fiddledeedee32I want to start by saying I understand that some of you want your child in public school to have that interaction with other children, or you don’t feel comfortable homeschooling. I know, and I get it. My son went to two years of Head Start and half a year of Kindergarten. I don’t want to go into details, but we had some issues with some of the teachers so we felt it was best to withdraw him and start homeschooling him instead.
I know it’s not for everyone but, if you’re wanting to homeschool your special needs child, I want to help you! I am going to go over some basics that you need to get started. Do not let anyone tell you that you can’t homeschool your child because they have special needs. That is absolutely NOT true! You can do it. I’m not going to tell you it will all be easy, because it’s not. But, it’s totally worth it.
The first thing I will tell you is make sure you research the guidelines in your state. Guidelines are different in each state. So make sure you know your state’s so that you are “legally” homeschooling your child. Some states require that you register your home as a private school. In my state it was very simple. I just had to go on the website for the board of education and fill out the form. There were no fees or anything. The hardest part was coming up with a name. (And how hard is that?)
When we look at other state’s guidelines, some states require for you to keep notes. My state does not require any notes or record keeping. However, each year I have kept a binder of his work and progress. Just in case I ever needed it, you never know. It’s just good to have.
Some states will also require that you work along side with a certified teacher. Mine did not.
You may be required to have your child in therapy services. Speech, occupational and/or physical activities. You could go through a pediatric facility, which is the easiest, or you could go through your local school system. Meaning, you would take your child to the school so many times a week for those services. If you use the school system, you have to go through a lot of, in my opinion, unnecessary meetings with the school board, the school and teachers. If you decide to go through the school system, just be prepared for a bit of a battle. Some schools don’t want to accept children for services if they are not enrolled in the school, but it can be done!
If you go through a local pediatric company, (which is what I did) you will just have to get a referral from your child’s PCP and make sure your child’s insurance will cover the services. That simple! Saves a whole lot of mess rather than going through the school system.
Now, let’s talk curriculum! When it comes to what you will be teaching your kiddo and choosing a program, my state did not require I use a program. But, if you need your school to be accredited, you would need to use a program that is fully accredited. I didn’t feel like we needed the accreditation so I basically made my own curriculum! Which was stressful and fun at the same time.
I started small with basics and worked him up. It took a lot of time and patience because he progresses slowly. I got some ideas off Pinterest for learning strategies, crafts, pintables etc. I counted therapy services and library trips as part of his school. You can count anything as school as long as they are learning!
After a year I ended up also adding computer time. We used ABC Mouse. I love ABC Mouse! You have different age groups and levels to choose from. Your child follows the learning path and when they complete tasks they get tickets to spend! My son loved it!
I am going to go ahead and add a sample schedule for you!
7:45 AM Wake up/Breakfast
8:15 AM Dress/bathroom
8:30 AM Rest/free time
9:00 AM Math /Science
9:30 AM Speech Therapy / Occupational Therapy
10:45 AM Music
11:00 AM Storytime/Library
12:30 PM Lunch
1:15 PM Computer time
1:45 PM Physical therapy/PE
2:30 PM REST/Bible time
3:15 PM Arts & Crafts
That was our basic schedule. Of course it would change a little each day due to therapy.
You will have to have your child in school the same amount of hours as the public school. If they are in school six hours a day, your child needs that same amount.
As I previously said, anything can be counted as school as long as the child is learning. Even in the car, if you have a DVD player, put on an educational video! Or give the child a tablet to play an educational game! Zoo trips can be counted as they are learning about animals. Swimming and other physical activities can count for P.E.! See how that works?
As far as supplies go. I seriously get everything from Dollar Tree!
Craft supplies, paper, scissors, books, workbooks, notebooks, science kits, you name it! They have everything and well, it’s $1.00! It really saves you money. I would go once or twice a month. You can also order in bulk online!
Last thing I wanted to talk about is interaction. The main concern that I hear is your child not having interaction with other kids. There are ways to get your child interacted!
Some examples are:
Girl Scouts / Boy Scouts
The park
Gymnastics
Art Classes
Church
Play Groups (Some homeschool groups have weekly play dates!)
Whatever your child would enjoy doing. No, they may not be interacting all day like they would in a public school setting, but they could be around other kids a few times a week depending on what and how many activities you choose.
So, if you take anything away from this, its this:
You CAN homeschool your special needs child!
It can be challenging, but you most certainly can.
I truly hope this helps you. I know it was stressful as all get out when I was starting up. It would’ve been nice if someone had given me some advice.
If you have any questions, please ask! I promise I will get back to you! 😊
Until next time!
All my love,