Yes, I was homeschooled.
Yes, I’m homeschooling my four children.
No, I don’t think that homeschooling is for everyone.
Surprised? Here’s a little bit about me:
I attended public school as a child. I loved it. School was my entire little world. My friends were there. I excelled in my subjects. Towards the end, I was pretty popular.
Then my mother made the decision to homeschool me. And I initially liked it. Then I hated it. I missed interacting with all of my friends. I missed getting the one-on-one feedback from my teachers. And worse, I became sedentary, which caused me to gain weight…in the middle of puberty. Not fun.
I graduated early, went on to college, and started a career. But I always knew that if I got the chance to homeschool, I’d do things differently. And I am – but not without making plenty of mistakes along the way.
Our little homeschool consists of four learners – two girls and two boys. My husband, Jay, and I decided to homeschool when we found out we were pregnant with our first and, so far, we’ve been able to follow through on that goal.
Over the years, we’ve changed course as to the kind of homeschool method we follow. We’ve tried school at home, Charlotte Mason, and unschooling. But we couldn’t figure out why it was so hard for me to stick with one method for long. Then we couldn’t figure out why it was so hard for our children to “grasp” what they were learning.
Then we got some answers.
Our oldest daughter was diagnosed with ADHD. After her diagnosis, we learned that I, my husband, and both of our boys also have it. That was easily one of the biggest “A-Ha!” moments of my life. I remember looking back on my many (and varied) careers and thinking “That’s why I do something for two years and then quit!” and “That’s why I’m always moving around at top speed!” and “That’s why I don’t sleep well at night!” It was a revelation. And it totally transformed the way we homeschool.
It also led to a serious crisis of confidence. Suddenly, I wondered if I was equipped to teach our kids at home or if they would really learn at home with such a scatterbrained mom. We even put them in public school for a few months to make sure.
But I’ve found that they truly do learn best when they have the one-on-one attention I can give them here at home. That may not be the case for all ADHD children, but it has certainly been best for ours. And that’s why I’m so committed to helping parents of ADHD kids know that they CAN teach them at home, even if it doesn’t seem like it.
If you’re ready to learn more about homeschooling kids with ADHD for yourself, be sure to visit our ADHD Homeschooling section to read plenty of tips and support to get you started. If you’re interested in homeschooling in general, we’ve got tons of printables, unit studies, activities, book lists, and more that you’ll love!
I’d love to connect with you! Join our ADHD Homeschooling support group on Facebook to ask questions, get feedback, and connect with like-minded parents! And you can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or Instagram to keep up with our learning journey. Or just send me an email at selena@lookwerelearning.com to chat. Either way. 🙂