifting, digging, kneading. It provides exactly the kind of deep, sustained proprioceptive input that an under-responsive system craves — and it does so in a way that is organising and calming for the nervous system rather than escalating.

This is why the child who has been bouncing off the walls all morning often settles after carrying the grocery bags in from the car, or after a session on the trampoline, or after helping move furniture. The heavy work fed the proprioceptive system. The seeking behaviour decreases because the need has been met.

Building heavy work into your child’s day intentionally — before learning, during transitions, when you can see the seeking behaviour ramping up — is one of the most effective regulatory tools available for proprioceptive differences.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate:

Carrying a heavy backpack on a short walk. Pushing a loaded wheelbarrow in the garden. Helping carry laundry baskets. Wall push-ups before sitting down to work. Kneading dough. Digging in the garden. A few minutes on a trampoline. Climbing at a playground.

All of it counts. All of it helps.

How Do Proprioceptive Differences Overlap With ADHD and Autism?

Proprioceptive differences are common in neurodivergent children, often overlapping with other sensory differences. Autistic children may seek deep pressure for body-in-space information, while ADHD children might need movement to stay alert. Understanding proprioception as part of a broader sensory picture helps address these behaviors as part of a coherent nervous system.

Proprioceptive differences are particularly common in neurodivergent children — and they frequently overlap with the other sensory differences we’ve written about in this series.

An autistic child who seeks deep pressure — weighted blankets, tight spaces, firm hugs — is often responding to proprioceptive under-responsiveness alongside tactile sensitivity. The deep pressure provides the body-in-space information their nervous system needs.

An ADHD child who can’t sit still, who fidgets constantly, who needs to be moving to think — is often seeking the proprioceptive input that keeps their nervous system alert and regulated enough to focus. The movement isn’t the problem. The movement is the solution.

Understanding proprioception as part of the broader sensory picture means you stop seeing these behaviours as separate, unrelated quirks — and start seeing them as a coherent nervous system doing its best to meet its own needs.

What Does This Look Like in Your Homeschool?

Homeschooling allows you to incorporate proprioceptive input rather than suppress it. Traditional classrooms often hinder children with proprioceptive differences by asking them to suppress behaviors their nervous system uses to regulate. In homeschooling, you can integrate movement and sensory input into the learning environment, supporting both regulation and learning.

The traditional classroom is a terrible environment for a child with proprioceptive differences.

Sit still. Keep your hands to yourself. Stay in your seat. Don’t fidget. Walk, don’t run. Be gentle. Stop bumping into people.

Every one of those instructions asks a proprioceptive child to suppress the very behaviours their nervous system is using to regulate — without offering anything to replace them. The result is a child who is simultaneously trying to learn and trying to manage a nervous system that isn’t getting what it needs. Something has to give. It’s usually the learning.

Homeschooling gives you the freedom to build the proprioceptive input in rather than demand it be suppressed.

A lesson that starts with ten minutes outside. A work session where sitting on the floor or standing at a table is fine. A fidget tool that’s available without comment. A movement break built into the rhythm of the day not as a reward but as a necessity.

At Schoolio, our short, flexible lesson format is designed to work with your child’s regulation needs rather than against them. A child who has had their proprioceptive needs met is a child who can actually sit with a lesson — not because they’ve been disciplined into stillness, but because their nervous system is finally settled enough to focus.

That’s the goal.

Not compliance.

Regulation.

They’re Not Clumsy. They’re Not Rough. They’re Not Careless.

They’re a child whose nervous system is working with an unreliable map.

Who can’t feel the edges of their own body clearly enough to navigate the world the way you’d expect.

Who seeks the crashing and the wrestling and the heavy play because it’s the only thing that makes the map accurate — even temporarily.

Who holds on too tight and stands too close and bumps into everything not because they don’t care, but because the feedback system that would tell them to do otherwise isn’t giving them the information they need.

When you see it that way, the response changes completely.

You stop asking them to be more careful.

And you start asking: what does their nervous system need right now?

That question leads somewhere useful every time.

Proprioception is one of three hidden senses that play a huge role in neurodivergent regulation. Read our posts on Vestibular Input — the sense of balance and movement — and Interoception — the brain’s ability to read internal body signals — to complete the picture. And if you’re seeing sensory differences showing up alongside overload and meltdowns, our post on Sensory Processing: Sensory Overload and Sensory Seeking ties it all together.

For research-backed context on education outcomes and learning support, see National Center for Education Statistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is proprioception?

Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense its position in space. It helps you know where your limbs are without looking, apply appropriate force, and maintain balance. When this sense is under-responsive, it can lead to behaviors often mistaken for clumsiness, such as bumping into things or misjudging personal space.

How can I help my child with proprioceptive differences?

Incorporate heavy work activities into their daily routine. These activities provide strong proprioceptive input, helping regulate their nervous system. Examples include carrying heavy items, pushing, pulling, and jumping. These activities can help reduce sensory-seeking behaviors and improve focus and regulation.


Are You Qualified to Homeschool Your Child? Basics

But I Don’t Remember Any of What I Learned in School!

“But I Don’t Remember What I Learned in School”: Why You Are Still Qualified to Homeschool

You are qualified to homeschool even if you forget school lessons because effective teaching doesn’t require remembering everything you learned. Studies show adults use only about 37% of their school knowledge. For example, you successfully taught your toddler to use the toilet without recalling every detail of child development. This means you can confidently guide your child’s learning journey.

How Can I Teach Subjects I Don’t Remember?

You can teach subjects you don’t remember by using resources and learning alongside your child. Just like potty training, you didn’t rely on your own toddler memories. Instead, you used books, videos, and advice from others. For example, if you’re teaching algebra, online tutorials and math apps can guide both you and your child.

When your child was a toddler and you wanted to potty train them, how did you know what to do? Did you think back to when you yourself were being potty trained? Did you remember the directions your own parents or caregivers had bestowed upon you? Of course not, very few of us remember such a young age, especially not specific details of instructions we were given. So then, if you can’t remember what you were taught in order to become potty trained yourself, how are you qualified to teach it to your child?

For starters, there are so many things in life you know how to do, even if you don’t remember how you learned. Using the toilet is likely one of them. When you think about what you want to teach your children, most likely the skills that you actually use in your adult life that have helped you be successful are pretty high on the list. So rest assured that you will be ready, from experience, to teach many of those skills. Now I know what you’re worried about though… algebra. What happens when you want to teach your child something that you don’t feel confident you can do yourself? Here’s where we get into strategies. When you were ready to teach your child to use the toilet, you probably first taught yourself how to teach your child the skill. In this day and age there is no limit to the information available to us—you can be taught and learn to teach absolutely any skill you choose. You can teach yourself how to teach through any of several methods. Perhaps when you began the potty training journey you got a book on potty training to read, read some parenting blogs, or watched YouTube videos for strategies and ideas. Maybe you asked a friend or family member who had done it before for advice. Maybe you purchased a kids book, movie or TV show for your child to watch that instructed them for you. Most likely, you used a combination of resources!

In the end, you gathered information and ideas from a variety of trusted sources. You considered your family needs and lifestyle, and your child’s uniqueness and what would inspire and motivate them, and then you did what we all do—you tried some things out! And then you looked at what was working and what wasn’t, and you made adjustments. Maybe your first attempts didn’t work for your child. You learned more about how your child learns, or what motivates them, so then you tried something else. Eventually something clicked, and you saw progress.

