Neurodivergent Homeschool Life

Tag: parenting

  • How We Handle Fourth of July Sensory Overload in Our Homeschool

    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. I only share products our family has used or genuinely believes would be helpful. Thank you for supporting NDHS Life!

    The Fourth of July is full of traditions. For many neurodivergent kids, it’s also full of loud noises, crowds, and sensory overload. Here’s how our family keeps the holidays enjoyable while protecting our daughters nervous system.

    We build up learning prior to the actual day.

    Instead of trying to fit homeschool into a busy holiday, we celebrate the history and traditions earlier in the week, By the Fourth itself, we can focus on family, rest, and enjoying the day.

    • Books (paid link)
    • Coloring Pages
    • YouTube Video Read Alouds
    • Counting stars and stripes on the flag
    • Cutting and gluing stars and stripes on the flag. My daughter doesn’t like the feeling of glue on her hands. When she refused to use it, I handed her a small paintbrush instead. It worked great and she happily finished the craft. (Just remember to wash the paintbrush before the glue dries!)

    We’ve learned it’s okay to leave early-or skip an event altogether-when our daughter’s sensory and social battery battery runs low. Protecting her regulation protects our family’s peace,

    Our Fourth of July Sensory kit

    Wishing a happy and safe Fourth to you all!

  • Low Pressure Homeschool Activities for ADHD Kids on the Hard Days

    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!

    If you’re homeschooling a neurodivergent child, you already know that there are some days that just don’t go as planned. Maybe your child woke up overwhelmed. Maybe the night before was full of restless sleep. Either way, you know before breakfast it isn’t going to be a typical homeschool day.

    In our home, we’ve learned that pushing through those hard days doesn’t work. Instead, we shift into what I like to call low pressure learning days. The goal isn’t to get a perfect day of learning completed. The goal is to protect our child’s regulation while keeping learning enjoyable and realistic.

    Here’s what low pressure learning looks like in my house.

    • Sensory art time (paid link)
    • Play-Doh or sensory bins (paid link). You can even use sensory bins for connected play, sneaking in some language or speech work. My daughter loves elaborate play scenarios. Those scenes get her talking the most, and it’s a perfect time to naturally evaluate and work on her language and speech errors. When she says phrases like “He goed to the store” I reply “oh! he went to the store?” Model what you want your child to hear, but in a playful way instead of correcting.
    • Water play (paid link) is one of our favorite re-set activities. In the summer we’ll head outside with the water table, but in the winter I’ll even put it in the shower so we can still enjoy it without freezing. For letter sounds and spelling try adding in some foam alphabet letters (paid link).
    • Easy worksheets of mastered topics for review
    • Educational shows with parental engagement (Magic School Bus, Alphablocks)
    • Yoto Stories (paid link)
    • Field trip to get out of the house
    • Outdoor movement
    • Math or phonics hopscotch
    • Gardening and discussions

    For neurodivergent children, regulation comes first. I have found when my daughter feels overwhelmed, her brain is not ready for structured learning. Instead, we focus on regulation, connection, and gentle engagement. Learning happens in a more natural way. 

    Some days are just hard harder for neurodivergent kids and that’s perfectly okay. A successful homeschool day doesn’t mean you push through each subject. For our family a day where we learn and don’t spiral into stress is the ultimate win and is the most sustainable learning path. 

  • How We Handle Morning Dyregulation Before Homeschool

    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. I only share products our family has used or genuinely believes would be helpful. Thank you for supporting NDHS Life!

    If your homeschool day feels over before it even begins, you’re not alone. Many neurodivergent children wake up dysregulated from poor sleep, ADHD, sensory differences, anxiety, or simply having a hard morning. For our family, part of raising a resilient neurodivergent child isn’t pushing through every difficult moment. It’s helping her recognize when she needs regulation and giving her tools to get there. We focus on regulation first and academics second. 

    How do we help the deregulation before we get into learning and set the table for a good day? Well, first off we use homeschooling to our advantage. We have no need to rush off in the morning and we have no strict schedule we have to keep. When my daughter wakes up deregulated, the worst thing I can do for her is push math at 9 AM. We pause and keep the morning focused on regulation. 

    These are some of the items that help us regulate:

    • Sensory swings
    • Trampoline jumping
    • Outside walks
    • Playgrounds 
    • Calm corner 
    • Calm tv time

    Every morning looks different in our house. Some days we start with silence and giving her the space she needs. Other days we start with a wagon ride, a sensory swing, or an episode of Bluey. Homeschooling gives us the freedom to meet our daughter where she is, and I’ve learned that those slower mornings are still full of learning.

    Tools that help us on dysregulated mornings: