3 Ways To Get Your Kids Interested In School
You’re not alone if you often struggle to prepare your kids for school in the mornings. You may also experience resistance motivating them for school after a long summer break. School days outnumber non-school days yearly, meaning your kids spend more active hours in the classroom. That may seem too much for a developing mind, and it explains why 1 in 20 children experience school phobia. You need more effective strategies to help them overcome that fear, ignite, and sustain their interest in school. Here are some tips.
Reward efforts more than outcomes
Many parents look forward to high grades and impressive performance at the end of the school term. While this is a good thing to expect from your kids, you can lose sight of a more critical area of your child’s performance. Your child’s effort shows a growth mindset toward their education. It indicates perseverance and a commitment to the bigger picture. The latter might seem too much for a young child to take on, and they may not even realize the bigger picture. However, as a parent, you can decipher the coded meaning of your child’s steady progress toward studies. For instance, if your child used to struggle to make a decent grade in Mathematics but has improved slightly, celebrate that. They may not have received an A, but a jump from an F to a C indicates the effort put into doing better in the subject. The effort toward their studies teaches valuable lessons your child will benefit from in their educational life. It teaches persistence, hard work, and dedication to a cause. A child celebrated for putting in the effort feels motivated to work even harder to become the best.
Let them learn during school breaks
Falling into a non-school routine during the long break from the formal educational system is easy. It usually happens in summer when conventional schools are on scheduled holidays. As a working parent, this can be challenging to manage because you have work to do and kids with more than enough free time on their hands. How do you manage work and still make your kids productive in those free hours? That is when you’re expected to be creative and resourceful with your kids’ continued education. Some parents rely on online games to keep their children busy, but you can turn those devices into helpful tools. Technology-aided education is here to stay and can be your go-to resource. Fortunately, many age-appropriate learning programs can be found on online portals like Learn Bright, eliminating the problem of material accessibility. Children who continue to learn during the school break stay mentally connected to classroom activities, helping to prevent a difficult readjustment period when school resumes after a long break.
Implement a learning structure at home
It doesn’t matter if your child is doing well in school; the most important thing is to establish a structure at home. That includes scheduling study times, setting up an area for learning, and making yourself available when needed. Becoming a part of the structure is to show your child that a parent’s involvement in studies plays a significant role in educational outcomes.
Remember that you’re not there to do the work for your child; instead, you guide them throughout the process. As a primary caregiver, you overwhelmingly influence your child, which can significantly help this strategy. The structure also comes with rules, and ensuring your child obeys them is important. For example, you can instruct your child to avoid all computer video games until homework is completed and signed.
Children need structure, and you will succeed when you develop an effective one.