What’s Most Important When Homeschooling?

The most important aspect of homeschooling is the connection and values you build with your child. While academic skills are crucial, the emotional bond and life skills you impart are lasting. For example, teaching empathy through volunteering can be more impactful than memorizing dates in history. This focus enriches your child’s overall development.

Maybe it clicked easily and you found fast success. Maybe your child struggled with it. Maybe you even thought you were failing at teaching it. We’ve all had both experiences along the way with our children. But at the end of the day, you figured it out. You kept at it, and you kept learning and changing, and you succeeded. When all our children are grown, whether your child was trained at 14 months or 3 and a half, no one knows, and no one cares, because they’ve all learned what they needed to know for success.

Remember as well, that the most important thing, in fact the only thing your child will carry forward with them from the learning experience, is how they felt when you were with them. So the connection you have, the bonds you build as you proceed, and the values you impart to your child, are what’s truly important, as it is, with everything, from potty training to algebra.

For more from Schoolio, see Online Video-Based Homeschool Curriculum Instruction, Why Are Homeschool Programs Not Accredited?, Debunking Homeschool Myths.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a teaching degree to be qualified to homeschool?

No, you don’t need a teaching degree to homeschool your child. Many parents successfully homeschool by using available resources such as online courses, educational apps, and community support. Your ability to adapt and learn alongside your child is more important than formal qualifications.

How can I ensure my child is learning effectively at home?

To ensure effective learning at home, create a structured schedule that includes a variety of subjects and activities. Use diverse resources like books, videos, and interactive tools. Regularly assess your child’s progress and adjust your approach as needed. Encourage open communication to understand their interests and challenges.


Understanding All-in-One Open-and-Go Curriculum Options

If you’ve spent any time in homeschool Facebook groups or forums, you’ve probably seen the term “open-and-go curriculum” thrown around. But what exactly is an all-in-one open-and-go curriculum, and how can it benefit your homeschooling journey?

What does “open-and-go” mean in homeschooling?

“Open-and-go” in homeschooling means a curriculum designed for ease and convenience, requiring no lesson planning. It eliminates the need to gather resources or plan lessons in advance. For example, everything is pre-built—lessons, activities, instructions—allowing you to start teaching immediately. This approach benefits parents by saving time and simplifying the homeschooling process.

What is an all-in-one curriculum?

An all-in-one curriculum combines all subjects into a single, cohesive program, eliminating the need for separate resources. This approach ensures a comprehensive education without piecing together materials from various sources. For instance, a Grade 3 curriculum could cover multiplication, reading comprehension, plant science, and local communities. For parents, this means simplified planning and consistent learning.

What are the benefits of an all-in-one open-and-go curriculum?

For many families, especially those just starting out, the biggest benefit is confidence. When everything is laid out for you, you spend less time second-guessing yourself and more time actually learning alongside your child. A few other benefits worth knowing include:

  • Time-saving: Planning a homeschool day from scratch takes hours. An open-and-go curriculum gives that time back to you. Imagine spending your evenings relaxing instead of planning.

  • Consistency: Subjects are designed to work together, so nothing falls through the cracks. For instance, a science lesson on weather might be complemented by a language arts lesson on weather-related vocabulary.

  • Reduced overwhelm: The homeschool curriculum market is enormous and can feel paralyzing. An all-in-one simplifies the decision, offering a straightforward path forward.

  • Flexibility: A good open-and-go curriculum isn’t rigid. It gives you a clear path while still leaving room to slow down, speed up, or take a detour when your child’s curiosity leads somewhere interesting. If your child shows a keen interest in dinosaurs, you can pause the regular lessons and dive into a dinosaur unit study.

Is an all-in-one open-and-go curriculum right for every family?

An all-in-one open-and-go curriculum isn’t right for every family. Some families prefer customizing their curriculum from various sources. For instance, a child passionate about art might require a specialized art curriculum beyond a standard package. However, for parents seeking a straightforward, comprehensive, and stress-free option, this type of curriculum can be an ideal solution.

What should you look for in an open-and-go all-in-one curriculum?

When choosing an open-and-go all-in-one curriculum, prioritize ease of use, comprehensive coverage, and adaptability. These features ensure a seamless educational experience, accommodating various learning styles and needs. For example, a curriculum with clear lesson plans and diverse resources supports consistent learning. This means less stress and more confidence for parents guiding their child’s education.

  • Does it cover all core subjects? Ensure it includes math, language arts, science, and social studies.

  • Is it designed for your child’s grade level and learning style? A curriculum that fits your child’s needs will make learning more enjoyable and effective.

  • Is it flexible enough to adapt to your family’s pace? Can you adjust the schedule if needed?

  • Does it support neurodivergent learners, or is it one-size-fits-all? Look for programs that offer adaptations for different learning needs.

  • Is the parent instruction clear and easy to follow? The best curriculum empowers you to teach without needing a teaching degree.

That last one matters more than people realize. I’ve seen beautifully designed curricula that made total sense to an educator and completely overwhelmed a parent who just wanted to teach their kid to read. The best open-and-go curriculum is the one that makes you feel capable — not the one that requires a teaching degree to navigate. That’s exactly what we set out to build with Schoolio.

For research-backed context on education outcomes and learning support, see National Center for Education Statistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if an all-in-one curriculum is working for my child?

Observe your child’s engagement and progress. If they are excited about learning and meeting educational milestones, it’s likely a good fit. Regularly assess their understanding through quizzes or discussions to ensure they’re grasping concepts.

Can I supplement an all-in-one curriculum with additional resources?

Absolutely. Many families choose to add extra materials to enhance their child’s learning experience. For instance, if your child loves science, you might add a hands-on experiment kit to deepen their understanding and interest.


All-In-One Homeschool Curriculum: A Parent’s Guide

Juggling multiple subjects and activities can make homeschooling overwhelming. Parents often struggle to find a balanced approach that covers everything their child needs. An all-in-one homeschool curriculum offers a streamlined solution, providing comprehensive materials that ease planning and ensure thorough coverage of essential topics.

What Is an All-In-One Homeschool Curriculum?

An all-in-one homeschool curriculum is a comprehensive educational package that includes materials for multiple subjects, designed to cover a full academic year. It usually combines textbooks, workbooks, and digital content to make planning seamless. This approach allows parents to have one cohesive resource, saving time and reducing stress.

These curricula are often structured to align with grade-level standards, ensuring that children receive a well-rounded education. They include subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies. Some packages might also offer additional resources such as art, music, and physical education to enrich the learning experience.

Using an all-in-one curriculum can simplify the homeschooling process because parents don’t need to source materials from different providers. Everything needed is often included, from lesson plans to assessment tools. This cohesive structure helps maintain focus and consistency in teaching.

How Does It Benefit Homeschooling Families?

The primary benefit of an all-in-one homeschool curriculum is the simplification of teaching and planning. It provides a structured approach, reducing the time parents spend on preparation. For instance, having a single package means that all subjects are integrated, ensuring continuity and cohesion in learning. This means parents can focus more on teaching and less on planning.

Additionally, these curricula often come with guidance and support, making it easier for parents new to homeschooling. Many offer access to online communities or educator support, which can be invaluable for troubleshooting or gaining new teaching insights. This support network can be especially helpful when tackling challenging subjects.

