Hi Reader! It's easy to finish a homeschool day thinking about everything that didn't get done. The math lesson that took longer than expected. The writing assignment you're still working through. The plans you had to change. After more than 15 years of raising and teaching two kids with ADHD, dyslexia, processing differences, and more, I've had plenty of those days. I've also learned how much progress can happen that we don't easily notice. A child asks for help a little sooner. Tries again...
about 13 hours ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! When your child says, 'I can't do this,' you can feel pulled in several directions. You want to encourage them, understand what's going on, and somehow keep the day moving. Raising and teaching two kids with ADHD, dyslexia, processing differences, and more has taught me to pay attention to the support a task requires. At a calmer moment, try asking: 'Which part feels tricky right now?' Give them some time. Their answer might help you see whether they need an example, help getting...
about 13 hours ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! I’ve been working on something for a while, and I’m so excited to finally share it with you. Meet the Growth & Gratitude Learning Kit, the very first printable kit from Homeschool Essentials. November naturally turns our hearts toward thankfulness. But I’ve noticed that many gratitude activities ask kids to list what they’re thankful for and move on. And growth mindset resources often boil down to “don't give up.” Real growth doesn’t work that way, and neither does real gratitude....
2 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! “Flexibility is not the same as having no structure.”—Dan Marcone, LMHC Dan shared this during our Understanding the ADHD Brain workshop, and it’s one I want to keep coming back to. As homeschool parents, we can worry that adjusting the plan means we’re being inconsistent. That letting our child work somewhere different, take another break, or have help getting started means we’re somehow lowering the bar. I’ve wrestled with this in my own homeschool. One of my kids needed to know...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! My two kids both have ADHD. But if you met them, you might never guess they shared the same diagnosis. My son has more of the characteristics people typically associate with ADHD: hyperactivity and impulsivity. My daughter’s presentation is almost the opposite. Her experience overlaps with what researcher Russell Barkley has called Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, now increasingly referred to as Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome. That can look much quieter. And raising both of them has...
15 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Having two kids with ADHD has given me a front-row seat to just how inconsistent ADHD can look. A child can spend hours completely absorbed in something they love… …and then struggle to stay with something else for ten minutes. They can remember incredibly specific details about an interest and somehow forget the three things you asked them to do five minutes ago. I’ve lived those contradictions. And it’s easy to look at them and think: “Clearly they CAN focus.” They can. But ADHD...
22 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! I’ve raised two kids with ADHD, and if there’s one thing that experience has taught me, it’s that ADHD doesn’t have one particular “look.” My son’s ADHD has been much easier to recognize from the outside. Hyperactivity. Impulsivity. The kinds of things people often picture when they hear ADHD. My daughter presents very differently. Having two kids whose struggles can look so different has made me really interested in understanding what ADHD actually is, not just the behaviors we...
29 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! When I first started homeschooling, some of the voices I needed most weren’t the ones telling me what curriculum to buy or how to organize our day. They were the homeschool moms who were farther down the road than I was. The ones who had made it through the hard seasons. Who had changed course when something wasn’t working. Who had questioned themselves, learned from mistakes, and discovered along the way what really mattered. Their words carried me through some of my hardest...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! There’s something about the beginning of a new homeschool year that always makes me reflective. When I first started homeschooling, I wanted to have the whole year figured out before we even began. And when I say figured out, I mean figured out. I had color-coded folders for every week of the school year, with worksheets already torn out and carefully organized. I had a plan. Then I met actual homeschool life. Some lessons took longer than I expected. Others we flew through. An...
2 months ago • 2 min read