March 19, 2025 – How to Teach the Hyperactive Child

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

Movement, Wiggles, and Action!

When our youngest was an active ten-year-old, he couldn’t sit still while doing book work. His body had to move. The chairs had to move (rock, shuffle, and fall over). The pencil had to fly. His body and hands and feet had to move. His mouth had to make noises. Talk about exasperating!  

We found an exercise ball that sits in a special round chair and we were both so relieved. I knew he would be able to focus more on his subjects if he could bounce while working, and get excess energy out rolling and bouncing throughout the day, especially if it was bad weather outside. We had a “run around the kitchen or run outside” break after every subject. We also made slime that he could squish during studies. The movement of his hands helped him concentrate.

We often think that if our kids would just sit still and stop fidgeting, they would get more done, listen better, and give us poor moms a break. But we have found that if they are spending so much energy trying to be still, then they are not able to listen and learn as well. Movement, wiggles, and action actually helps them concentrate and learn!

So, let them draw and color quietly during devotions, let them play with clay during audio books or learning videos. Let them play with LEGOs or stuffed animals when it is read-aloud time. And if they can’t sit still for book work and you don’t have an exercise ball, then let them stand at their desk, or lie on the floor, under the table, or anywhere they are comfortable as they listen to classical or worship music. 

There are times that all the wiggling seems like chaos that needs calming. We can calm our own hearts knowing that our wiggly learners are still learning even if they can’t keep their bodies still. So don’t stress . . . trust the One Who made them this active as part of His great purpose for their life. 

Rather than becoming frustrated at all the crazy action, remember that they are free to be themselves right there in the safety and comfort of home. No sitting at cold desks for hours! What a glorious freedom! 

This is the opposite of what traditional school offers children. Other schooling options have to fit the child into the school mold, rather than opening a door for the child to learn in freedom. In my school experience as a child, I was never able to really rest or be free in body or soul, were you? But your children will have rest, because you are doing what is best for them by keeping them Home. Where They Belong. 

~ Deborah

dwuehler@theoldschoolhouse.com

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The Love God Greatly Bible Storybook features stories and sweet illustrations drawn by children from around the world.

Todd Wilson

Don’t Forget the Lovin’

Hey Mom,

Okay, I’m no hyperactive teaching expert. But I know this much: hyperactive kids need to know you love them. Sometimes it’s easy to look at the hyperactive child like he/she is a problem—an issue that needs special attention . . . a barrier to enjoying school.

They get that idea because you’re always yelling, scolding, and instructing . . . but you’re forgetting to love, smile, and hug.

Those hyperactive children need lots of lovin’.

I’m guessing the other moms in this edition of The Homeschool Minute have lots of advice for teaching, but, if you can do nothing else, do lots of smiling, touching, and smooching. Never let your hyperactive child forget how glad you are that they are yours.

Be real,

Todd

Todd Wilson
“The Familyman”
#stayingmarried
Familyman Website – www.familymanweb.com
The Smiling Homeschooler Website – www.thesmilinghomeschooler.com

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About the author

Todd Wilson is a dad, granddad, writer, conference speaker, and former pastor. Todd’s humor and down to earth realness have made him a favorite speaker at homeschool conventions, retreats, and churches across the country. As founder of Familyman Ministries and the Smiling Homeschooler, his passion and mission are to remind dads and moms of what’s most important through weekly e-mails, podcasts (The Familyman Show & The Smiling Homeschooler), seminars, and books and products that encourage parents. Todd, and his wife Debbie, still homeschool two of their eight children (six have graduated with four married) in northern Indiana. You can read more at www.familymanweb.com.

A fun, kid-friendly guide that builds self-reliance as it teaches skills every child needs! Learn more here.

Danika Cooley

Set Yourself Up for Exuberant Success

Teaching a child who is hyperactive, or impulsive, can seem overwhelming, can’t it? In fact, some days teaching children with a regular amount of energy can feel like an insurmountable task.

Homeschooling, though, is wonderful precisely because it allows us to teach our children exactly as they learn. As parents, we love and know our energetic and spontaneous kids best, and we can tailor their day to their specific needs. Take a look at a few of my best tips for teaching your active child:

• Take a walk before school—make it a long one!
• Take regular activity breaks. Our kids used to jump on the trampoline, run up and down the block, bike, or do jumping jacks on rainy days.
• Pay attention to food! Did you know that some food allergies increase hyperactivity in the allergic child? Get rid of foods your kids are allergic to, reduce sugar intake, and feed your kids healthy, whole food meals and snacks.
• Look for fun ways to learn actively. Field trips, skits, nature walks, and kinesthetic learning techniques (which I explain in the chapter on memorization in Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible) are all great ways to help energetic kids learn.
• Allow your vigorous child to use their hands while they listen during read-alouds. They can color, play with building toys, or fold origami.
• Engage your kids with art projects, kinesthetic techniques, science experiments, or anything that allows your child to be physically involved in a hands-on way in the learning process.

The good news is that with a few tweaks to your homeschool routine, you can set your extra-active, over-impulsive child up for learning success. The great news is that your whole family can have a lot of fun adding exercise and whole-body learning into your day!

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About the author

Danika Cooley is an award-winning children’s author who blogs about Bible books, crafts, activities, and snacks at Thinking Kids. Her books include Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible, Bible Investigators: Creation, and the Who What Why series, a line of Christian history for 7–11-year-olds. Grab your free three-week sample of her popular Bible Road Trip™ curriculum here.

Heidi Mosher

Tournament or Team? Let Them Move for the Win

Do you have a little one who can’t sit still? Someone wiggly and climby and fidgety? Homeschooling a mover might feel like a fight some days. Avoid the battle by viewing your child’s inertia as a teaching tool.  If they’re moving anyway, why not incorporate movement into lessons and learning? If you can’t beat them, join them. Or, in this case, if you can’t keep them still, let them move.    

Teaching with movement is especially easy to implement during the elementary years. Here are some worthwhile little investments for homeschooling a child in motion:

• A dry erase board for spelling words and math problems 
• Art supplies to keep little hands busy 
• Mini indoor trampoline to bounce on while listening to lessons or for reward breaks
• An exercise ball instead of a chair  
• A beach ball or bean bags to toss back and forth for high-counting or skip-counting practice 
• A set of ballpit balls. Write a math fact on each one with a Sharpie. Throw the balls to your child one by one and have them answer as they catch. 
• Sticky notes to write sight words on. Hang them around a room and let your little one search for them. They can take them down as each word is read correctly. Try this with definitions too.

What do you already have that could be used creatively for learning? How could you incorporate the stairs? The backyard? Your game pieces? Could your kid construct an indoor fort today to wiggle around in with a workbook? Could the family pet be a calming reading companion? 

The years are quick, and kids eventually learn to control their wiggly selves or occupy their once-fidgety fingers with work they enjoy. All that movement now just might give you a fun glimpse at your child’s future job. Keep them moving ahead!    

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About the author

Heidi Mosher is honored to write for The Homeschool Minute, as it was a lifeline of her early homeschooling years. She is thankful to be the mother of four—two recent homeschool graduates and two who are currently homeschooled.

Got a kid that needs to get the wiggles out? Add music to your homeschool with the SchoolhouseTeachers.com course Fun with Music! Through fun musical activities, students of all ages will learn important musical terminology including note names, music intervals and key signatures, symbols, and other terms. These flashcard games are designed to reinforce music-related vocabulary and terminology in a fun and enjoyable way.