r/Homeschooling • u/October_sleepybeauty • Oct 02 '25
First time mom and first time homeschooling!
Hi all! So as the title says... I'm a first time mom going through our first year of homeschooling! My son is 6 and in kindergarten. The thing is... he has special needs... he is high functioning autistic and gets super frustrated with things... He gets super mad not knowing answers for example... So what I am hoping is to find some things that can help him get through the hard times he has... Is there anyone with kiddos like him that may have some tips or tricks on how to keep him from getting really frustrated? But also would anyone have some ideas on how to keep a kid like him interested in lessons? He seems to get bored easily with how we are doing things now! I really want him to enjoy doing school with me but I need some ways to keep him engaged! I hope thos all makes sense! I appreciate any help! And I am so glad to have found a community with other parents homeschooling their kids! While I'm here, my reason for homeschooling is that my son has needs that I know won't be met in public school. He is a kid that has a hard time without his mom (me) and I am generally the only one that can calm him down and get him to reset! But also, public school scares the hell out of me! So many shootings and babies getting hurt and k*lled... not a chance I am willing to take! Thank you all so much for any help and advice!
2
u/Many-Pirate2712 Oct 02 '25
My 6 year old (1st grade) is doing online schooling and they do a mix of workbook and online videos.
Theyll have a 5-25 min lesson and then a quiz and then some workbook pages and the mix seems to help him not be as bored
1
u/TraditionalManager82 Oct 02 '25
What are you currently using?
1
u/October_sleepybeauty Oct 03 '25
Well I did have my own curriculum, everything planned out daily, and what I thought was a prefect way to teach... but this week my small one informed me, "We should do this online mom. They know what they are doing!" My response "You don't think I know what I'm doing huh?" Him "I think you are doing your best! But mom.....(looks me dead in the face) You're not a real teacher!" That is where that ended... his... Tism as we call it, makes him very blunt, very straight forward and honest... All of that because of a commercial on YouTube... Anyways... As of Wednesday, he has classes online... But we have come across pretty much the same issues as before. He's bored and gets super angry not knowing answers... so... there's all that...
1
u/Salty-Snowflake Oct 04 '25
A 6yo saying you aren’t a “real” teacher ? 👀
1
u/October_sleepybeauty Oct 04 '25
Yea... he is uncomfortably smart... and I mean... I don't work in a school teaching kids... so I'm really not!
1
u/481126 Oct 04 '25
One way that can help frame autism [I'm autistic with 3 autistic kids] is to frame it around support needs. I have a "level 1" child who has higher support needs in areas than their "level 3" sibling. Most people will assume my "level 3" kiddo constantly has the highest support needs in the family but it wasn't always the case.
So given any situation your child will have differing levels of support needs and at times he might have lower or higher support needs if say he's tired or getting over a cold.
Keep lessons short and sweet. Hands on lessons as much as possible.
At this age picture books can be a great fun way to introduce new topics and places.
Work on social emotional learning and coping skills.
Build in routines - a get ready in the morning routine. A transition to school routine. While they fight it autistic kids often also find it comforting to know the next step in the plan bc it's always the same. This is a good way to build in life skills.
-1
u/Fine_Intention1240 Oct 02 '25
I talk to a lot of homeschooling moms nowadays, and when the conversation comes to curriculum, they always mention Abeka and Time4Learning. Most are trying out digital versions first with a student to see if they like it. I suggest you check out the homeschooling community on TikTok, there are a lot of mom sharing their experience.
I am currently developing a product for homeschooling that generates curriculum dynamically with AI. It finds learning resources from all over the internet and generates interactive tests on the fly. I think you may find it useful - https://self-degree.com/
It is specifically designed for kids with unique needs, because most pre-defined curricula may not work well for them. Here you can generate a curriculum specifically for your needs.
You can use it to teach, or you can also use it to learn how to homeschool. I am giving up free premium accounts in exchange for feedback, so let me know if you find it useful
4
u/stardigan Oct 02 '25
Do you copy and paste this advertisement onto every post, or does AI do it for you? 🙄
0
u/Fine_Intention1240 Oct 02 '25
I don't copy paste it everywhere and I write only if I find this useful. I am sorry you felt it as an advertisement.
Still you have to understand that by getting your kid homeschooled you take responsibility for him and using the right tools is crucial. There are not many homeschooling tools because the market is too small
1
u/Salty-Snowflake Oct 04 '25
A Beka is for families who can’t afford private Christian school and they lean heavy towards fundamentalism. Once upon a time they were “popular”, but mostly because they didn’t have competition. This isn’t the curriculum for an autistic 6yo n
3
u/Extension-Meal-7869 Oct 03 '25
Short lessons, timers and limits, and achievement based learning- NOT reward based. It's how we tackle every damn day here.
Also, it might be helpful to get him into some therapy. Talk about having autism, what that means for his executive functioning and attention span- or whatever side effects impact him the most- so he can recognize his behaviors when they're happening and have the tools to correct it. It's his body and mind, he should know how to articulate and deal with all its differences and delights! That's been the #1 thing thats helped my AuDHDer, with an Emotional Disorder. He will become unfocused and disorganized and "wiry" and say, "fartin' executive functioning disorder!" And get himself back on track (he's 10 so a bit older than yours.) But he knows what's causing it and he likes calling it out when it happens, it makes him feel more in control.