How Do I Keep My Kids Motivated With Home Schooling?

The holidays may be upon us, but when term time resumes – for most, at their dining room tables – how can you keep your kids focused on home study when all they want to do is get back to real school?

Posted by Soniyaa Kiran Punjabi on February 16, 2021 in Well Being. 4 minutes

No parent will ever say that homeschooling during this pandemic has been anything other than incredibly tough. With a combination of the technical difficulties of simultaneously getting all students on a Zoom call, making sure children stay motivated and on-track with their studies as well as ensuring their emotional needs are tended to, adding teacher into the mix of roles a parent juggles every day certainly doesn’t make life any easier.

To help parents navigate these unusual times, these five key pointers can help encourage children to keep a consistent and healthy homeschooling schedule.

1. The Stability of a Routine

One of the most important things for homeschooling, especially during an extended lockdown, is to create a study schedule or structure at home. Routines help children feel safe, secure, and comfortable. A consistent step-by-step routine helps children comprehend the predictability of their homeschooling day and allow for lesser disruptions to occur. Study routines also help children quickly accomplish day-to-day tasks that are required for school.

2. Encourage Them with Incentives

Make a list of what can encourage your child to stick to a homeschooling schedule. Buying a gift may not be a good idea as it may get financially difficult to keep it up – but things like ordering their favourite takeaway, choosing a movie on family movie night, or extra screen time over the weekends can help motivate a child. For younger children, you can make it a bit more fun by giving them gold stickers, and perhaps, after every 3^rd gold sticker, they can take a longer break from schoolwork. Incentivizing your child can help them develop a sense of pride and self-confidence in the tasks that they have completed.

3. Take Time to Hear Them Out

Homeschooling on Zoom calls can be hard for children, especially those who are used to a slower kind of learning where they are able to interact face-to-face with a teacher and clear their doubts. Check in on your children to see if they are facing difficulties tackling their studies. It’s also an opportunity for you to spend quality time with your children – perhaps, you can teach them fractions using baking ingredients and bake cookies together. Or share tools that you may know on how to study and take notes better.

4. It’s Ok to Make A Few Screen-time Concessions

Quarantine and home-schooling are a new normal – so it is prudent to adjust your expectations from your children to help the family remain connected. If your child is struggling with a maths assignment for a few hours, it’s OK to give them some additional screen time as a break. Mental health matters a lot, and it is important that you avoid unnecessary conflict. Instead, aim to keep a healthy balance of indulgence, fun, and routine.

5. Allow the Children to Have Some Fun

Schooltime means fun conversations with friends, passing notes in class, and playing games during break time. Homeschooling takes away the charm of regular school because it does not offer that fun environment. Let the children play in the backyard during recess or put on their favourite music. This can help add a dose of joy into their days.