Moreover, parents can have peace of mind knowing that the curriculum is designed to meet educational standards. This assurance can lead to a more relaxed teaching environment, allowing for a focus on fostering a love for learning rather than just meeting benchmarks. For more resources on homeschooling support, visit the Schoolio blog.

Are There Any Drawbacks to Consider?

While all-in-one curricula offer many benefits, they may not suit every family. Some parents might find the structured approach too rigid, limiting their ability to tailor lessons to their child’s interests and needs. This can lead to a lack of flexibility, which might not work for families who prefer a more personalized homeschooling experience.

Another potential drawback is the cost. Comprehensive packages can be expensive, which could be a barrier for some families. However, many parents find the investment worthwhile due to the convenience and comprehensive coverage these packages offer. It’s essential to weigh the cost against the time and effort saved in lesson planning.

Additionally, some curricula may not align perfectly with a family’s educational philosophy or specific learning goals. It’s crucial to evaluate the content carefully to ensure it meets your expectations. For a variety of curriculum options, explore the Schoolio curriculum.

How to Choose the Right Curriculum for Your Family?

Choosing the right all-in-one homeschool curriculum involves considering several factors, such as your child’s learning style, educational goals, and your teaching preferences. Start by evaluating what you want to achieve in your homeschooling journey. Consider whether a structured approach aligns with your family’s educational philosophy.

Next, research and compare different curricula to find one that fits your budget and provides the necessary support. Look for recommendations and reviews from other homeschooling parents to gain insights into what has worked well for others. Trust your intuition when making the final decision.

It’s also beneficial to take advantage of trial periods or samples offered by curriculum providers. This allows you to test the materials before committing fully. For further assistance in selecting the right curriculum, visit the Schoolio shop for options tailored to diverse needs.

Can It Accommodate Different Learning Styles?

Yes, many all-in-one homeschool curricula are designed to be adaptable to various learning styles. They often include a mix of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities to engage different types of learners. For example, a curriculum might use videos, hands-on projects, and reading materials to cater to diverse preferences, enhancing engagement for every child.

Parents can also modify or supplement these curricula with additional resources to better suit their child’s specific needs. This flexibility allows you to maintain the benefits of a structured program while still personalizing your child’s education. Understanding your child’s learning style can help you choose the most suitable curriculum.

Consulting resources like Understood.org can provide insights into adapting education for different learning needs. This ensures that all children, regardless of their learning style, can thrive in a homeschooling environment.

What Resources Support All-In-One Curricula?

Supporting an all-in-one homeschool curriculum involves utilizing various resources that enhance the educational experience. Online platforms, community groups, and educational websites provide additional support and enrichment. Access to teacher forums and parent groups can also offer valuable advice and sharing of best practices.

Many curricula now include access to online learning portals that offer supplementary materials, interactive lessons, and progress tracking. These tools help parents monitor their child’s advancement and adjust as needed. Leveraging technology aids in keeping the learning experience dynamic and engaging.

Moreover, accessing external resources such as the Coalition for Responsible Home Education can provide further guidance on homeschooling strategies and state requirements. This ensures that your approach remains effective and compliant with educational standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an all-in-one curriculum suitable for high school students?

Yes, many all-in-one curricula are designed with high school students in mind, providing advanced subjects and college prep materials. This helps ensure students are well-prepared for post-secondary education.

How can I supplement an all-in-one curriculum?

You can supplement with additional materials such as library books, educational outings, or online courses tailored to your child’s interests and strengths. This personalization can enhance learning.


Avoiding the Homeschool Curriculum Graveyard

The Homeschool Curriculum Graveyard

You know the shelf. It’s where unused homeschool curriculum materials gather dust. Maybe it’s an actual shelf, or perhaps it’s a pile in the corner of your office. The reading program that worked for two weeks, the math curriculum your friend swore by that your child absolutely hated, and the boxed set you spent $300 on that’s still mostly shrink-wrapped.

If you have one of these shelves, I want you to hear this:

You are not alone. And it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

The guilt is real.

Let’s just name it.

There is something uniquely painful about spending money — real money, money you sacrificed for — on something that didn’t work.

And in homeschooling, where the stakes feel so high and the choices feel so permanent, that pain has a specific flavour.

What if I chose wrong? What if I wasted our money? What if I’m the reason my child is falling behind?

I’ve been there.

I have stood in front of that shelf and felt every one of those feelings.

And I want to tell you what I eventually learned:

A curriculum that doesn’t work for your child is not a failure.

It’s data.

The overwhelm is by design.

The homeschool curriculum market is enormous. There are hundreds of programs, philosophies, approaches, and price points. Classical. Charlotte Mason. Unschooling. Unit studies. Online. Offline. Boxed. Digital. Secular. Faith-based.

And everyone in every Facebook group has a different passionate opinion about which one is the only one that actually works.

No wonder you’ve tried six of them.

The overwhelm isn’t a reflection of your indecisiveness.

It’s a reflection of an industry that offers infinite choices with very little guidance on how to choose.

Most curriculum companies don’t ask about your child before they sell you something.

They just sell you something.

The half-used programs tell a story.

Look at that shelf again.

Not with guilt this time — with curiosity.

What got abandoned after two weeks? What did your child resist from day one? What worked for a while and then stopped?

Each of those programs is telling you something about how your child learns.

The overly structured one that caused daily meltdowns — your child needs flexibility.

The one with too many subjects crammed into one day — your child needs breathing room.

The one your child loved until it got repetitive and boring — your child needs variety and novelty to stay engaged.

Your curriculum graveyard isn’t evidence of failure.

It’s a map.

And now you know more about your child’s learning style than most parents ever get to discover.

What should you look for in a homeschool curriculum?

Look for a homeschool curriculum that is flexible, gives your child ownership, and is manageable for you. Flexibility allows adaptation to your child’s pace, like a math program that adjusts difficulty based on progress. Ownership, such as choosing books for a reading list, increases engagement. Manageability ensures you can implement it without stress, making homeschooling sustainable.

After years of teaching, homeschooling, and talking to thousands of homeschool families through Schoolio — here’s what I’ve learned separates the programs that stick from the ones that end up on the shelf:

It has to be flexible. A curriculum that demands your child learn at a specific pace, on a specific schedule, in a specific way — will eventually fail a child who doesn’t fit that mold. And most kids don’t fit that mold.

It has to give your child some ownership. When kids have a say in what they learn — even small choices within a structured program — resistance drops dramatically.

It has to be manageable for you. If the parent guide reads like a textbook and requires hours of prep, it will get abandoned. You are not a classroom teacher with a planning period. You need something you can actually open and use.

It has to fit your child — not a birth year. A curriculum that places your child based solely on their age rather than their actual level, interests, and needs is going to miss them. Every time.

How can you prevent the shelf from growing?

To prevent the homeschool curriculum shelf from growing, choose programs designed for your child’s unique needs. Look for curricula that adapt to learning styles, like those offering hands-on activities for kinesthetic learners. Use trials to test fit before committing. This ensures resources are used effectively and reduces waste.

I built Schoolio because I kept seeing the same story.

Families who had tried everything. Shelves full of good intentions and real money. Parents who were starting to wonder if the problem was them.

It wasn’t them.

It was never them.

It was programs that weren’t built for their child.

You deserve a curriculum that was.

