You bought your homeschool curriculum. You researched the options, read the reviews, and even looked over the Scope and Sequence. You thought it would be a good fit for your child. But now homeschooling feels like a daily struggle.
Your child may be frustrated, avoiding assignments, taking hours to finish lessons, or forgetting material that seemed mastered just a few days ago. If your child has dyslexia, ADHD, autism, executive function challenges, or another learning difference, it can be tempting to decide that you simply chose the wrong homeschool curriculum.
Additionally, don’t race to the homeschool curriculum catalog to switch.
Before buying something new, consider four adjustments that may make your current homeschool curriculum work better for your learner.
At Unique Learners, we can think of these as LIMP Adjustments:
L — Level
I — Incentives
M — Method of Instruction
P — Pacing
Sometimes the curriculum itself isn’t the biggest problem. The difficulty may be in how the homeschool curriculum is being used with your particular learner.
1. L – Adjust the Level
One of the first things to consider is whether the work is at the right learning level for your child. The grade printed on the cover of a textbook doesn’t tell you whether the material is appropriate for your child’s current skills.
This is especially important for students with learning disabilities because their abilities are often inconsistent across different areas. A seventh grader might read independently at a fourth-grade level, understand science concepts at a seventh- or eighth-grade level, spell at a third-grade level, and need significant support to organize a written paragraph.
Even within one subject, performance may vary from skill to skill. Instead of thinking only in terms of grade level, it can be much more helpful to think about three levels of learning: independent, instructional, and frustration.
Independent Level: “I Can Do This Myself”
At the independent level, a skill is easy enough that the student can complete it successfully with little or no help. This is where most independent assignments should come from. Independent-level work is useful for practicing previously learned skills, building fluency, reviewing concepts, developing confidence, and giving a student opportunities to work without constant adult assistance. I love to save independent-level work for those “off days” when it seems like nothing is going to stick.
If you have to sit beside your child and explain every problem on an “independent” worksheet, the skill probably isn’t independent yet.
Instructional Level: “I Can Learn This With Help”
The instructional level is where much of new learning occurs. The material is challenging, but not overwhelming. Your child can learn the skill with explanation, modeling, guided practice, prompting, feedback, and coaching. This is the level where you are actively teaching. You might demonstrate a new math process, work several examples together, coach your child through the next few problems, and gradually reduce your assistance.
The goal is to move a skill from: “I can do this with help” to: “I can do this by myself.” That is the transition from instructional learning toward independence.
Frustration Level: “This Is Too Hard Right Now”
At the frustration level, the task is too difficult for the student to complete successfully without intensive assistance. You may notice frequent guessing, confusion, avoidance, shutting down, repeated errors, or needing to explain nearly every step. More practice isn’t necessarily the answer.
Instead, you may need to identify a missing prerequisite skill, reduce the difficulty, provide additional supports, or teach the concept using a different method. Some struggle is a normal part of learning. But repeatedly asking a child to work at the frustration level can eventually turn an academic difficulty into a motivation problem.
Learning Levels Can Change From Skill to Skill
Children with learning disabilities frequently have uneven learning profiles. Your child doesn’t have just one learning level.
A student might independently add multi-digit numbers, need instruction and modeling for multiplication, and reach the frustration level with long division. You can plan for all three of these levels of learning.
A child may comprehend sophisticated ideas when listening to an audiobook but struggle to decode much simpler text independently.
And these levels aren’t permanent. A skill that requires coaching today may become independent with instruction and practice. That’s the power of “YET.” Remind your students that they may not be able to do something independently YET, but you will help them get there.
Instead of asking only, “What grade level is my child?”, try asking: “What level is this particular skill for my child right now?” Then match the assignment to that level.
Independent skill → assign it for independent practice. Fun, dollar store workbooks can work for this! Or find free printables.
Instructional skill → teach, model, coach, and practice together. This is the level where your core curriculum should be. You can practice together using file folder board games or card games. For content areas, you can use projects to cement concepts and transition toward independence.
Frustration-level skill → reduce the difficulty, increase support, change the method, or back up to prerequisite skills. Avoid this level as much as possible! This is when using LIMP is important. Provide an easier level for the “off days.” You may need to add videos or process cue cards. Change the way you phrase the explanations. Break down the skills and teach the missing prerequisite skill(s) before going back to the harder level. If you are struggling with how to manage the frustration level of your curriculum, ask a question in our Facebook group: Homeschool Help for Special Needs, or send us an email: info@uniquelearnersllc.com
2. I – Consider Incentives
When a child refuses to do schoolwork, we sometimes assume the child isn’t motivated. But motivation is more complicated than that. Before introducing a reward, ask why your child is avoiding the task. Is it too difficult? Too long? Confusing? Is the child afraid of making mistakes? Does the student have trouble getting started or staying focused?
