By Lewis
Homeschooling a child can be extremely beneficial. It allows for a more individualized education, not to mention an avoidance of germs and bullies. However, you may have some difficulty with motivation, especially if the student is a teen in the family. If this is something you’re struggling with, here are three ways to motivate a homeschooled teen.
Schedule Time Off
Sure, being strict about education is pretty important. However, maintaining motivation is nearly impossible without breaks. Most students can’t stay focused on a lesson for hours at a time. Instead, try scheduling regular breaks into the day. During these breaks, you’ll still want to ensure that your child is doing something productive. If it’s been a long week, the activity should probably be something relaxing yet stimulating. A great option to consider is reading. This allows the student to work on literacy skills while having some alone time. On the other hand, your kid might be full of energy in the middle of a school day. If this is the case, you’ll want to encourage physical activity. Since you’re at home, take advantage of that fact! You could run around the neighborhood, use a trampoline, or even take a swim in the pool. If you don’t have a pool right now, you might want to look at pool cost. Once the activity is over, you’ll need to cool down. This is a great time to have a healthy snack. No matter what, try to stay off electronic devices during the school day. While these items can be used for educational purposes, being on one isn’t the most productive way to spend your time.
Encourage Interactions
When students are at a public school, there are endless interactions with other children their age. These interactions can create interest in subjects, a better understanding of assignments, and even friendly competition. While your homeschooler may be better off at home, it’s still important to encourage interactions. Start by finding some after-school activities. Look into sports, dance classes, chess club, theater, and similar activities where your kid can interact with others.
You may also want to enroll your teen in an educational group. This may allow for more academic-based discussions. A great option to try is math club. Most people, no matter how smart, don’t enjoy math. However, doing math with other kids could get your teen excited about the subject! You may even want to enroll them in competitions, particularly in subjects they excel in. Finally, while you don’t want to get too involved in your teen’s social life, try to ensure that he or she has after-school friends. Talk with other parents, schedule teen hang outs, and help your teen gain confidence in this area.
Provide Rewards
Doing schoolwork for no apparent reason can, understandably, feel pointless. Your teen may not be motivated by a letter grade or a report card. If so, you might want to try implementing a rewards system. This could be particularly helpful if the student has trouble concentrating. Start by deciding what should be rewarded. Sure, getting an A is something to celebrate. However, your teen may be in need of motivation in other areas. For instance, many smart kids are prone to procrastination and ignoring assignments. If this is the case, you may want to reward studying and early work completion. Once you’ve created a system, you’ll then need to pick out a reward. Treats like candy are certainly good motivation. However, too much candy can be unhealthy. For teens, you might want to create activity-based rewards instead. For instance, your teen could have a friend come over once they finish their assignments. You may want to go someplace fun to celebrate a good report card.
Motivating a child or teen to do their schoolwork isn’t easy, especially when you’re related to the kid. However, it doesn’t need to be a chore every time. Try various motivations and see which ones work. While school may not be fun all the time, it can be engaging for your homeschooled student.