This is a question I get so often and have for many years. It was even something that I remember my mom being asked about me and my siblings when we were being homeschooled!
"How do you know they're succeeding?"


The problem I have with that question is this.. What is academic success to you? Is it straight A's? Is it their ability to blab out some memorized text? Or is it, perhaps, their love of learning?

In our household and schooling methods, I want to create a love of learning, because there is absolutely nothing more valuable. Memories fade. Random facts are forgotten. People get bored of subjects. But that love, that passion, for learning more will never go away if you instill it in a young child.

I don't give my kids grades in the traditional sense. They do their work with me present, so they know when they have made a mistake and it is quickly fixed (as I don't want them creating the habit of making those mistakes), so there is no point in giving them a letter grade. What I absolutely do make sure they know is how amazing their questions are. How happy I am to help them look up information they seek. How excited I am to learn something new with them OR to teach them something I know.

Our value of academic success just does not ride on that delicate teeter of where they will fall in a letter grade. It rides on the desire to keep trying and to keep learning more. This way, they will never do the bare minimum... and those who seek to do more, will always be successful.

Kinesthetic Learning is defined as learning that is carried out by physical activities, rather than listening to lectures or watching demonstrations.

So, basically, learning by doing.


Obviously, this is always a great way to learn anything and is the way that we teach our children from infancy. We teach them to play peek-a-boo, by playing it with them. We teach them to use the toilet by sitting them on it. We teach them to ride a bike by putting them on it. Learning by doing is essential to life.

But somewhere along the line, people got this idea that we should stop doing that when it comes to "formal" education. Why, I don't know, but it is not only a faulty way of thinking, it also seriously harms those who cannot just sit and listen. Those who require a bit more hands-on experience to understand things.

Muscle memory comes into play with this type of learning and is a very helpful way for children who have learning disabilities to remember. The simple task of tracing a letter with their finger in sand, rather than writing it with a pencil, can help spark their memory faster. In this day and age with so much technology to help teach our kids, people tend to forget doing the basics of letting children learn by just doing. But for children who have disabilities, it is crucial to stick to the simple or basic ways.. they are, tried and true, the best.

It's a question I am frequently asked.. "So, what does homeschooling look like with learning disabilities?"
Honestly, I don't really have a comparison to give people, so I'm never quite sure what to say.


"No different than it would look for you"...?

Hardly. It probably is very different than what most people think homeschooling should look like. But, for us, it's what we have always done.

Homeschooling with learning disabilities really just means that you have to be way more in tune with your child's cues. You have to understand their nonverbal cues or even just understand what their verbal cues are (like if my daughter says she's tired, it really means she needs to change subjects or needs a break).


It means that you are going to have to find everyday activities to teach subjects, rather than just learning out of a book (not a bad way to have to learn, though). It means that most education will be learning by doing.

For some people, this seems like a daunting task. They want to be able to sit their kids at a desk, give them papers, and they are able to just sit and do them. But for me and my kids, that's not education. When your child has learning disabilities, so much of your day will be spent on physically showing them what you're trying to teach them. You'll give them multi-sensory tools to use in their education, and it will be fun!

I'm not saying that homeschooling is the easiest thing in the world, and there are a lot of challenges that come with learning disabilities.. But teaching kids with these disabilities is absolutely possible.

And fun.

And worth it.

When I had my first child 12 years ago, I knew I wanted to homeschool her. I began homeschooling when I was 11 years old, and I saw how greatly that change impacted my life for the better, so there was no doubt in my mind that, that is what I wanted to do for my own daughter.


At about 4 years old, I realized that my daughter was on the Autism Spectrum. This fact just solidified my desire to educate her at home, due to the many struggles that exist within the public school system for children with special needs. However, a few years back, I realized that she had even more struggles to overcome. My daughter has learning disabilities.