How to Homeschool a Fidgety Child
If you have a fidgety child you understand the struggles and feeling of hopelessness on a particularly rough day. Homeschool moms deal with this all day without a break, and it can become overwhelming.
However, with a few tricks, you can homeschool a fidgety child without being overly stressed.
How you start your day will affect how your entire day will go. Start with a great healthy breakfast that will fuel your child without a lot of excess sugar. Give your child some time to wake up and then get in some physical activity. Go outside and play, go for a nature walk, do yoga, or practice a sport your child loves. Any physical activity that will help your child start the day by burning off excess energy. This will help start your day off right. Do the lesson that involves the most focus first.
Take advantage of tools designed to help children that need to fidget. Exercise bands attached to the legs or chairs or tables are great for kids to bounce their feet while they work. Peddlers make a great way to get rid of the wiggles while they work. Fidget toys are great for helping kids focus while listening to lessons, watching videos, or even reading quietly. If you have other kids that get distracted by these behaviors look for silent fidgets like stress balls, and silent fidget cubes.
Allow your child to do things differently. There is no rule that says a child has to sit at a desk to do math. Some kids do their best learning hanging upside down off the couch. If this is your child let it go and just be happy your child is learning. Sometimes kids don’t fit in the box and when you learn to see the blessing of the fact your child is focused you realize how they got to focused doesn’t really matter anymore.
Some kids need to fidget from time to time for the sensory input. To help your child fulfill this need plan parts of your day when your child can use sensory materials like sand, slime, and classic sensory bins. Even older kids will do well with slime or play dough while you read aloud to the family. It will help them focus while fulfilling some of the sensory needs they have that leads to fidgeting. Read-a-loud time, educational videos, and even while working on lessons you can do verbally are all great opportunities for pairing lessons with sensory play.
Plan your day around your child’s need to expend physical energy. Make the most of each day By planning little brain breaks. Set a timer every 15 minutes through a test or project that takes time get up and do some jumping jacks or have a mini dance party for a few minutes to help get out any wiggles your child may be holding back. Mix your PE, nature study, and home economics into your day so your child is up and moving every couple lessons. Dance in the kitchen while you teach your child to cook lunch, go on a hike, or take a break to go do some gardening just to get a break from the book work.
With these techniques homeschooling your fidgety child will be less stressful.
Do you have any techniques for homeschooling your fidgety child that I missed? I’m always looking for new ideas!
