English
Today is The International Day for Protection of Children, which is a reason to remind us that we once were children ourselves. That means each of us could dream, loved to play, and had to study a lot. You should agree it could be wonderful if studying were always fun and helped us to realize our dreams! But it is not that hard if you know and use the right strategies. The Lectera team has put together such strategies for those who remember their school days and want to make studying a joy for their children.
7 strategies to motivate your child to learn
1. Cultivate a love of reading in your children
Children, who learned to enjoy reading, enjoy studying as well. Books not just enrich your vocabulary, they also teach you to process information fast, reflect, and even communicate using fictional characters as examples. Introduce the rule of family reading, when everybody gets together, takes a book, and reads 20-30 minutes a day. Make a tradition of discussing what you read and sharing your impressions.
2. Use visualization techniques
Posters or illustrations help children visualize their tasks or understand instructions better. Your children can make such posters themselves - that way they absorb the material better, besides, they can use their creativity. This method is especially effective if your child needs to learn a pattern of the actions or the sequence of steps.
3. Give your children a sense of control
When children feel that their parents are in control, the kids lose their motivation to do anything on their own. It is important to guide children during the process of education rather than lead them. Your children should develop their own learning experience - only this way they will develop responsibility for their education and future. Talk with your kids regularly about expectations and consequences, teach them to draw parallels and make decisions just as adults do.
4. Stick to a strict schedule
Daily routines and compliance with the rules will help your children develop motivation. By the way, in addition, defined home rules prevent most conflicts. Set up a study zone in your home. It should be free of distractions and noise. Ideally, if the schedule of the children and their parents match. For example, if the child is studying, the parents are in their work zone paying the bills, checking work emails, taking some online courses.
5. Teach your children planning and organization skills.
People have to develop their time management skills and learn how to be organized all their lives. That is why the sooner your children start learning this, the better for them.
The first skills that your child will definitely need for studying are making lists and the ability to break down large tasks into small ones.
6. Get your children interested in studies through play
Playing helps kids to memorize information better and involves them in the process of acquiring knowledge. The easiest way to turn studying into a game is to introduce the systems of prizes for correct answers, solved difficult math problems, learned material, or an acquired skill. The additional motivation is the parent's participation in the competition for the prize. For example, who reads the book faster picks the dinner menu for the whole week.
7. Make learning a habit
Try to make studying into a daily ritual. That may seem overboard, after all, children should have days off, but we are not talking about studying with textbooks. Encourage your children to explore the world around them, ask questions, and make connections. Help them to classify and systemize the world, and think critically about what they see and feel.
Help your children to find a learning style suitable for them and you also will come up easily with brand new methods that will be much more effective. However, it is just as important that you can do what you are trying to teach your kids. That is why the educational online platform Lectera exists - so you will have the opportunity to study together with your children, give them more relevant skills, and be an example for them.