Schoolio lets your child choose their own science and social studies courses from our marketplace, adapts to their level rather than their birth year, and is designed to be open-and-go for parents who don’t have hours to plan. Start your free trial and see if it’s the one that finally stays off the graveyard shelf.

For more from Schoolio, see Exploring Open and Go Homeschool Curriculum for Elementary Ages, Homeschool Kindergarten: A Guide to Curriculum and Schedule, 5 Tips To Avoiding Homeschool Burnout | How To Avoid Homeschooling Burnout.

For research-backed context on education outcomes and learning support, see National Center for Education Statistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a curriculum is right for my child?

To determine if a curriculum is right for your child, consider their learning style, interests, and current academic level. Look for programs that offer flexibility and allow for customization. Reading reviews and seeking recommendations from other homeschooling parents can also provide valuable insights into whether a curriculum might be a good fit.

What should I do with unused curriculum materials?

Unused curriculum materials can be sold, donated, or repurposed. Consider selling them through homeschool groups or online marketplaces. Donations to libraries or homeschooling co-ops can benefit others. Repurposing materials for crafts or supplemental activities can also make use of otherwise idle resources, turning them into valuable learning tools.


Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Object Permanence and the ADHD Brain

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Object Permanence and the ADHD Brain

Have you ever watched your child walk past the thing you asked them to do — three times — without doing it?

Not because they forgot. Not because they’re ignoring you. Not because they don’t care.

Because the moment it left their visual field, it genuinely ceased to exist in their awareness.

Or maybe you’ve noticed that the homework is always done — it just never makes it back to the bag. That the permission slip was signed and then vanished into a dimension only ADHD children can access. That the water bottle is refilled every single day and left on the counter every single day because the bag is in the other room and the bag is therefore not real right now.

This is object permanence. And it’s one of those ADHD traits that sounds almost too simple to be significant — until you start seeing how many daily frustrations it explains.

What Object Permanence Actually Means

In developmental psychology, object permanence refers to a baby’s understanding that things continue to exist even when they can’t be seen. It’s why peek-a-boo delights a four-month-old — to them, your face genuinely disappears behind your hands and reappears like magic. By around eight to twelve months, most babies develop the understanding that objects persist even when hidden.

So what does this have to do with ADHD?

In ADHD, object permanence works differently — not at the level of basic cognitive development, but at the level of working memory and attentional awareness. The ADHD brain has a significantly harder time holding things in mind that aren’t directly in front of it. Not because the knowledge isn’t there, but because the mental representation of the thing — the internal reminder that it exists and matters — doesn’t stay active without external cues to support it.

Out of sight isn’t just out of mind.

It’s out of existence.

What This Looks Like in Daily Life

Once you have the language for this, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.

The vanishing task. You ask your child to put their shoes away, and they head in that direction — genuinely intending to do it — and then something catches their attention on the way and the shoes are gone from their mental landscape entirely. By the time they get to the other room, there is no shoes task. There is only whatever is in front of them now.

The invisible object. The lunchbox is in the fridge. Your child opens the fridge, stares directly at the lunchbox, and closes the fridge to tell you there’s nothing to eat. The lunchbox wasn’t in their attentional field in that moment — so the lunchbox wasn’t there.

The completed-but-undelivered task. The homework is done. The form is signed. The thing they were supposed to bring is ready. But it exists in the place where it was completed, and the place where it needs to go is a different location with a different context — and the connection between the two never fires. This is why finished work doesn’t make it into the backpack, why signed forms live on the kitchen counter for weeks, why the library book sits by the door for four days and still doesn’t get returned.

The out-of-routine object. When things are always in the same place, they’re findable — because the routine itself is the cue. But the moment something is moved, or lives somewhere slightly different, or is part of a new system, it becomes effectively invisible. Not because your child is careless. Because without the established visual cue, the mental representation doesn’t activate.

Why This Is Not Forgetfulness — And Why That Distinction Matters

Parents often describe this as their child forgetting things. And it looks like forgetting. But the mechanism is meaningfully different — and understanding the difference changes how you respond to it.

Forgetting implies the information was encoded and then lost. What’s happening with ADHD object permanence is more like the information never fully makes it into active awareness in the first place — or can’t stay there without ongoing external support.

This is a working memory difference, not a memory difference. Your child’s long-term memory may be perfectly intact. What’s different is the system that keeps things active and present in the moment — the mental sticky note that says this exists, this matters, this needs to happen.

That system, in the ADHD brain, is unreliable. It drops things. Not selectively, not strategically, not as a choice.

It just drops them.

Which means consequences and reminders aimed at making your child try harder to remember are addressing the wrong thing entirely. You can’t willpower your way to a better working memory. What you can do is build an environment that does the remembering for you.

Working With It Instead of Against It

The most effective strategies for ADHD object permanence are environmental, not motivational. The goal is to make the important things visible, physical, and impossible to move past without engaging.

Make it visual. If it needs to happen, it needs to be seen. Whiteboards, sticky notes, visual checklists in the spaces where the task needs to occur — not in a notebook, not on a phone, not somewhere they have to remember to check. The cue needs to exist in the physical environment where the action happens.

Keep it in the path. If the library book needs to go back, it goes directly in front of the door. Not near the door. Not on the shelf by the door. In front of the door, where it is physically impossible to leave without encountering it. Object permanence can’t drop something that’s blocking the exit.

One location, always. For things that matter — keys, bags, water bottles, shoes — one designated spot that never changes. The routine is the memory. When the place is always the same, the object becomes findable even when it’s not in active awareness, because the habit does the work that working memory can’t.

The backpack rule. Anything that needs to travel somewhere else gets put directly into the bag the moment it’s done — not when they’re ready to leave, not before bed, right now, while they’re still in the context where it was completed. The journey from “done” to “in the bag” needs to happen in one uninterrupted movement, because the moment the task context changes, the connection breaks.

Verbal plus physical. When giving instructions, pair the verbal request with a physical cue — walking to the location together, touching the object, demonstrating the action. The physical engagement creates a stronger imprint than words alone and gives the brain more than one channel to encode the information through.

What This Looks Like in Your Homeschool

Object permanence differences can make homeschooling logistics genuinely challenging — but they can also make homeschooling a real advantage.

In a traditional school, the systems are fixed and the consequences for missed steps are immediate and often public. The permission slip that didn’t make it back. The homework that didn’t get handed in. The equipment that stayed home on PE day. These aren’t character failures — but they get treated like ones, and the accumulated shame of a thousand small drops adds up.

At home, you have the flexibility to build the environment around how your child’s brain actually works. You can keep materials exactly where they’re used. You can use visual systems without self-consciousness. You can build the backpack-packing moment into the natural end of each lesson rather than leaving it to the morning rush.

At Schoolio, our structured but flexible approach makes it easy to build these kinds of environmental supports into your daily rhythm — because the goal was never to make your child adapt to the system. It was always to make the system work for your child.

It’s Not Carelessness. It’s Just How the Brain Works.

The child who leaves their lunchbox on the counter every single day is not being careless.

The child who completes the assignment and never hands it in is not being lazy.

The child who walks past the thing you asked them to do three times without doing it is not ignoring you.

They are living in the present moment, completely and entirely — because the ADHD brain is exquisitely good at that, and genuinely challenged by everything that requires holding the non-present in mind.

That’s not a moral failing.

That’s a nervous system doing what it does.

Your job isn’t to make them care more.

It’s to make the important things impossible to miss.