Most importantly, consider the learning level. A child who is consistently being asked to work at the frustration level may appear unmotivated when the real problem is that the work is too difficult.
Once an assignment is appropriate, incentives can help some students develop persistence and complete less-preferred tasks. An incentive might include choosing which subject to do first, earning time for a favorite activity, taking a movement break, checking completed work off a visual list, or receiving specific praise for persistence and strategy use. The best incentives are relational activities where YOU spend quality time with your child.
For students with ADHD or executive function challenges, smaller goals and more immediate feedback may be more effective than a reward that comes much later.
3. M – Change the Method of Instruction
The curriculum may contain the right information but teach it in the wrong way for your child. Before changing curriculum, look at how you are asking your child to learn and complete the material.
This is where the three levels of learning become especially useful because your teaching method should change depending on whether a skill is independent, instructional, or at the frustration level.
For Independent-Level Skills: Step Back
Once a skill is truly independent, your child should have opportunities to use it without continuous adult help. You may provide directions, check completed work, or answer an occasional question, but you shouldn’t need to reteach the concept throughout the assignment. Independent work can build confidence, fluency, stamina, and responsibility. It can also tell you whether the skill really has been mastered.
Sometimes we discover that a child can perform a skill while Mom is sitting nearby giving reminders but cannot yet perform it independently. That tells us the skill may still be at the instructional level.
For Instructional-Level Skills: Teach, Model, and Coach
Instructional-level material shouldn’t simply be handed to a child with the expectation that the student will figure it out. This is teaching time, not independent work time.
A useful sequence is:
Explain → Model → Practice Together → Coach → Practice Independently
For example, you might model two math problems while thinking aloud. Then you and your child complete several together. Next, your child tries a problem while you provide prompts when needed. Finally, the student attempts a few independently.
For a neurodivergent learner, you may also need to change how information is presented. A student with dyslexia may need explicit, systematic reading instruction rather than simply more reading practice. Shorter passages with formatted comprehension questions can help to monitor progress. A student struggling with math may need manipulatives and visual models before moving to abstract equations. You can have an older sibling or spouse explain the process in a different way. Sometimes kid to kid instruction makes more sense to a student with learning issues. A student with autism may benefit from consistent lesson formats, clear directions, examples, and predictable routines. A student with ADHD may learn better when a long lesson is divided into several short chunks with opportunities to move.
The goal is to provide enough scaffolded support for success and then gradually reduce that support as the skill becomes independent.
For Frustration-Level Skills: Don’t Just Push Harder
If a child cannot complete the skill even with ordinary instruction and coaching, the answer usually isn’t to keep assigning more of the same work. Stop and investigate.
Ask:
- Is a prerequisite skill missing? Take a break for a day or two to teach and practice the sub-skill.
- Is the reading length too long? Break the story into smaller amounts.
- Is too much information being introduced at once? Take several days to teach only one skill at a time or arrange the information into a 3-point outline.
- Does the student need a visual or hands-on model? Find a graphic organizer or poster to hang as a reminder.
- Are the directions confusing? Read them aloud or change them to a better explanation.
- Is writing interfering with demonstrating knowledge? Have your student narrate their responses, make a project, or reduce the amount of writing required.
- Does the skill need to be broken into smaller steps? If you teach only one skill at a time, you will actually save time in the long run. Rather than teaching 3 to 5 skills in one lesson and then reteaching those skills and getting stuck for a month, break the lesson into shorter sections. Teach the lesson in 3 to 5 days with short practice after each portion. Spend one day bringing it all together. Six school days versus 20 school days.
Sometimes you can keep the curriculum content while changing the method completely.
For example, if you’re teaching science, a student with dyslexia may understand the concept perfectly when you read the text aloud and discuss it together, even though independently reading the chapter is at the frustration level. That student doesn’t necessarily need easier science. The student needs a different way to access the science.
Always ask: “What skill am I actually trying to teach?” Then make sure another area of difficulty isn’t preventing your child from learning it.
