Enhance Your Museum Experience: A Guide for Families with Specialized Educational and Accessibility Needs

By Tracy Criswell It’s a question that has plagued me since starting back with homeschooling our four children: "Am I doing enough?" This summer, our family faced a series of challenges, including three surgeries—my husband’s benign tumor removal, my oldest son’s wisdom teeth extraction, and my oldest daughter’s spinal fusion—along with jury duty, a loss of income since I had to forgo my summer job to care for everyone, and the stress of preparing for a new homeschool year. This has been the toughest start to a homeschool year in our eight years of experience. A Rough Start We decided to start homeschooling the Tuesday after Labor Day. I thought this would give us time to gauge how well my oldest daughter was recovering and help her siblings transition into their dual-enrolled classes at local schools. It seemed like a good plan, but as soon as we started, I felt overwhelmed, and the familiar question resurfaced: "Am I doing enough?" Our days became packed with commitments—three different band practices (my youngest daughter weekly, my youngest son every other morning, and my oldest daughter every day), band lessons every other week, weekly therapy sessions for my middle two children to manage their anxiety, orthodontist visits, psychiatric evaluations for my oldest daughter, vision therapy appointments, doctor visits for anxiety medication, and, of course, homeschooling. One Day at a Time I don’t write lesson plans in advance (except for my oldest son, who is very independent), because I never know what each day will bring. My children have varying abilities and needs, and it’s a constant challenge to meet them all. But this past weekend, I noticed a pattern: every other week is chaotic. This is when band lessons, homeschool visits from our supervising teacher, and medical appointments tend to cluster. I’ve come to accept that on those hectic weeks, I’ll do my best to teach my children, even if that means schooling in the van between appointments. On the calmer weeks, we focus on catching up with any missed work. My husband has been an incredible support. He helps with dinner, listens when I need to talk about how things are going, and occasionally takes the kids to activities, giving me some quiet time to catch up on paperwork. His help has made a big difference. Other Strategies In addition to my husband's support, I’ve found a few other strategies that help keep the "Am I doing enough?" question at bay: Focus on completing three core subjects every day, no matter what. Write down what we accomplish each day for a clear visual of what we’ve done and what still needs attention. Use videos to supplement different subject areas like science, social studies, and literature. Incorporate read-alouds or audiobooks to deepen our understanding of various topics as a family. Take advantage of field trips, library activities, and volunteer opportunities as part of our learning. Practice giving and receiving grace. Don’t hesitate to ask for help from friends and family. More Than Enough At some point, most of us ask ourselves, "Am I doing enough?" The answer is, “Yes, I am.” I am providing a homeschool education tailored to my children’s unique needs and abilities. I’m teaching them life skills and values that will shape how they treat others. Life has seasons, and right now, ours is full of doctor’s appointments, therapy sessions, dual-enrollment classes, tumbling, scouting, 4-H, and more. But through it all, I’ve learned that I’m doing more than enough.

Are you homeschooling a struggling learner and searching for strategies that really work? In this must-listen episode of Empowering Homeschool Conversations, host Peggy Ployhar sits down with co-host Dawn Jackson to delve into the top approach for achieving homeschool success with your child. Dawn shares her expert insights and practical tips that every parent should know to create an effective and nurturing learning environment. Tune in to discover how to empower your child to thrive in their educational journey. Dawn Jackson M.Ed has over 30 years of experience in education and is a retired homeschool mom. She is the owner and director of Solimar Academy with credentials in General education, Special Education, and a certified Learning Styles Coach. 🌟 Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who needs encouragement today! 🌟 To connect with Dawn, visit: https://solimaracademy.com/ Viewers like you funded similar episodes, and other free resources from SPED Homeschool. To learn how you can support the nonprofit work of SPED Homeschool and this broadcast, visit https://spedhomeschool.com/donate/ To find out more about SPED Homeschool, visit our website at https://spedhomeschool.com/ To learn about the other Empowering Homeschool Conversations Co-Hosts and their resources, visit: https://annieyorty.com/ https://www.leilanimelendez.com/ https://elarplearning.com/ https://solimaracademy.com/ Join our mission to empower homeschool families! https://spedhomeschool.com/donate/ Join our mission to empower homeschool families!: https://spedhomeschool.com/donate/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.