Homeschooling a Child with Special Needs
Every child is somehow different from the other in terms of their nature, abilities, and qualities. But some children are special; they have their own special (extra) needs that are out of the scope of ordinary needs. If your child falls in the category of a child with special needs, then you need to realize that they also require special needs for learning, as well. Homeschooling is a big responsibility and commitment, but if you decide to educate your child by keeping him at home. You got many trade-offs when you left the public schooling system, but there are various benefits as well. When you take charge of your own child homeschooling, you can get free online books for kids.
Most of the free children’s books are available online on the internet as many children need individual attention for learning, so it will be easier for you to plan your day around family obligations, doctor appointments, and therapy. There are no distractions and bullies in the home school, and you can create a good and healthy environment for your child.
If you are convinced to educate your kid at home, then below are some tricks and tips that will help you out to become an effective and good homeschool teacher.
Create a Relaxed Environment for Learning
You have to designate a specific place in your home to educate your child. It would not necessarily be a standard or formal classroom with a chair and a desk. Well, it works for some children, and others do good in a random informal environment with bean bags and pillows. Many children thrive in a strict and organized environment but not extra overwhelmed. So give your child the space he needs but keep him away from any type of distractions. You should allocate some specific hours for homeschooling. Having a separate hour for both homeschooling and free time will help your kid to get used to an organized and disciplined routine.
Make Learning to Read Fun
Reading is one of the most challenging and rewarding tasks for any child. Many interesting kid’s books to read online are available that will help your child to develop an interest in reading. But it is a time taking the task, so, in the meanwhile, you need to keep patient and creative. You can use different methods to let your child learn quickly. For example, you can download children’s books online, which have basic alphabetical sounds in order to get your child familiar with the phonemic sounds, or you can also make interesting quizzes for your child on these phonemic sounds. There are also tablets and computer games on the internet that do the exact same thing. Your efforts will pay off once your child starts recognizing the letter sounds on his own.
When your kid starts to pronounce the sounds of letters, then let him practice as many times as possible by reading it in a loud voice. Find engaging and interesting kid’s books to read online, which encourages the child to read and then keep them practicing until they are able to read by themselves.
It all depends upon finding the engaging and good books that develop your child’s curiosity to read more and more. So always find the right books according to the interest of your children, such as whether your child likes dinosaurs, animal picture books or trains, it is important to keep the books on those topics, especially in the days when your child is more hesitant to read.
Go at Your Child’s Pace
It is important to schedule a daily routine for your child homeschooling. Children thrive on discipline routines as it is the most effective way to make sure that the outside distractions do not ruin your efforts. But it comes to how slow and fasts you go through the lessons; you should let your child to set the pace. If your child needs breaks after every half an hour, then do consider this factor.
Whether your child’s attention time is one hour at a time or 15 minutes, it totally depends on his personality and abilities, which he might have. If your child has less focus spanning time, grab each and every random opportunity in order to use them as a teachable moment for your child. For instance, a visit to your dentist might include the revision of the various types of teeth. Develop the habit of keeping a book along anywhere you go so that this way, you can use most of the time effectively while away from your home.
When You Get Frustrated, Take a Break
If you have a child with special needs like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness, deaf, or another abnormal condition that affects learning, the daily scheduled tasks can be mentally and physically challenging for you as a homeschool teacher. So it is imperative for you to keep yourself out of the overwhelming emotions and frustration of the whole day.
Be relax and flexible, instead of focusing on the things that you can’t control. There are some bad days come in homeschooling as well when your child becomes reluctant to learn, so it is better to give him space to take a nap or free time before studying again.
Tap Into Resources
Every parent knows the strengths and weaknesses of their own child. You know very well about the needs of your child. If your child is weak in a subject and you feel reluctant to teach, then you might hire a tutor or get training from any workshop. There is no other option when you take the responsibility to educate your child at home.
Make Time for Yourself
You should make time for pampering your own self. Whether it might be to go for a long drive or having a facial. A mani-pedi or anything else to recharge or refresh yourself. You should build terms with other homeschooling parents so that you will all help each other in hard times. Even if you are doing everything on your own, but you will always need a pat on your back to keep yourself motivated and positive.
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