Starting the Day with Your Child

Starting the morning off right can make or break your entire day when you’re homeschooling your child. This can take some intentional planning and foresight - especially if you are dealing with a learning disability at home. However, it can be difficult to weed through all the contradictory and extreme advice out there about morning routines. So before you set your alarm clock for 4am, take a look at these easy and realistic steps you can take every morning to help your child wake up and get ready to learn.

First, right when you wake your child from sleep, try offering them a glass of water. Our bodies lose water vapor at night, and this dehydration can cause feelings of grogginess even after a full night’s rest. Water will help banish these sleepy feelings and end those requests for “5 more minutes” in bed.

After that first glass of water, also consider creating some quiet time during which your child can calmly make the transition from sleep to wakefulness. Children with learning disabilities often have associated struggles with anxiety, and immediately confronting them with tasks in the morning can make them feel even more on edge. Creating a quiet wake-up routine, on the other hand, will help ease them into the day peacefully.

Physical activity in the morning is another way to get blood flowing to the brain, release endorphins, ease anxiety, and get the body ready to learn. Even 10 minutes of exercise can get your child into a better mood, release some energy, and leave them calm enough to focus on schoolwork. Try something as simple as running up and down the stairs or doing jumping jacks!

Positive thinking can be found in many lists of recommendations for adult morning routines, but this can definitely be helpful for kids, too. No one feels their best when they view the coming day as a long slog through hard work, so look for ways to help your child look forward to the day. This might be something fun they get to enjoy, like a trip to the park, or it might be a positive affirmation about themselves. You can even try writing these things down so that you both can reference them throughout the day.

The final step to a great morning routine actually comes at the end of the day: be sure to go to sleep on time. A proper 8 hours of sleep at night not only leaves everyone well-rested and in a better mood the next day, but it also gives the brain much-needed restorative rest. Try to avoid tacking on extra projects and tasks at the end of the night, and you and your child will both wake up much better equipped to start the day off right.