Does this sound heartbreakingly familiar?
At best your engaged, happy child is chronically bored at school?
At worst your once bright, curious child now drags themselves through the front door each day, their nervous system completely dysregulated from chronic school stress.
The tears, stomach aches, and desperate pleas not to go to school aren't 'behavioral issues'—they're your child's body screaming that something is fundamentally wrong. That spark that once lit up their eyes when discovering something new has been systematically extinguished by an environment that doesn't honor who they truly are.
You lie awake at night watching your child suffer, knowing deep in your bones there has to be a better way. Every morning becomes a battle, every afternoon brings emotional wreckage and you're watching your child's self-worth crumble under the weight of a system that was never designed for them to thrive.
You're not alone, and more importantly—this doesn't have to be your child's story.
There is a path to healing this summer...
Our 8-step summer healing protocol helps you break the anxiety cycle, rebuild their confidence, and create the emotional safety they so need.
Whether you're preparing for a return to school with new tools or discovering that home education might be the sanctuary your family needs, this roadmap meets you exactly where you are and guides you toward the transformation your child needs.
DOWNLOAD FREE ROADMAP
What You'll Discover in Your Recovery Roadmap
Step 1: Breaking the Anxiety Cycle
Â
Your child's emotional reset button that stops the fight-or-flight response from hijacking their days with our instant 3-part physiological reset routine.
Step 2: Creating Your Family's Sanctuary
Â
Building the safe haven your child's nervous system craves including how to design a physical comfort zone that becomes their refuge & retreat.
Step 3: Unearthing Hidden Triggers
Â
Detective work that finally reveals what's really causing your child's distress with gentle investigation techniques that won't re-traumatize.
Step 4: The Re-connection Protocol
Â
Rebuilding your child's trust in their own abilities after anxiety has convinced them they're 'not good enough' including the powerful strengths inventory activity.
Step 5: Gentle Strength Training
Â
Fortifying your child's emotional muscles without forcing them to 'toughen up' with the anxiety surfing technique and courage ladder.
Step 6: The Summer Bridge
Â
Transforming fear into anticipation for whatever comes next whether returning to school or transitioning to home education.
Step 7: Your Advocacy Arsenal
Â
Becoming your child's unwavering champion with confidence and clarity.
Step 8: Open a New Door
Â
If school just won’t work, consider opening the door to becoming a Light Way Home Educator. Starting late summer, we open the doors to The Founders Lounge and The Foundations Journey online course.Â
Considering Becoming a Home Educator?
Light Way Learning is launching the Light Way Home Educator Academy in late summer 2025. Level I: The Foundations Journey will be a "learning is doing" experience as we guide you step by step to gain clarity, confidence and skills to home educate. No more guessing and long hours of research.
When you download your free roadmap, you will be placed on the priority list for the Light Way Home Educator Academy Founders Lounge - a place to:Â
- get your home education questions answered
- find out more about Light Way Home Educator Academy plus
- be first to be invited to a one time founding member opportunity &
- be part of the much needed transformation in education & learning.
Parents Are Finding Their Way Out
of the School Anxiety Nightmares
“Zahra, I realized this week that I'm not only learning how to help my son heal, I'm becoming a better mother too. I can't thank you enough. This is amazing."
Rio, San Francisco Mother of 11 year old bored with school.
“My son found reading and anything to do with school super stressful. I was at my wits end. With the tools outlined in the Recovery Road Map, we were able to calm his nervous system and look at the world with new eyes. We never looked back. Now he can’t put his book down.”
Cherrie, Houston, mother of 12 year old struggling to stay engaged with learning.
“Before using the kinds of tools in the Recovery Road Map, Matthew was tense, stressed and depressed. He hated school and simply wasn’t thriving.
I knew my son was at a crossroads and our family had to do something drastically different. We used the Recovery Road Map tools and decided to home educate. Matthew started sleeping peacefully again and happily engaged in learning projects together. I was worried that his confidence would never return."
- Patty S., mother of a
now thriving 20 year old.
Created By Educators Who've Witnessed the Damage—And Know the Way Out
Â
The Light Way team combines decades of experience in progressive education, child development, and transformational healing.
Co-founder of Light Way Learning, Zahra Lightway didn't just teach in traditional classrooms—she left in sadness after watching too many sensitive, brilliant childrens' spirits slowly crushed by systems that prioritize compliance over wellness. That sadness became purpose: in her former school in Texas, she developed an enlightened learning system, the Light Way System, and guided families through the healing journey from school anxiety to educational freedom.Â
Zahra Lightway, M.Ed, BA
Zahra Lightway, M.Ed, BA, is a co-founder of Light Way Learning and creator of the Light Way System. A seasoned educator and community design facilitator, she helps families reclaim learning as a joyful, relational journey. Zahra blends holistic pedagogy, emotional intelligence, and sociocratic shared decision-making tools to support parents worldwide in becoming confident, conscious home educators.
Kim Swaffield M.Ed.
Kim Swaffield, co-founder of Light Way Learning, Director of Coaching and a Light Way Coach is an early childhood educator & accreditation specialist. Kim brings expertise in NAEYC standards, Reggio Emilia, and project-based learning. She’s designing the Light Way Coaching Certification, weaving her deep respect for play, emotional attunement, and whole-child development into a transformational coaching experience for home educator coaches and parents.
Patricia Sprenger BA
Patty Sprenger is a co-founder of Light Way Learning, Somatic-Educational Integration Consultant and trauma-informed parent coach. With 30 years in somatic movement and education, she helps families align body and brain to unlock joyful, resilient learning. Her own home educated children earned associate degrees by age 17, and she now coaches parents using the very system that helped her family thrive - the Light Way System.
Patty's Story
Patricia's children were really suffering in school, and her family, including her husband, were not fully onboard with home educating. In 2013, Zahra trekked from Asheville, NC to Chicago, Il to help her start home educating . She taught Patty the Light Way System. Patty took the plunge. With Zahra’s help, she faced all her fears and was able to reassure her husband and family.
Fast forward 12 years, her now 20-something son and daughter attend top tier universities, had associates degrees by age 17, did apprenticeships, work experiences and accessed mentors in their community.
Today they thrive with no trace of the anxiety that once ruined family life. Patty’s husband is now a staunch advocate of home education and Patty loves the Light Way System so much, she decided to build on her decade of coaching other home educator parents as a Light Way Coach.
The Light Way System integrates child-parent co-created learning with structure and rhythm, empowerment tools, practices for family harmony & tools for nervous system regulation —because we understand that healing and readiness must come before any meaningful learning can take place.
We've walked this path with families whose children couldn't get out of bed for school. They just needed a different way to learn & we watched them all transform into confident, curious, joyful learners who trust themselves and thrive in life.
We Understand Your Concerns
(Because We've Been There Too)
Q: "My child's anxiety is so severe they can barely function. Can a summer roadmap really help?"
Q: "What if my child needs to return to the same school?
Q: "I'm worried that focusing on my child's anxiety will make it worse or make them more 'fragile.'"
Reclaim Your Child's Right to
Learn Without Fear
Your child's anxiety about school isn't a character flaw—it's their wise body telling you that something fundamental needs to change.Â
This summer offers a precious opportunity to break the cycle, heal their nervous system, and rebuild their relationship with learning from the ground up. Whether that healing leads you back to school with new tools or toward the freedom of home education, your child deserves to learn without fear.
 Download your Recovery Roadmap now and begin the transformation that will change your child's educational story forever. Thousands of families have walked this path from anxiety to joy—your family can be next.
DOWNLOAD FREE ROADMAP NOW!