What’s the secret to motivating your student to do their schoolwork? If you are struggling to get your kids fired up about doing school please read on.
What is the Secret?
Getting into a routine at the beginning of a new school year is a real challenge. If you’re like me, it takes more than a few days to establish a routine and get the kids into productive mode. In our house it can take weeks and it can be painful.
So, is there a secret formula to training your student to work diligently and love learning? Though there is no quick trick, the good news is that it IS possible to train your kids. It won’t happen overnight but with some creativity, hard work, and consistency you will see results over time.
There are four areas that have helped me get results: enthusiasm, organization, adding elements of play, and incentives.
Show Enthusiasm
Model Joyful Learning
Embrace the opportunity to learn alongside your child. Show enthusiasm for the subject matter and enjoy the adventure! If you notice that your child is struggling with a particular concept, reach out to your child’s teacher or tutor and ask for suggestions. Turn challenges into opportunities!
Consider Personalizing Learning
There are so many resources available to help personalize your child’s learning experience. Consider adding some hands-on components or supplemental resources to their learning. Check out our library of resources organized by subject here.
Encourage a Growth Mindset
Growth mindset isn’t about what they’re learning or how they’re learning it. According to Dr. Carol Dweck, “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point.” Our family likes Big Life Journal’s growth mindset products for kids.
Be Organized
Provide an Inviting Learning Environment
Work to create an inviting space free from distractions but also close enough that you can check in with your child. Our family likes to work in stations – we find the variety in setting can be refreshing. You can view our homeschool room or check out inspiring learning spaces on my Pinterest page.
Have Necessary Materials Handy
Whether its school supplies, a stable WiFi connection, or log-in information, have whatever your student needs to get the work done. I like to set out everything we will need the night before along with our checklists and supplies. It helps us start on time and makes for less hassle throughout the day.
Create a Daily Plan
Creating a daily plan isn’t just a matter of scheduling. A daily plan will consider your schedule and to-do’s for that day. It combines the two to create a daily game plan. Here is a nice printable checklist from Crafty Classroom. If you’re a digital planner Well-Planned Gal has recently released a digital planner with a free version that looks nice.
Add Play Elements to Learning
Play Games
Try challenging your student by using a timer or stopwatch. Can they beat their best time going through their math facts? How about trying to achieve a 90% or better on their math work for the day in a certain amount of time? My boys like to earn nickels for each line of perfect handwriting. We also love board games of all types and there are many educational games that will support learning.
Use Hands-On Learning Resources
Our kids love using a deck of cards or a fun game to practice their math facts. We also enjoy GeoPuzzles to reinforce geography work. Science models are a wonderful companion to learning about scientific concepts. YouTube has a wealth of fun videos to help memorize the states & capitals, math facts, historical information, and more. There are myriad thinking skills and STEM sets and games. The options are limitless. Check out our posts on hands-on learning if you’re looking for some idea.s
Be Consistent
Set a Schedule
If you are a virtual schooler, set a schedule that resembles your child’s school schedule as much as possible. Take other commitments into consideration such as your work schedule, extra-curricular activities, sleeping schedules, etc. Check out my post on developing a schedule in two layers. Once you’ve got something that works, stick to it.
Consistency, Consistency, Consistency!
Consistency is the secret sauce to fruitful home learning. Staying at it day after day will bring results. Learning isn’t a sprint – it is a marathon. I would suggest finding a habit tracker that works for you and roll with it. These habit trackers look really fun. Celebrate keeping a consistent schedule at the end of the week with a family game night, pizza, ice cream, or whatever works for your family.
Provide Incentives
I am a classical pianist and have been teaching piano for over 20 years. I wholeheartedly believe that a student must be intrinsically motivated to be successful. But, sometimes it takes a little pixie dust to help them fall in love with learning.
Get creative and find ways to motivate your student. Then reward them for their hard work. Focus on their attitude and work ethic. Have they been particularly focused today? Did they work through their entire checklist with a positive attitude? Look for opportunities to give positive reinforcement.
Here are a few things that have worked in our home:
- Screen time – Our kids have to earn their screen time by completing their school work, chores, and music practices by 2 pm each day. They receive a certain number of minutes for each item on their list and can bank a good amount of time if they’re productive. Poor behaviors and bad attitudes work against them with negative minutes.
- Goodies from my Teacher Store – I award points for completed tasks and they can use those points to shop. I keep the prizes in a rolling cart filled with fun educational items like snazzy pencils & erasers, puzzle & coloring books, sensory toys, fun office supplies, and puzzles.
- Marble Jar – When we fill up our jar we celebrate as a family with pizza, ice cream, or a movie.
- Disney Pins – We are Disney fanatics and our kids love to buy pins for their pin collections with points earned from school work. I purchase our pins in bulk on eBay very affordably. This incentive is particularly effective when we’re saving up for a Disney trip.
- Candy! – I often reward our kids with an M & M for each subject, a mini candybar for a block of independent work, or an ice cream sundae for finishing their entire checklist.
- Experience Vouchers – Our kids like earning coupons for special experiences like eating out, choosing a movie or game for family night, planning a special menu, etc.
What works for you? I would love to hear your ideas for motivating your student. Comment below or connect with me on our Facebook page to share your ideas with our community.
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Lori Clapham says
Little incentives: the other day I have Jonathan 1 starburst candy for working so hard on an assignment. That evening at dinner prayer time, he thanked God that he received it. I didn’t realize how much it effected him.
Rachel says
Thanks so much for sharing! I love it!!!