From the Teacher's Desk: How to Get Kids to Do Their Work
How to Get Kids to Do Their Work
Hi!
Me again, back from the trenches of eLearning/homeschooling/quarantine learning... or whatever your school happens to call it…
I have been getting a lot of questions from parents about how to keep the motivation up at home – how to get their children to magically transform into students for a few hours every day, when they are not taking that bus ride, getting that car ride, or walking/biking to school.
We teachers work diligently for weeks when school begins to change that mindset, but parents at home don’t have the same tools we have at school: Desks, bells, friends, and most of all the setting of actually being AT SCHOOL.
My suggestions may seem simplistic, but they are all effective if you can figure out which one will work for your own child(ren).
My boys are different, in that one very easily scheduled himself while in school, and the other needed more of a schedule given to him. So, remember that your children are probably very different as well. What works for one or even two, will not work for all. Finding that right balance is difficult, but doable!
With the warmer weather coming (hopefully soon!?) it will be even harder to get your child to make that important transformation to a student; it is, however, vital for them to keep up with their school work until the end of the school year (more on that next time!).
The Suggestions
Create a special place to do school work
Think about the best place your child can make that transformation to a student. Usually someplace quiet (listening to music on headphones is an option in that quiet place!), away from the normal traffic of the house.
I saw a picture recently of 3 boys working at their dining room table on schoolwork while mom taught remotely. This is an amazing idea. If it works for you, having everyone at the same place, working at the same time might be great! In my house, this would never have worked.
My boys work differently; therefore, they would need their own space. It should be a place that is always used for school, with all of the necessary supplies: textbooks, paper, pens/pencils, etc. Adding a snack and drink might help too.
Create a schedule.
This can be as easy as how many minutes they need to work vs how many minutes they can have “free” to play video games, or as complicated as setting exact times for each class/free time. However, keeping a schedule of some kind is vital for children to remember that schoolwork is #1 for them right now. As I used to tell my boys, “school is your only job right now.”
Create a checklist.
Create a checklist of all of their classes. They can cross off/check off each class as they complete them. This helps someone like me who likes to see progress! You can add subcategories for each (like for math: attendance, warm-up, assignment, submitted), if your child likes the visual aspect of crossing/checking things off.
Create a “treat” motivation.
Again, this could be simple or complicated, whatever works for your child.
A “treat” after each successful class completed could be a piece of candy, a story with you, a 10 minute YouTube video, a walk or bike ride, or playing for 15 minutes with Legos (I don’t recommend video games or tv shows for the reward at the end of one class because it can be difficult for your child to re-engage after that stimulation).
You can have a “treat” at the end of “school” (all classes submitted) of video games, a movie with you--or independently, a special game that is only played after “school,” or even a fast food meal.
{As a rule, limiting phone usage, video games, and more than a short tv show before “school” is completed is an amazing motivator for students! I know in my house, this would have worked miraculously.}