5 Ways to Homeschool Your Wiggly Student

Kids and the wiggles go hand and hand. I mean, do you see many kids sitting around with their hands folded in the their laps, wide-eyes, engrossed in whatever is going on around them? Rarely, right?

One of the biggest advantages of homeschooling for my family is that we don’t have to suppress those wiggles, at least not ALL the time, but let them work around their wiggles and get them out during the course of the homeschool day. In fact, for my boy, I think his learning would certainly be stifled if we insisted he just sit all day. He would spend more time telling himself to sit still than listening.

But, in the end, there are lessons to do. So how do you help your wiggly student keep his seat without suffocating your child’s eagerness to learn? These tips for ways to homeschool your wiggly student may help you get a balance between sitting and wiggling through your day.

#1 – Remove the Chair – One of the best things that we do for our most wiggly student is simply remove the chair all together. Think about it – a chair set to a table is really made for an adult. The child isn’t always at the best location to write, see paper, read books, or type of the computer if they are sitting in a chair at a table. Unless you have a child-size desk in your homeschool room, consider an adjustable chair with a stool for their feet to rest in or just remove the chair. Then, your wiggle-monster can stand, shift from side to side, and hop in between writing his sight words without moving the table or falling out of his chair.

#2 – Replace the Chair with a Yoga Ball or Yoga Ball Chair – Another thing we decided to do was replace the chair with a Yoga Ball Chair. A Yoga Ball Chair is a Yoga Ball on a chair frame. This way it holds the ball in place. However, the ball is fine as well. It really doesn’t roll all around, at least not while your student is sitting on it. Though I will say, they do tend to become a distraction during the down times. But when they are seated on it, the ball requires that they have good posture, which is good for core muscles and the back anyway. And then, they have the ability to bounce lightly up and down, at a comfortable pace for them, to get those wiggles out without disrupting everyone else.

 #3 – Thinking Putty – Another great thing for your wiggly and fidgety student is to allow thinking putting to be used while they are listening to a lesson or reading. Obviously, this doesn’t work as well if they are writing or typing, but is great for during read alouds or classes. You can use play-doh or silly putty or clay as thinking putty and allow them to only use that particular color or type during school. You can also make it yourself with a homemade play-doh recipe and then scent it with lavender essentials oils to make it more calming. Allow your child to hold it, play with it, and move it around in her hands while she is listening. Doing something with her hands allows her to expend energy that might come out in another form subsequently allowing her to be able to concentrate a little better and not be jumping around.

#4 – Take Movement Breaks – It is important to remember that your wiggly student needs to move. In fact, they are likely concentrating on NOT moving to the point of not being able to concentrate on the lesson. So be sure to allow for lots of breaks. And if you can incorporate movement into the lesson, go for it. For instance, we do math hopscotch and reviewing math facts on our indoor, mini trampoline. However, you can make your lessons short with a movement reward break for completing. Try 10-15 minutes of a lesson and then get up and all do jumping jacks or marching or running in place. Or, if you need a less guided break for your wiggly one, try giving them 5 or 10 minutes to run laps in the backyard, swing on the swing, climb a tree, or dance to some music while you throw another load of laundry in. The breaks are good for both of you. You can set a timer if you want to control the time away from the lessons in order to not get off track with your day.

#5 – Do a Chore – Even doing a chore can be a good break because your wiggly student just wants to get up and move. Consider breaking his daily chores down into short chores. Then do some lessons in an appropriate timeframe and then set the timer and send your students to do a chore. Clean out one sink. Make a bed. Transfer a load of laundry from the wash to the dryer. Then back to the table to the next lesson. Need a longer break? 20 minutes playing with a toddler or a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood as a family or walking the family dog can be a great break and have them back at the table focused and less fidgety.

There are many ways to break up the lessons and expend some energy. Remember, it’s healthy to keep moving and incorporating movement into your lessons or schedule regular breaks is a great way to allow your wiggly student maximize learning without squashing his desire to be himself and wiggle!

How do you let your kids get their wiggles out? I would love to hear some more ideas!

 *Graphics provided by GraphicStock.com

Tawnee Hinton is a baby-wearing, classically educating, military, homeschool mama. She and her husband, Chris, have 4 children and live in Indiana. Chis and Tawnee are involved in their church, local homeschooling group and in community veterans’ projects. She blogs about parenting and their homeschooling adventures at Adventures in Homeschooling.

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