Understanding Dysgraphia: A Guide for Homeschool Parents

What Is Dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing skills, including handwriting, spelling, and composition. It is caused by a disconnect between the brain and the motor skills required for writing. This means children with dysgraphia often struggle to produce written work. Understanding dysgraphia is crucial for homeschool parents to offer effective support.

Dysgraphia is not about intelligence; children with this condition may have average or above-average intelligence. The issue lies in the brain’s ability to process and transfer information to written form. This can manifest in messy handwriting, difficulty organizing thoughts on paper, and spelling errors.

Recognizing dysgraphia early can significantly impact a child’s education. When parents understand the challenges, they can implement strategies to help their child succeed. Resources and adaptations can be tailored to the child’s needs, creating a more inclusive learning environment.

How Can I Recognize Dysgraphia in My Child?

Recognizing dysgraphia involves noticing persistent difficulties with writing tasks despite adequate instruction. Signs include illegible handwriting, slow writing speed, and difficulty with spelling or grammar. These issues often lead to frustration and avoidance of writing tasks, impacting overall learning. For parents, identifying these signs is a crucial step in providing targeted support.

Parents should observe their child’s writing process and final written products. If the child avoids writing or complains about hand pain, these could be signs of dysgraphia. Additionally, comparing their writing skills to other areas of learning can provide insight into whether there is a specific struggle with writing.

Consulting with educators or specialists can confirm suspicions of dysgraphia. These professionals can perform assessments to determine if a child meets the criteria for dysgraphia. This diagnosis is key to accessing resources and accommodations.

What Teaching Strategies Work Best?

Effective teaching strategies for dysgraphia include multisensory approaches, explicit instruction, and frequent breaks. Multisensory techniques, such as using sandpaper letters or letter tiles, reinforce learning through multiple senses. Explicit instruction in letter formation and spacing can also help. For parents, these strategies can make writing less stressful and more engaging for their child.

Incorporating assistive technology, like speech-to-text programs, can bypass writing difficulties and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge. Additionally, providing outlines or graphic organizers can help students organize their thoughts before writing.

Regular breaks during writing assignments can prevent fatigue and frustration. Creating a structured but flexible schedule allows children to take needed breaks without falling behind. It’s important to celebrate small achievements to build confidence and motivation.

How Can Technology Assist in Overcoming Dysgraphia?

Technology can significantly assist students with dysgraphia by providing alternative ways to complete writing tasks. Tools like speech-to-text applications, word processors with spell-check, and graphic organizer apps can help. For parents, integrating these tools into daily learning can reduce stress and enhance productivity.

Speech-to-text software allows students to express their ideas verbally, which can be particularly useful for those who struggle with typing or handwriting. Word processors offer features like predictive text and spell-check, which are invaluable for students with dysgraphia.

Graphic organizer apps help students plan essays or reports visually, making the process of organizing and structuring their thoughts more straightforward. By using these technologies, students can focus on content rather than form, leading to a more positive learning experience.

Is Professional Help Necessary?

Professional help can be beneficial but is not always necessary for every child with dysgraphia. Consulting with an occupational therapist or educational psychologist can provide a formal diagnosis and specific strategies. This professional guidance can complement a parent’s efforts, offering additional support and resources.

Therapists can offer targeted exercises to improve fine motor skills, which can enhance handwriting. They can also recommend accommodations and modifications that parents can implement at home.

However, with the right resources and strategies, many parents successfully support their children through homeschooling. It’s essential to evaluate your child’s unique needs and seek professional advice if challenges persist despite your efforts.

How Does Schoolio Support Students with Dysgraphia?

Schoolio supports students with dysgraphia by offering adaptable curriculum options that cater to diverse learning needs. With resources designed for flexibility, parents can customize lessons to suit their child’s strengths and weaknesses. This means a more personalized education that accommodates learning differences.

The Schoolio platform includes digital and printed materials, allowing students to choose the format that works best for them. This flexibility can be particularly helpful for students who may struggle with traditional pen-and-paper tasks.

Parents can also connect with a community of other homeschooling families through Schoolio, sharing tips and experiences. This network can provide support and encouragement, making homeschooling a more enriching experience for both parent and child.

For research-backed context on education outcomes and learning support, see National Center for Education Statistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the common signs of dysgraphia?

Common signs include illegible handwriting, slow writing, difficulty with spelling, and trouble organizing thoughts on paper. Children may also express frustration or avoid writing tasks.

How can I help my child at home?

Use multisensory learning techniques, provide regular breaks, and incorporate technology tools like speech-to-text. Encourage practice in a supportive, low-pressure environment.

Do I need a formal diagnosis for accommodations?

A formal diagnosis can help access specific resources and accommodations, but many strategies can be implemented at home without one.

  • Explore Schoolio’s curriculum options

  • Visit Schoolio’s homeschooling blog

  • Shop Schoolio’s educational resources


Take The Stress Out Of Your Homeschool

Parental stress can damage your well-being and your child’s development. And as a homeschooling parent, you might feel overwhelmed and stressed when you think about everything you need to accomplish in a day. So, what are some ways to cope with and overcome the stress you may feel? How can you take the stress out of your homeschool?

The negative impact stress has on your child.

Your child feeds off of how you’re feeling. When you’re feeling stress, nine times out of ten, they will also feel some stress. Homeschooling has provided many children with the break they desperately need from a stressful school environment. However, when we place more emphasis on them at home, we reverse the positive impacts homeschooling can have on your child.

Unhealthy and ongoing stress can weaken the architecture of your child’s developing brain, leading to lifelong problems in learning. Homeschooling is a huge commitment, and it can be stressful, but unfortunately, too many homeschooling parents make it even more stressful than it should be. When we are always bringing the stress to the homeschool, our children will begin to associate this negativity and stress with learning and, in extreme cases you.

Three ways you might be bringing unintentional stress to your homeschool.

  1. Expecting perfection. When expecting perfection from your child or yourself, you place unnecessary and unhealthy stress on your child and yourself. If you’re transitioning your child from public school to homeschooling or just starting Kindergarten with your child, remember that this transition takes time for you and your child.
  2. Comparing yourself to others or comparing your children to other children. Comparing your homeschool to another parent’s homeschool can be extremely easy. Or worse, comparing your child to another child. But the issue with comparison is that we will always compare our very worst to someone’s very best.
  3. Trying to finish every book. Do you become obsessed with finishing different subject books before the end of the year? Are you constantly attempting to have your child complete every assignment daily without any room for breaks? It’s okay if you don’t finish the entire book, primarily if the subject reflects previously-learned concepts like math. There’s a huge chance that when your child begins the next level, the beginning lessons will review what they should’ve learned in the previous level.

Please don’t feel guilty; we all seem to bring unintentional stress to our homeschool from time to time.

Nora has three children and decided to start homeschooling the two older ones during the beginning of the pandemic, but she quickly found that stress was taking over. “I wanted to keep my grade one and Kindergartener safe at home; I thought it would be a piece of cake. But I started struggling right from the get-go. I wanted to be this amazing homeschooling teacher and balance it all. But I found I was short with my kids when they weren’t doing their homework. Then the baby would start fussing. And the situation turned bad quickly.”

What did Nora do to ease the stress in her homeschool?

