Neurodivergent Homeschool Life

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you buy through them. I only share products our family has used or genuinely believes would be helpful. Thank you for supporting NDHS Life!

Making Homeschool More Sustainable on Hard Days

As neurodivergent parents know, we throw every ounce of our energy into our kids. We handle everything, from everyday tasks such as making meals, cleaning the house and homeschooling. We’re also making sure our children have what they need to regulate and get through the day. We do it all.

At the end of the day, we’re often left tired but wired. Wanting to put in time for ourselves, but not having the strength or energy to do it. Many of us are also coming to terms with our own neurodivergence midlife. We’re helping our children when we haven’t figured out fully how to help ourselves.

The reality is if we don’t put in the effort to regulate ourselves, we can’t help our children. I’m no expert, but this past year, I’ve really been trying to incorporate little things throughout the day to help me feel like me.

Movement Helps Me Regulate

Our morning nature walks are as much for me as they are my daughter. Movement helps regulate my nervous system before we ever start our homeschool day. As a late 30s mom with ADHD, I know if I don’t burn off some energy, I don’t have a good day. Before becoming a mom I used to wake up at 4:45 to work out. I now prioritize both sleep and exercise, using my daughter as my alarm clock and incorporating movement together.

Small Habits That Support My Energy

I always start the day with a large glass of water. And, if I’m being honest, Lexapro. For the past decade I’ve decided to make breakfast my most nutrient dense meal, knowing whatever the rest of the day throws at me I’m starting out on the right foot. My smoothie bowls of kale, fruit, Chia seeds, and protein powder (paid link) give me enough protein and fiber to get through crazy mornings. I like to make them thick like ice cream and then throw some chocolate chips on top for fun.

Throughout the day, I’ve also started adding in some electrolytes (paid link) to one of my water bottles. These help me recover from our morning walk and add a splash of flavor. Drinking enough water as a mom is hard, but I make sure I carry my water with me around the house constantly.

Making Homeschool More Sustainable on Hard Days

On the days, I’m really struggling. I pick lessons where they are the least hands-on for me. Choosing lower-demand lessons on difficult days keeps both of us from becoming overwhelmed. I intentionally plan a few lessons where I can step away for a minute or two if needed. This is where I’ll utilize educational videos, crafts (paid link), and educational Yoto cards (paid link). I don’t do this for every subject, but I do plan a few lessons where I can step away to breathe.

On Fridays, we like to do our nature journal and my daughter will find something on our walk that she either wants to write about or use as art inspiration. This past Friday we noticed a bunch of mushrooms popped up after a heavy rain. We were talking about how the mushrooms looked like the perfect little umbrellas for ants. Our nature journal for Friday was for her to draw a bunch of mushroom umbrellas for a bunch of ants. When we got home from our walk, it was the perfect time to get out paper, crayons, and markers. She could work on her picture for a while while I took a step back and let her work. At the end we’d come together and work on spelling out what she drew.

Planning for My Own Capacity

At the end of the day, our children do need regulation, but we do too. The things I do to take moments for myself throughout the day not only help me, but I hope set an example to my daughter of how she always needs to make herself a priority. Not every day is perfect. Some days are definitely harder than others. The most important thing is that we keep showing up for ourselves the way we show up for our kids.