CHAUCER PRIMARY SCHOOL
PARENTS/CARERS
TEN WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOUR CHILD TO LEARN
1. Fill your child’s world with reading. Take turns reading with your older child, or establish a family reading time when everyone reads their own book. Show how important reading is to you by filling your home with books, newspapers, even posters and placemats with words on them. ‘Children can learn to read by living in an environment that’s rich in words.’
2. Encourage your child to express their opinion, talk about his/hers feelings and make choices. He/she could pick out a side dish to go with dinner and select his/her activity out of school. Ask for their thoughts on family decisions and show that you value it. ‘One of the things valued in school is class participation and having practice at home expressing their feelings, is good for self-esteem and self-confidence.
3. Show enthusiasm for your child’s interests and encourage them to explore subjects that fascinate them. If she is a horse nut, offer stories about riding, if he’s into James bond, stories about secret agents and challenge them to find five facts about their subject in the encyclopaedia or on the net.
4. Provide them with play opportunities that supports different kinds of learning styles- from listening and visual learning to sorting and sequencing. Encourage playing with blocks-your child will develop their creative expression and problem solving skills as he/she builds. He/she will need lots of unstructured playtime to explore them-although sports activities and language clubs are valuable and creative learning process. Be careful not to add ‘too much stress’ to your child’s life and distract them from exploring the pleasure of learning at his/hers own pace.
5. Point out the new things you learn with enthusiasm. Talk about the different ways you find new information, whether you’re looking for gardening tips on the internet, library or taking an evening class in computers!! Let them see you in action, choose an activity that’s unfamiliar to you both, such as tennis or speaking Spanish and organise a lesson or pick up a couple of instructional tapes.
6. Ask about what they are learning in school, not about their test scores. ‘Even if they aren’t doing as well grade wise compared to the other pupils, they might still be learning and improving and you don’t want to discourage that.’ Have them teach you what they have learnt IN SCHOOL TODAY- Putting the lesson into their own words will help them retain what they have learnt.
7. Help your child organise their schoolbooks and homework so they feel in control of their work. If the task seems too much for them, they’ll spend more time worrying than learning, as they get older and have more responsibilities, things can get ‘really painful.’ So check up with them on a regular basis to make sure they aren’t feeling overloaded.
8. Celebrate achievements, no matter how small. Completing a book calls for a treat, finishing a book allows your child half an hour to an hour videogames. You’ll offer positive reinforcement that will inspire them to keep learning and challenging themselves. ‘If a child feels as if he/she is successful regardless of what it is, it builds them up and makes the next challenge easier.’
9. Focus on strengths, encouraging developing talents. Even if they didn’t do great in their maths test, they may have written a good story/poem in Literacy. In addition to a workbook for math practice, give them a writing journal/diary. When they know they are talented or have acquired a talent in a certain area, they become confident to try and achieve in others. ‘You don’t want to not offer challenges, but there’s always a positive when you have your child feeling positive about whom they are.’
10. Turn everyday into learning opportunities. Encourage them to explore the world around them, asking questions and making connections. ‘A prickly fruit in a supermarket could look like one of those fish that blows up, to your child.’ Get their imagination working and enjoy their unique quality of just being them.
SOME LITTLE HINTS TO MOTIVATE YOUR CHILDREN TO DO STUDY TIME/HOMEWORK
The First Law of Study time/homework – Most children do not like to do homework.
Focus on getting them to do it.
The second Law of study time/homework – You cannot make anyone do it. While you cannot insist, you can assist. Concentrate on assisting by being positive.
The Third Law of Study time/homework – It’s their problem! Their pens have to move. Their brains need to engage. Their bottoms need to be on a chair. Don’t create ultimatums, scream, and shout, threaten, bribe, scold and withhold privileges. They don’t work!! Your responsibility as parents/carers is to provide your child with an opportunity to do home study. Provide structure to create the system. Your child’s job is to use them.
Tips
· Don’t expect them just to manage on their own. They may need you to sit with them, or be around to answer questions, explain what’s required and how to go about it. When your child says, “I can’t do it,” suggest they act as if they can. Tell them to pretend like they know and see what happens. Then leave the immediate area and let them see if they can handle it from there. If they keep telling you they don’t know how and you decide to offer help, concentrate on asking than on telling.
Ask:
“What do you get?”
“What parts do you understand?”
“Can you give me an example?”
“What do you think the answer is?”
“How could you find out?”
· Provide a quiet space with all the things they need (pencil/pen, rubber, ruler, etc) so they don’t have to keep running off to find them
· Set aside a regular, mutually agreed time slot, to cut down arguments, for example, after a bit of TV or after teatime.
· If they are obviously too tired or feeling ill, leave it for another time.
· Take pressure off. If or where possible make learning fun and creative at this age by playing schools and going to the library together to find things out.
· Have a study table instead of a homework table. This word change alone will go a long way towards eliminating the problem of your child saying “I don’t have any homework.”
· Keep the routine predictable and simple. One possibility includes a five minute warning that study time is approaching, bringing their current activity to an end, clearing the study table, emptying their school bags of book, letters, supplies or resources, then beginning.
· Disorganisation is a problem for many school age children. If you want them to be organised you have to invest time to help them learn an organisational system. Your job is to teach the system. Their job is to use it.
· Replace monitory and external rewards with encouraging verbal responses. End the practice of paying for grades and going on a special treat for an ice cream. This style of bribery has only short term gains and does very little to encourage children to develop a lifetime love of learning. Instead make positive verbal comments that concentrate on describing the behaviour you wish to promote and encourage.
“You followed the directions exactly and finished in 15 minutes.”
“I notice you stayed up late last night working on your studying. It probably wasn’t easy saving that much till the end, but your efforts got it done.”
“I see you got the study table all organised and ready to go early. Looks like your use of initiative and responsibility worked together to me.”
· Use study time to get your own responsibilities handled. Do the dishes, washing, relax, read? Keep the TV OFF! If you engage in fun or noisy activities during that time, children will naturally be distracted. Study time is a family commitment!
If you won’t commit to it, don’t expect that your children will.
Special Note: tonight when your child is studying, begin as an adult on your homework, which follows.
· Reread this article.
· Decide which parts of it you want to implement
· Determine when you will begin
· Give yourself a pat on the back for getting your homework done
ADELE REGAN
FAMILY LEARNING MENTOR.
BA (HONS) Social Science.