“I decided to take it day by day. I stopped trying to get it all done, so when my son, who was in grade one, started to lose focus, we would stop for the day or move to an activity to shift his focus onto something else. I initially put a lot of pressure on myself because I didn’t want to mess up my kid’s education. But I found that I was quickly pulling us all down in my efforts to make our homeschool-like school.”

What can you do to take the stress out of your homeschool?

Find great resources.

There are so many options available to homeschooling families now, so it’s up to you to find the best resources for your family. Most, if not all, homeschooling curriculum providers have free samples available either on their website or upon request. This means you don’t need to purchase a curriculum and hope for the best blindly. Instead, you can use these samples to see which works best with your family’s homeschool vibe.

Don’t be afraid to switch resources when something isn’t working anymore.

Additionally, don’t forget that switching your learning materials up is ok. You don’t have to commit to one homeschool curriculum from grades 1 to 8. One curriculum that might have been an excellent match for your family one year might not be the best option for your family the next. Using other resources is okay; you don’t have to stick to the same one forever.

Allow your homeschool to evolve.

Just like you might find that your family grows out of a specific curriculum, your family may also evolve through different homeschooling styles. And that’s ok! If you started homeschooling with the school-at-home style but have found that unschooling is more your vibe. It’s ok to evolve, again and again, to meet your family’s learning needs. As our children grow, they’re constantly changing. Finding the best way of learning for them throughout these changes is essential.

Figure out your family’s learning routine.

You don’t have to stick to a specific routine like a traditional school. Your children and family are unique; why should your homeschooling routine not be? A good way will help keep your homeschool less stressful.

Remember that homeschooling doesn’t take as long as a traditional school.

This is important to remember when taking the stress out of your homeschool. Children in traditional schools spend around six hours each day in school. That doesn’t mean you have to mirror that time commitment because homeschooling is entirely different from conventional school and doesn’t take as long. Children in traditional schools have assemblies, circle time, recess, lunch, and breaks and must wait while the teacher attempts to teach a class of 20+ children. Homeschooling is one-on-one, which takes away a considerable chunk of time.

Teach critical social-emotional skills with your core subjects.

Emotional skills are often left out of education; how can a holistic education be without these skills being taught? Our children experience big feelings, and they might not be able to communicate them very well, so it comes out as bad behaviour. If your child is melting down over things that seem small to you, they might be flooded with emotions. First, respond with empathy towards your child, and help them get to a calm place. Then be sure to make learning social-emotional skills a priority.

Check out Social Emotional Learning by Schoolio for excellent lessons on learning to manage how we think and feel.

Avoid pressuring your child.

We all know that homeschooling isn’t always sunshine and roses, some days, your child might feel stressed from a particular concept they are learning if you sense that your child feels that stress, don’t pressure them to complete it. Take a break and revisit it another day. While being sure to implement fun activities and give them breaks to process.

Start with what they’re interested in.

Do you usually start your homeschool day with the least favourite subject in an attempt to get it out of the way? Don’t do that! Begin the homeschool day with what your child is highly interested in. This will help take the stress out of your homeschool by setting up a healthy love for learning.

Outsource when needed.

If you’re struggling to teach a particular subject to your child, consider outsourcing the teaching of this subject through an online class or tutoring platform like Schoolio After-School.

Take care of yourself.

You are doing all the things. Homeschooling, cleaning, cooking and probably working a job also. Doing all these things can place you at a higher risk of burnout, so prioritize self-care. Schedule it, take time just for yourself, and do something you love. And be patient with yourself because just like your child is learning – so are you.

Additional resources for parental stress: Click here.

 

Not sure how to get started with your homeschool? Or need some help organizing it?

Book a Concierge Call.

If you aren’t sure how to get started or what programs would best suit your child’s learning needs, then you can chat with one of our experts on a one-on-one Concierge Call, completely free!
Click here to book a Concierge Call. 

 

When Your Homeschool Schedule Isn’t Going As Planned.

What do you do when your homeschool schedule isn’t going as planned? 

Autumn is such a fitting season for school to resume. The weather outside matches the excitement that many homeschoolers feel when beginning a new school year. Both the new season and the beginning of a school year are fresh, crisp, and filled with promise. Many excited homeschool parents have their colour coded schedules all ready to go. Some are already diving into their curriculum with their students for the year. Staying on schedule can feel really good, but what do you do when your homeschool schedule isn’t going as planned? 

First of all, it happens.

It happens to all of us. Not just in the category of ‘homeschool’, but in all  categories of life. We all have times that we’ve made elaborate plans, and then plans suddenly changed and those hopes you once had are just a distant alternate reality that didn’t come to fruition. When things don’t go as planned it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and sometimes cause anger.  Because we just want things to work out the way we had originally planned, who doesn’t?

So, what do you do when your homeschool plan falls apart? 

Your amazing colour coded, perfectly planned schedule is now null and void. What now? Do you become aggravated? Because now you have to start over from scratch? Do you try to rewrite the plan? Or do you just throw away the plan and wing it? What’s the best alternative to a broken homeschool plan? 

When a setback occurs for your homeschool or any other area of your life you should always:

  • Check in with yourself.

Clarify what the initial goal was. What were you hoping to accomplish with your homeschool plan? How close did you come to accomplishing this goal? Taking a look at what you were hoping to ‘accomplish’ and how close you came are simple ways to ground yourself in reality and help you not too overreact when things get messy and the plan gets interrupted. Change and scheduling issues are inevitable. Because life is a series of ups and downs, so try not to let this pull you down. 

  • Remember the truth. 

Setbacks and messed up plans are not a reflection of you as a person or a homeschool teacher. Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan, and sometimes they do. Life is a never ending balancing act. It’s really important for you to remember that this isn’t your fault. Sometimes things change, and it’s how we react to the change that matters the most. 

  • Know that you aren’t the only one with the scheduling issue. 

Believe it or not most, if not all, homeschool families experience setbacks and delays when it comes to accomplishing that which they had originally planned. For sure it can be frustrating, but homeschool parents are one-of-a-kind. Strong, brave, and not afraid of a set-back. When things get turned upside down, utilize this opportunity to show your kids that life doesn’t go as planned, and through the set-backs we learn important lessons and test our resilience. 

  • Plan for the unexpected.

When things get off-track, plan for them to get off-track again. Because they will! That’s part of life. Sometimes we can’t control our circumstances, really no one can. There isn’t a single person in this world that has the ability to know when the unexpected will happen. So expect the unexpected, because I guarantee it will happen. 

  • Ditch this false idea that things need to be perfect.

It’s homeschool, not traditional school. It won’t look like ‘real school’, because it’s not supposed to. You probably won’t have school desks, a big chalkboard, and colour coded binders (or maybe you will). You won’t be able to get your kids to sit at their desks in their house for 6 hours. Homeschooling is different, and it is beautiful. You can personalize your schedule, you can decide when is the best time for education to begin and end for the day. It’s not perfect, because it’s not meant to be. 

  • Don’t get stuck in it – move forward.

Things didn’t go as you planned? OK. Let’s move forward. Learn from your mistakes. ‘What happened that threw us off our plan? Did I maybe plan too much?’ Relax your schedule. There are so many circumstances that can occur. Like, the whole family catching the flu, the homeschool curriculum company experiencing printing delays, your child finding a topic they’re really interested in and want to spend more time on. And the list continues. 

Instead of becoming upset and discouraged when your homeschool schedule doesn’t go as planned, focus on the fact that sometimes things fall off track. Move forward. Always, move forward.