4. P – Adjust the Pacing
Curriculum publishers have to create schedules. Your child doesn’t have to follow them. A lesson labeled “Day 1” doesn’t magically become inappropriate on Day 2. For students with learning disabilities, pacing often needs to change according to the level of learning for each individual skill.
Pace Independent-Level Work Efficiently
If your child can already perform a skill independently and accurately, endless repetition may not be necessary. It can even lead to boredom and resistance. Instead of completing 30 nearly identical problems, perhaps your child can complete 10 to demonstrate mastery. You may be able to move through familiar material more quickly, skip unnecessary review, or use previously learned skills in more meaningful activities. Your curriculum is not the teacher, you are. Independent doesn’t mean “do more.” Sometimes it means your child is ready to move on. Don’t get rid of this level, though. Remember, it can be used on the “off days.”
Slow Down for Instructional-Level Learning
Instructional-level material deserves more time. This is where you may need to pause the curriculum schedule so your child has enough time for modeling, guided practice, repetition, and feedback. One curriculum lesson may take two or three homeschool days. That’s okay.
If the curriculum introduces three new skills at once, you might teach one at a time. If your child needs more practice before moving forward, spend another day on the skill. Look for 80% mastery before moving on. That means 4/5 or 8/10 on practice exercises. You can always provide review or extra practice as you move forward to the next little step.
The goal isn’t to keep pace with the teacher’s manual. The goal is to move the skill toward independence.
Stop and Reassess at the Frustration Level
When a child reaches the frustration level, slowing down may not be enough. This is an important distinction. If you simply spend five days doing material that is still far beyond the child’s current skills, you’ve created five frustrating days instead of one. Instead, back up.
Look for missing prerequisite skills. Break the task into smaller steps. Reduce the difficulty. Change the method of instruction. Provide stronger supports. Then try moving forward again.
Many parents don’t want their student to think they are being “held back” or moved down. That is why having more than one option up your sleeve can help. If you tried Barton and you are stuck on the same lesson, take a break for awhile. Reteach and practice the same phonics and spelling rule from a different program. If you need help finding a temporary alternative, you can always message us! We can make suggestions that are reasonably priced.
Expect Inconsistency
Children with learning disabilities don’t always move neatly from Point A to Point B. (By the way, neither do neurotypical students.) A child may independently perform a skill on Monday and need reminders on Wednesday. A student may race through several lessons and then spend a week learning one small concept.
Fatigue, attention, working memory, language demands, executive function, and the complexity of the task can all affect performance.
That means homeschool pacing needs flexibility that regular school settings simply can NOT supply. Rather than asking: “Are we on schedule?” Try asking: “What does my child need in order to learn this skill successfully?”
Sometimes the answer is more instruction. Sometimes it’s more practice. Sometimes it’s less practice. And sometimes it’s approaching the skill differently.
The curriculum’s pace should follow the learner—not the other way around.
Before You Buy Another Homeschool Curriculum, Write Down Four Answers
If your current homeschool curriculum isn’t working, don’t begin by scrolling through curriculum websites.
Begin with your child.
Write down your answers to these four questions:
Level: Which skills are independent, instructional, or at the frustration level for my child?
Incentives: What helps my child begin, persist with, and complete appropriately challenging work?
Method: How should I teach this skill based on my child’s current learning level?
Pacing: Which skills can move quickly, which need more instructional time, and which require me to stop and reassess?
You may discover that you don’t need an entirely new curriculum.
Perhaps you need to lower the reading demand while keeping the science content. Maybe you need to stop assigning instructional-level math as independent work. You might need to add multisensory activities to phonics instruction, add manipulatives to math, shorten written assignments, or provide more modeling before expecting independent practice.
And if you determine that the curriculum truly isn’t a good fit, you’ve learned something extremely valuable. Now you know what to look for in the next curriculum.
Start With the Learner, Not the Curriculum
Curriculum is a tool. It shouldn’t determine how quickly your child must learn, what level every subject must be taught at, or the only way a concept can be presented. For children with learning disabilities, the answer is often not finding one perfect grade-level curriculum. Their learning profiles may simply be too uneven for that approach.
Instead, continually ask: Can my child do this independently? Does my child need instruction, modeling, and coaching? Has this task reached the frustration level?
Before you replace the books on your shelf, remember LIMP: Level. Incentives. Method. Pacing. Then adjust the Level, Incentives, Method, and Pacing accordingly. Write down what you’ve learned about your child first. Then, if it’s still time to make a change, start with your child’s learning needs before comparing curricula.
