5 Ways to Fuel Your Child’s Desire to Learn

 

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.~ Albert Einstein

Some children are motivated from within and want to learn where others are not.  When I homeschooled, one child was intrinsically motivated and one was not.

The child who wants to learn is an easy child to homeschool.  They get their work done without too much prompting.

But then there is that other child, you know, the one who has better things to do than sit and learn.  Today I am happy to report that my child who was not motivated in school is now a lifelong learner.

As a parent there are some things that you can do to help fuel your child’s desire to learn:

1. Be enthusiastic about learning. Some days we are gun ho about school and some days we aren’t.  On those days when you think that if I have to listen to your beginning reader sound out another word  that you’ll take that book and throw it, don’t.   Fake it until you make it.  Smile, smile, smile no matter how hard it is.  Math is not my love language but I tried my best to show enthusiasm  when I taught it. I am sure that I wasn’t always successful, but I always tried. 

2.  Be supportive and encouraging.  Let your child know that his work shouldn’t always be perfect.   Getting something wrong or not understanding something is not failure.  It simply means  that  a little more time is needed to learn a  particular concept. Nelson Mandela said,

” It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

3.  Make learning fun.  Let your child do his schoolwork outside on a pretty day.  Do hands on activities.  Go on field trips.  Take breaks when your child seems frustrated.

4.  Make reading materials readily available in your home.  When I homeschooled money was tight and I did not have a big book budget, so I utilized our public library. I used to check out 50 books (the limit) at one time.  We checked out books on every imaginable subject and I kept books lying  around on the tables in our living room as well as in the kids rooms.  It was a bit daunting keeping up with all the books, but that’s another story.  

5.  Teach your children to fear (honor) God.  In Proverbs 1:7 the Bible tells us that, 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”. 

That’s a great verse to pray over your children. 

Remember that your goal as a parent is to fuel a desire to learn in your child.  Some days you will be more successful than others.  Hang in there and expect great results.

What about your child?  Is your child an intrinsic or extrinsic learner?

Look for next week’s hump day post where I share ways to identify your child’s God given talents and desires.