 

Additional Resources for you to check out:

Daily Homeschool Planning Tips

Overcoming Setbacks 

Staying Sane When Things Don’t Go As Planned

 

 

5 Tips To Avoiding Homeschool Burnout | How To Avoid Homeschooling Burnout

How To Avoid Homeschooling Burnout

You probably already know that parenting is not easy! It was tough, long before the year 2020. However, this year has taught many parents how to be more adaptable, homeschool, and how to keep your kid calm when you feel like you’re going to freak out at any given second. This year has been a bust on many different levels. If you are having a difficult time with COVID and feel like you are struggling to maintain sanity at home, we have a few tips to share from our experience. 

Since we won’t be entering the new year with a solution to all our problems, let’s start it off with some excellent tips for giving ourselves an adequate dose of self-care. What does self-care look like anyway? When I hear those words, I think of a person with a mint face mask, cucumbers on their eyes, hair in a towel, wearing a white house robe and being too pampered. I’ve never actually had this happen to me, but it’s where my mind goes when I think of ‘self-care’. What does self-care look like for a homeschooling parent? You may try to lock your door and hide from your kids for a few minutes. But does that help?  

For some people, self-care and self-love look like: Laying on the couch, watching a movie while your kids mess up the basement. Or cleaning and organizing all the cupboards in your kitchen. For some, it’s painting the dining room so that when you walk in the room, the burst of fresh colour helps lift your spirits. For some, it’s a bath with Epsom salt and lavender. Maybe for you, it’s taking a walk or a long run. Or locking yourself in the bathroom with a box of chocolate to soothe the anxiety you’re feeling. There’re many different ways that people medicate with Self-care and love. How do you? 

Top Tips

Let’s start with the symptoms. These indicators are warning signs; please pay attention to them.

· Crying randomly
· Lack of patience with daily tasks
· Overeating or no appetite
· Overreacting
· Irrational decisions

· Crying randomly
· Lack of patience with daily tasks
· Overeating or no appetite
· Overreacting
· Irrational decisions

A few tips,
· Lower your expectation. You cannot be the parent, the teacher, the wife/husband and the other ten roles you need to play. It is ok to lower your expectations and underperform.
· Build a community. Create a small circle of strangers with whom you can share and be transparent outside of your family. Sometimes, it is hard to communicate with the ones you love and having this outlet will help you share the burden.
· Create a schedule and get the family to involve in all aspects of running the house. Please don’t do it all yourself.
· Get out of the house. Take a walk, go for a drive – something.
· Do ‘your’ thing. What is the one activity that you can do by yourself that makes you happy? Reading? Painting? – find something that gives you alone time and some mental break

On the newest episode of The Schoolio Podcast, we discuss how different self-care and love can look for many of us. Laughter being a huge one, have you ever thought of laughter as a way to remedy the blues? Have you ever heard of writing letters to yourself? Today we talk about both these interesting self-care ideas and so much more. 

The laughter in this episode is contagious, so beware! And please, share with us your go-to self-care tips! We would love to hear them.

Listen to episode 11 of The Schoolio Podcast now on your favourite podcast streaming app, or listen on Spotify.

Let us offer you a slice of peace of mind. We know that right now, many kids are bored from the lack of routine that they’re experiencing. So, we have a brand new FREE mini unit about New Year’s for your sweet kids to do when they’re ‘bored’. 

You can pick up your FREE Mini Unit here: https://schoolio.io/newyear/

P.S are you on the fence about homeschooling? Have the newest lockdowns made you frustrated that your child’s education has been interrupted yet again? Maybe you really aren’t a fan of virtual learning but you aren’t sure where to start, or how? 

We have all the tools you need to start your homeschooling journey at: https://schoolio.io  

Why Your Kids Are Driving You Nuts.

You’re now a few weeks into homeschooling and hopefully by now you’ve started to find a groove. Or you’ve learned 82 ways that DON’T work and you’re still searching for a peaceful rhythm.

Let me ask you this: Are your kids driving you crazy?

Are you wondering how on earth the veteran homeschool moms handle this gig? How do they stand being with their kids so much? I mean, you love those kiddos to pieces and you would literally jump in front of a bus for them, but they’re like, literally always here, am I right? 

You’re probably wondering, when do you get a break? When do you get time to yourself? Your kids seem to need a question answered or a snack approved or a fight resolved every 5 minutes! 

So, here’s the veteran homeschool mom secret: Homeschooled kids are actually more independent. 

I’m sorry to say it, I hope you don’t feel offended, and I know there will be people who disagree. It just doesn’t fit the stereotype that homeschooled kids can’t “cut the apron strings” or “have no real-world experience.” (Trust me, if there was a fake world I had access to, I’d be seriously considering moving in as 2020 carries on, but no matter where I go, here I am in the “real world”.)

People ask me all the time about when I get “time to myself” as a homeschool mom. And at first, I wasn’t sure how to answer. I mean, when I think about it, you’re right, they ARE always here aren’t they? I hadn’t really noticed… I mean, I know they are here.  What I truly mean is, I have LOADS of time alone. Half the time I’m really not sure WHERE my kids are. They are home, that I know. But are they in their rooms reading, in the basement playing a boardgame, outside in the backyard? I don’t know. It’s possible I haven’t heard a peep from them in an hour or more.

I write for a living and my desk is in the living room. The living room! Does that blow your mind? I can work in the living room with my kids also in the living room and no one bugs me for long stretches of time. Did your head just explode? My kids aren’t special. They are totally regular kids. Homeschooled kids.

The problem could just be that the school system actually teaches kids to do all these behaviors you are finding obnoxious. And the only way to really fix it is to wait. This is a matter of time, and patience, while your children unlearnsome of the non-academic things school has taught them. I’ve written a list of things the school system has taught your kids that may be driving you bonkers in your early days of homeschooling, and how to help minimize this type of behavior:

1. Asking permission.

Kids in school learn that they have to ask permission for ev.er.y.thing. Need to get a tissue? Sharpen your pencil? Use the washroom? Get a drink of water? Ask. Permission. 

I understand why they do this in school: classroom management. You absolutely cannot manage 30+ children with one adult without a lot of rules and asking permission to do anything that’s different than what the rest of the group is doing. It’s a necessity of the school system. But remember now that your kids are at home, they are used to an environment where they can’t make their own decisions and get up and do something on their own. So when you’re trying to get some work done and hoping your kid can do one simple math page independently, but two minutes after you sit down he’s standing beside your desk chair, saying something like, “Ummm, I need my pencil sharpened…”looking lost and confused and you’re thinking to yourself, “SO SHARPEN IT!!! Why does this need to involve me?!?!!?” Don’t pull your hair out just yet. Take a deep breath, and remind your child that he can sharpen his pencil on his own, he can figure out where and what to do, and in the future he can just do it, without your permission first. Be careful not to simply give the permission they’ve asked you for, or this will just continue. Simply empower them to make their own decisions by gently reminding them every time that they don’t need permission, and they can do what they need to when they need to do it, because you trust them to make those decisions. 

2. Being constantly scheduled.

Odds are, if your kids have spent time in the school system, they’ve gotten pretty used to having every moment scheduled for them. Classes are scheduled, breaks are scheduled, which subject is delivered when, for how long, and the content of that lesson, is all planned out by adults, and your child had zero say in any of it. And if you’re anything like us when our kids were in the system, school takes up so much of your life that your evenings and weekends are usually pretty planned out too with extra-curriculars, obligations, errands, scheduled playdates, and family outings. Your kids are just not used to making decisions for themselves or deciding for themselves how to use their own time. 

