As Mama’s with ADHD, we are inherently drawn to something new and shiny. Don’t fall for that brain nonsense. Here’s six challenges to help you ditch the shopping cart, heal your wallet, and exercise your creativity muscles instead.

1. Be forgiving of what you have.

Are you seeking perfection in your curriculum? You’re not going to find it. It seems to me that no matter what curriculum I’m using, all I have to do is log onto their private Facebook page to see all the things that curriculum is doing wrong. I am yet to find a single curriculum that works perfectly with my kiddos.

Often, we’re too eager to upgrade, to see if something new will make us feel better, or we worry that a natural learning plateau is caused by the wrong curriculum. So many times I have paused our lessons only to come back in a week or two to find that the curriculum was working fine. It was my attitude that needed replacing.

Please note: this is different from working with a curriculum that truly isn’t working. If you and your kids are constantly frustrated, the curriculum is inherently flawed (oh man, this time I bought a grammar curriculum that was just… wrong.), or you absolutely dread picking up the book, please by all means throw it out. There’s not enough hours in the day to spend them on curriculum that honestly isn’t working for your teaching style or your child’s learning style.

But ask yourself honestly, do you need to replace it? If it’s math, the answer is probably yes. If it’s anything else, I challenge you to try one of the five remaining challenges before you try retail therapy to fix the problem.

2. Be creative.

People with ADHD are often extraordinarily creative, but having too much stimulus in our environments can put a damper on that creative urge and lead to procrastination instead.

Creativity is born from lack, not abundance. You’ll be amazed what happens when you pare down your belongings and your curriculum. Giving time for stillness and deep thought will allow your children to really internalize what they’ve learned and start to create with that knowledge.

So rather than going shopping for what you think you need, check in on what gaps you can fill or what changes you can facilitate to make things work ONLY with what you already have on hand. I have skipped entire sections on curriculum that’s moving too slow, turned a sweet and beautiful lesson on flowers into a game about a war zone, busted out the chocolate chips to bribe my kids through boring math facts, and pretended every single lessons was on boats or bugs or whatever my children were interested in. If you’re feeling tapped out creatively, why not ask your children for ideas?

3. Check your stash.

Do an inventory check on the supplies, books, and curricula you already have (anybody else have a tote full of stuff you’ve completely forgotten about that inevitably has something you just bought sitting at the bottom of it? Just me?? Ok.).

Check in with friends to see what they have that you might borrow, buy, or steal off of them (just kidding, don’t steal it, stealing is wrong). I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve put a post up with a homeschooling group to have three people pipe up and say they own what I’m looking for.

And don’t forget to check in on nature! She tends to store an inordinate amount of math manipulatives, art supplies, and cues to google things. Which leads us very practically to…

4. Try free resources.

It’s astonishing how quickly you can create a unit study out of completely free resources.

The library is pretty much our second home, and I’m amazed at how often they have actual curriculum sitting on the shelves. We’re very blessed where we live to have a conglomerate of libraries that ship materials back and forth so that we aren’t limited to our local branch. Check in with your librarian to see if similar set-ups are available where you live. If not, let them know you cast your vote for creating such a network.

An abundance of other free programs, curriculum, and educational material is all over the internet. Go to Pinterest, Google, YouTube, etc. The options are completely overwhelming, so make sure to set a timer before you dive in and some sort of reward to help lure you away from that excess of content when the timer goes off.

5. Ask an expert.

Have you ever researched to see if there is a job for people who are obsessed with the topic your child is studying? I’m always amazed at the diversity of career offerings in the world, but not nearly as amazed as I am with how eagerly those experts usually want to share their wisdom with children.

Writing an email can often yield loads of resources, direct answers to the most random questions, and even offers to come visit them at work so they can show off more of what they do (free field trips?? Yes please!). These emails are made all the more effective when they’re written by your children, which will also gives them an opportunity to practice their professional writing skills.

Not every expert will be eager to invite you over for a tour, but there is literally nothing to lose so long as you remain polite and respectful.

6. Wait a few months. Or a year. Seriously.

I know, I know, us ADHD folk are an impulsive lot. This one might cause you physical pain. But hear me out.

Where I live, we are required to make an annual plan with a list of materials and resources we might need to carry the plan out. When we started homeschooling, I hated writing this document and would always make it as vague as possible. As time goes on, though, I see the benefit of sticking to a plan. I have bright and shiny syndrome hard, and building in the habit of waiting before purchasing things has saved me so much money and heartache over the years.

There is something to be said for forcing yourself to take time to step back and ensure this isn’t an impulse purchase. I have frequently jotted down curriculum that I’m interested in with a promise to myself that I will check in next year (or semester) and see if it fits into an actual plan that I can carry out. Not some mythological perfect homeschool day where I imagine that 17 hours of instruction will be received enthusiastically by my children and that I won’t experience burnout after 4 weeks of this relentless pace.

Make a plan, see if it fits into your very realistic day, and then wait. I can’t tell you how much curricula I didn’t buy because we just didn’t need it a few months later.

And a bonus challenge!

7. Play with your kids.

For any of the Mamas out there whose brains are still sputtering that their children NEED this new, fancy piece of curriculum they just found. Ultimately, they don’t. They need YOU. Your time, your attention, your inside jokes that you’ll create. Your passion for learning, your rich wisdom that you earned through hard work and perseverance. None of those things can be purchased, and all of these things are so much more valuable (and will genuinely help your children be more successful) than French lessons or a STEM subscription box or yet another unit study on ocean creatures. So my final challenge, even if just for this one day, is to step away from the shopping cart and go make some memories.

I promise you’ll never regret it.

Ready for some spice? Share in the comments what curriculum purchase you regret making (yeah, I went there).