Homeschooling for special education needs

Amy Knepper is an American homeschooler who wrote a book to guide possible homeschooling candidates and veterans on the path of building a school schedule which works for both: parents and kids.

In the book, she talks about all the most common traps and points out what are the most important topics to be observed to succeed in a year as a homeschooler.

Blueprint Homeschooling is currently on sale in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and French. The Spanish version was translated by “Sattnin Texts and Idioms” studio.

In this interview, Amy talks about her experience not only as homeschooler, but also as a mother and give us a real and sensitive testimonial of how the understanding of individuality can enhance our chances of success in life; that we can go beyond we thought at first; and how the patterns which are used to guiding our lives can be fragile, non-sense and dangerous if you let them lead you rather than explore who you are through self-knowledge. As Einstein said once: “If you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, you will live your whole life believing its stupid”.    

Amy is currently working on a new science fiction series for middle graders about coding and computers.

Her kids are in middle school now (6th and 8th grade in the US) and they say she’s awesome!

1.      Why did you become a homeschooler?

My son had some particular special needs (he’s been diagnosed with two chronic auto-immune diseases). Because of it, he was not ready to go to school when he was supposed to and I kept him home. After a long research, I decided for homeschooling and it has been working so great that I’ve never put him (or my daughter) into school.

2.      In your opinion, what are the advantages of homeschooling?

Individualized education. Like I mentioned, my son had some problems when he was younger. He was excellent at math and reading, but he could barely hold a pencil and couldn't use scissors. Homeschooling allows us to build on his strengths (he's studying quantum theory right now, as an 8th grader) and to work around his weaknesses (he learned to type before learning to write).

Another advantage is flexibility, especially now that my son is chronically ill. We can easily change gears if it's a hard day, or spend all our energy on one subject if it's a good day. We don't have to worry about absences for doctor's appointments (and we have a lot of those!)

On the other side, my daughter is a very active learner who rarely sits down, so being able to provide an environment where she can learn while moving and where she can have a lot of wiggle breaks has been great. She also gets to sketch or play with clay or toys during almost all our lessons. I've discovered that she learns better if she's creating something as she listens.

The biggest advantage that I see with homeschooling is time. We can learn things whenever we want. Morning, evening, weekends. It doesn't matter. I'm available to help my kids answer questions, and we can seek out answers. We can spend 4 hours on one math concept if we need to. Or just 5 minutes if they’ve already understood. It feels like we are learning at a very leisurely pace, and we are not stressed. 

3.      What about the disadvantages?

I'll be honest and say that one of the big disadvantages is the social aspect. I don't

mean whether or not my kids will be "normal." I mean that it can be difficult to find friends who are available, who want to play, who aren't in class, who aren't in school, and who have similar interests. As adults, it can be difficult to find other parents to talk to about particular struggles. We have a wonderful homeschool community where I live, and I am thankful for it. I know not everyone has that. 

I do think that homeschooling can be more difficult for extraverted kids who might like to have a lot of other people around. All of us in my family are introverts, so spending most of our days in quiet reading, writing, and conversation and then, a few hours with friends and family, is really the ideal for us.

A disadvantage for homeschool parents is that it can be very tiring. You have to create your own breaks.

And this may sound strange, but I think that the amount of curriculum available (at least in the US) is overwhelming! I spend a lot of my time researching curriculum and narrowing it down to what will work for my family, what we can afford, and what we can actually use in a year. Really not easy to choose what to use when you're free to do anything.

I asked my kids this question, and my daughter says, "Your whole school day is homework." My son says, "Sometimes people think you're dumb." He has had neighborhood kids and sometimes family "drilling him" on math questions or history questions as a way of proving that he's not learning anything. This is how he ended up as a math tutor in our neighborhood, because he answered their questions too well.

                                    1. Amy Knepper consider herself a lifetime learner.

4.      How strong is homeschooling in USA?

In 2012, about 3.4% of children in the USA were homeschooled, according to this: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/statistics.html#homeschl

I think the number has continued to go up as parents become increasingly worried about common core and standardized testing. 

My husband was homeschooled as a child in the 1980s, and it was very rare back then. Now, I feel like it is very commonly accepted. Even in doctor's offices, the doctors now will say, "Oh, I hope I can homeschool" or "homeschooling can be very beneficial." There are a lot of museums that do homeschool days or classes. And there are so many resources available thanks to the Open Education movement. 

5.      What's the main skill someone needs to be able to be a successful homeschooler?

This is a hard question, but I'll say "Curiosity."

Home education to me is really about creating life-long learners. If a parent is curious, and if a parent likes to learn new things and research, then a child will be the same. All the information we need is available, and almost everything is somewhere for free. You just have to be patient and curious, and you will do fine. If you don't know the answer to a question, look it up! Ask someone! This is how we learn.

6.      Why would you recommend "Blueprint Homeschooling" for homeschoolers?

Homeschooling can be really scary at first. I remember how nervous I was when I first started. I wrote Blueprint Homeschooling specifically for a few friends who were just starting out and were overwhelmed by all the information. How do I pick curriculum? How do I teach math? What if I'm not good at spelling? I try to answer all those worries by helping parents really think through what they're doing right NOW, this year, this month, this week. 

Also, I've been told it's a funny book. I tried to write it the same way I might talk if we were sitting down together, so I try to include a lot of humor and encouragement.

7.      Why did you decide to write a book about this subject?

After a few years of homeschooling, there were many young families who were suddenly interested in the subject where I used to live. They would come to me with so many questions!

Friends and family started asking me a lot of questions, too. And I would write long

 letters to people, or we would go out for coffee or ice cream and talk about it.

 One of my friends told me I should write a book, so I started working on it:

18 months and four drafts later, I published it and sent copies to several of those

friends.

Blueprint Homeschooling is currently for sale in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and French.

8.      What's the main tip you would give for someone who is thinking about homeschooling?

Get a library card. I don't know how library systems work in Brazil, but here in the US, the library has truly been my most used resource for all these eight years I have been homeschooling.

9.      And about writing a book?

The one thing I've learned from years of writing and time spent in writing communities is: No one knows how to write a book. You learn it as you do it. And every book is different, so you have to learn it again with the next one you write. Just keep working. If you feel compelled to write a book, it's the same as homeschooling. Be curious. Ask questions. Make friends. Keep learning.

"You only fail if you stop writing." - Ray Bradbury

10.   Is there anything else would you like to share with us? 

I remember that I worried a lot when my kids were younger about whether or not I could do algebra and calculus again when they were older. How would I teach high school? The truth is, once my kids knew how to read, and once I had taught them how to learn, they started doing so much by themselves… I call myself an "educational facilitator" now. I find them classes or teachers or mentors or textbooks or websites, and they learn so much all on their own. I think a lot of homeschooling is about trust. Kids want to learn. They are inherently curious! As long as we guide them in the right direction and help them ask the right questions, they can do a lot.

And my friends and I tend to give the same advice to new homeschoolers we meet: "Breathe!" Just stay calm. You can do it!