Are you suspicious that you may have some highly sensitive kids in your home school? And if so, are you wondering what to do with them?
In today’s episode, we’re going to go over the basics of how to overhaul your homeschool day to account for the sensory needs of your kids – because a home environment that works for them is just as important as one that works for you.
(And no, they don’t have to conflict.)
Kids & sensory overwhelm
First things first: we have to know their sensory triggers. Is it noise? (Like from their siblings?)
Is it trying to do a long division math lesson by himself and rubbing the pencil point harder and harder in frustration till it breaks, he has a tantrum, and you can’t do any more math that day?
Is she perfectionist, anxiety sensitive, worry prone?
Does he need to eat a good, solid breakfast first before tackling *anything* school related, no matter the time?
Does she do better with 20 minutes of physical activity outside to ground her in her body first, before sitting down to homeschool?
Take note of which kids can’t stand noises, and separate those kids from their siblings when you need them to concentrate (like during math).
You’re not isolating that kid; you’re providing the space he needs to function without distress.
(And get a lot more problems right that he would have if you’d insisted he sit at the kitchen table with 3 younger siblings!)
Make a note of which spaces around the house are far enough away, or have doors that can be closed and space for seating, that you can just move people to whenever necessary. (Even if it’s the laundry room or your bathroom!)
Kids & low energy points
Second, know their worst times of day. Do you have a couple kids who can’t do math in the afternoons? Has that been a recurring-but-mysterious pattern to you?
Maybe their brains are just tired out from dealing with family members and noise and thinking all day!
Try to shift their hardest or most intensive subjects to a different time of day – whichever one is most energetic for them. Even if it wrecks your previously designed, oh-so-carefully-thought-out plan for the school day.
Them being able to function (and turn in work on time for grading!) is worth it.
Your HSP kid needs downtime just as much as you do.
I have to admit, at first I told my kids that I wasn’t doing math with them in the afternoons because I needed a break – yet I expected them to trudge on through without me.
Um, hello? These are my kids! Half their genes come from me! And I expected THEM to do without an afternoon break?
Yeah, not a good idea. Once my girls were old enough, they had the self-awareness to tell me that their brains were getting tired, quote unquote, and I realized how unfair my expectations were.
That’s when we instituted afternoon quiet time – as in, no school time – for everyone. (With an exception if you’re almost there and just need 2 more problems before you can turn the whole day’s lesson in.)
Then we moved on to teaching them about noticing when their energy picked up in the afternoon, before supper, so that if they didn’t get all their work done before quiet time, they could still finish before the post-supper slump hit.
(And I’ll tell you, those math grading attitudes improved dramatically when I learned to avoid all my kids’ low points to finish up schoolwork!)
So yes, energy levels can have a profound effect on even elementary-age kids (and definitely middle and high school ones!).
So if I’m coaching you, we’re going to look at what times of day your kids need you at your best, and what times of day they’re energetic – not just your own energy rhythms.
Because running an involved household demands energy syncing (or at least understanding) on two parts – yours and theirs. So we’re going to take that into account as well.
Kids & needing quiet
Lastly, know their alone time needs. Build in times during the school day (and places!) where she can go to get a break, or do movement away from her siblings, or recharge with her art supplies.
You’d do this for yourself – give her that respect, too. She needs it just as much as you do.
And remember, when you do this, you’re giving her a lifetime of self-coping skills. She’s going to use these well down the road to take care of herself and her family, in the years to come.
This is an important skillset, and one we don’t often think of outright training our kids in.
But the gift of her HSP traits is that she MUST learn how to do this now, as a child – and that’s going to serve her (and you!) so well later in life.
And by the way, it’s really fun when you get to see that tipping point – when they *know* this about themselves, and start self-advocating for it.
“Mom, I need to be by myself for a while now.”
That’s when you’ll know they’ve got it.
So looking back over your homeschool, which do you think the first problem to solve for is?
Is it the noisy sibling separation strategy, or the “don’t do math when they’re tired” hack, or the “make sure he gets some alone time” reframe?
Start implementing that tomorrow, and watch what a difference it makes. I bet you’ll notice a major change even with one week’s worth of using that strategy every day.
And then keep layering on the rest of the HSP homeschooling strategies, a week at a time, until they’re all in use.
Your kids will thank you for it (or at least their attitudes will). And you’re going to find it’s so much easier to homeschool now that you’ve taken into account *their* sensory needs and downtime triggers.
What do you say – are you ready to lighten the load on your homeschool?
I bet you are – so start now.
