Here’s why:
When I began this parenting journey, apparently God did not get the memo on just how this was supposed to go. I confidently assumed we’d give birth to 2.7 beautiful, intelligent children who would be fun but always respectful, excel easily, be immensely popular in school and would make me look very, very good as a mother.
These children would never:
- Have ADHD, read books in the clothes dryer, or get stuck in the laundry chute requiring vegetable oil for extraction
- They would never climb onto the refrigerator
- They would never make light saber sounds during communion
- And they would never EVER spit on light bulbs till they exploded simply because they liked the Sizzle.
But that’s what I got.
My sweet son was so ADHD, I’m surprised he didn’t come with it tattooed somewhere. And I loved him, his intensity and his high level energy to the depths of my being. I got a more typical child in my second. And then came the third. This one practically sizzled. I came to realize how often these kids are misread and mishandled because people were trying to apply typical-kid strategies to some of the most atypical kids on the planet.
This understanding led us to make many changes, which for us included homeschooling. While not all families can take this major step, all families can use the many learning tips we figured out during our many years of one-on-one learning at home. It is my belief that everyone homeschools. Some do it full time, as we did, and call it homeschooling. Some do it in the evening, and call it “helping with homework.” But all of us are invested in our child’s academic success. We’re all “in there” doing what we can.
So I posted my top ten favorite teaching tips on the web, assuming that would be the end of that. But I heard from so many people asking for more, that eventually, a book was born. Then another. Then another. Then a website—called Sizzle Bop—for parents who have highly distractible kids. Then I began being invited to speak to families around the country who knew that the traditional view of children didn’t work with this child, but who weren’t sure what could be done instead. Together, we found solutions, humor and much needed community.
So come on in. Visit us at Sizzle Bop, where the highly distractible of this world are celebrated, encouraged and empowered. If nothing else, come find out why in the world it’s called Sizzle Bop. We’ve also got a great community of folks on FaceBook. Join the conversation!