This is why you get the “I’m bored”. And you look around at the dozens of toys, games, books, and technology that litter your house and think, “HOW?!? HOW are you not entertained?” But it’s not a matter of not having anything to do, it’s a matter of not knowing what to, because they aren’t used to that kind of choice.

If you think the solution is to micromanage their time, it’s not. I mean, you certainly can, if that brings you joy, and it’ll get rid of the “I’m bored” dilemma, but it won’t teach them anything. Instead, help them brainstorm a mega list of all the things there are to do in your house, and pin it up somewhere. Forbid the words “I’m bored” under threat of chores if you want to, and encourage them to figure out their own entertainment, without (gasp!) any direction from you.

3. Rushing

When my kids were in school, life was a constant rush. As soon as they got up in the morning it was rushing to get breakfast, get ready, get lunches packed, get everyone out the door on time. Kids are rushed and hustled around all day at school: 

“Quickly and quietly through the halls please!” 

“The bell rang, let’s get a move on!” 

“I’m going to count to 3 and by the time I’m done I want everyone in their seats!” 

“Get your snowsuit on! Get your boots on! Let’s go, you’re going to miss the bus home!”

The peaceful pace of homeschool can be such a culture shock, for your kids AND you. You now have the ENTIRE day to get 2ish hours of schoolwork done.  Do you ever get that anxious, twitchy feeling that there are things that you need to be getting done? You know, that feeling you must be forgetting something important? Kids can feel that too! But they’re less capable than adults of labelling their feelings and anxieties and the roots of them. So, while you might just ring your hands, they might jump around on the living room furniture while you’re trying to have a Zoom meeting with your boss.

Try writing a schedule and putting it somewhere they can see that shows them all their free time blocks. Let them visually see how much free time there is going to be today and talk with them about what they think they might choose to do in those times. This will help them feel less uncomfortable with having open time, and help them learn to entertain themselves, if you begin with helping them make those unfamiliar decisions initially. 

4. Fitting In

I’ve talked about the armor our kids wear to protect themselves at school, so I won’t bore you with that rant all over again. But I will say, fitting in is a survival necessity in school social culture. 

When it comes to academics, kids also learn to assimilate and blend in. They learn that the “right” thing to do is to have the “right” answer. No outside the box ideas, no brain dumps, rants, or long trains of thought allowed- you’re holding up the class! 

As a teacher I know that there’s always those kids who wants to tell you a 20 minute story about what their dog ate for breakfast, or go on and on about the new Pokémon card they got- and you half-listen while bustling around the room trying to get everything prepped and set up. Nodding and giving an “uh huh” as often as you can. Until you finally have to interrupt them with a gentle, “That’s really lovely, but I need you to take your seat now so we can start the class” or “That’s a great story, but we need to let someone else have a turn to talk now.” That child has unfortunately been shut down, shut up, and discouraged. It’s not the teacher’s fault- a classroom is a busy place and s/he has other things to do, other children to attend to. S/he DOES need to start class and other kids DO need a turn to talk. The longer your child has been in the school system, the more this natural curiosity, and love of learning, speaking and expressing their thought process has been shut down. 

With your kids learning at home, if your aspiring veterinarian wants to talk about what the dog ate for breakfast in great detail, you can listen. You can google a YouTube video on dogs, you can talk about carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores, you can look at pup’s teeth to see how they differ from our own. You can make that train of thought an entire lesson if you want! Try not to stifle their thoughts when they come pouring out!

Maybe your child isn’t like this though. Maybe when you try to “make learning fun” (what a weird saying- when did learning stop being fun?) by letting them choose topics of interest all you get in response is “I don’t know”. 

Maybe you try to teach in a Socratic fashion by asking questions, and all you get for answers are “I don’t know”. 

Remember that they’ve learned in school to give the right answer, briefly, so class can move on. And they’ve also learned that if they don’t have the right answer, someone else will. So, what’s the point in giving it any lengthy thought? The answer will be provided by either another classmate or the teacher within 30 seconds! This is why your child is so quick to answer with “I don’t know”. In school, you don’t need to think about the answers to questions, you either have the answer or you don’t, and if you don’t, class moves on. 

They’ve also learned to only learn what they’re told to (and because that rarely interests them, they’ve also learned to do the bare minimum required). When you ask something as open ended as “What would YOU like to learn about this year?” that question may just be so big and new that they actually “don’t know”. 

They’ve never had a choice in their education before, so that may just be too big a question right now. Grab some pre-made curriculum or make your own plan on a topic you think they will like based on their interests and go from there. Help them re-open their minds and imaginations and rediscover their love of learning, and their ideas will come back to them!

The bottom line is, hang in there parents. You and your children are brand new to homeschooling, and you both have a lot of unlearning to do. Your groove will come. Your rhythm will be found. Be patient, be kind, be forgiving, take it slow. Lower your expectations. Now lower them again. Hang on to your sanity in these early days of this crazy new ride, and before you know it, you’ll have smooth sailing ahead of you.

Lindsey Casselman is a writer, teacher, and mom. She is the founder of Linden Tree Learning and a valued team member at Schoolio. Lindsey is passionate about helping all parents gain the tools they need to have a successful homeschooling journey.

Welcome: Schoolio Planning Freebies

 

What do you need to accomplish in each day when homeschooling? How can you keep your homeschool on track and set realistic goals that can be easily obtained without throwing you into a frenzy? We love our Schoolio Community, and we care deeply about how you are feeling as a homeschool parent. We don’t want you to feel stressed or worried that you are missing something, or spending the entire day trying to reach unrealistic goals. 

 

 

So what is the best way to have a successful school day? Planning is the best strategy to begin with.  So we had our expert planner, Lindsey, create some awesome free schedule planning tools to help you stay on track and not get overwhelmed. 

One Month Calendar 

Starting out by planning your month is a step in the right direction. You can include field trips, school days and days off on your monthly planner. Pro tip: Use pencil to fill out your monthly calendar, so you can easily erase and update. 

Sometimes the plan has to change, that’s totally normal with homeschooling, so be sure to use pencil or erasable pen. 

Now let’s break it down to a one week plan, Lindsey created an excellent template for planning out the week.  In this planner template, every day is slotted to include Math, Science, Language, Art and so on. Be sure to write down what lessons in which subjects on what days they should be accomplishing them. Remember the Pro Tip, changing up the plan is totally normal.  

Weekly Planner 

 

The weekly planner comes in 1 student or 2 students form. If you have more than one child learning from home, you can take advantage of the Weekly Planner for 2 students. If you have more than 2 students, print out more than one page to match the number of students. 

It’s beyond important to us that you are happy with your homeschool journey. Because we believe that homeschool should be enjoyable for you and your child, it doesn’t have to be ‘another stressful thing’ added to your already full plate. It can be such an enjoyable ride, that you and your child will never forget.   

Take advantage of our free weekly planner and monthly planner downloads. Made free, because we care about your success, time and happiness. 

 

Download our FREE Weekly Planner and One Month Calendar: 

 

 


Weekly Planner – 1 Student


Weekly Planner – 2 Student


One Month Planner