Motivation

"Learn to know your child's interests, it really helps, and don't forget to enjoy your homeschool journey!"

Wolsey Hall parent

At Wolsey Hall we aim to provide children with the skills to become independent learners who are able to learn and relearn throughout their lives: a key skill in today's fast-changing world. Sometimes our younger learners need some help in maintaining their motivation. It is important that we motivate our young learners for the effort they put in at home, rather than the results they get.

Here are a few simple ideas that can be used at home to help:

Praise

Letting your child know what a great job they are doing can go a long way - a simple, 'well done', 'what a fantastic effort', 'good concentration skills' can go a long way. Praise should be used frequently, and focus should be placed on the effort that goes into the learning, not the results achieved. For example, if your child takes a spelling test and gets 10/10 then the praise should focus on the effort that went into learning the new words, and the strategies used to learn the spelling patterns, rather than the fact that your child got 10/10.

Goal setting

Setting a goal can help to motivate younger children. A goal may be time-related (let's see if we can do 10 minutes without stopping), or task-related (let's see if we can do all 6 questions). Adding a goal provides a level of challenge that often appeals to children. It is important to make the goal small and achievable so that your child continues to be enthusiastic about new goals set in the future.

TIP 1 (audio clip):

Use your timetable

Children like to know what they are doing now, and what they will be doing next. Going through your timetable before learning starts can help to motivate your child to keep going. If your child is in the early stages of reading consider making a visual timetable using an image to represent a subject or activity so that your child can understand their timetable easily. Asking your child to go through the timetable and tell you what the plan for the day/morning/afternoon is will help your child feel that they are in control of their learning.

Daily visual timetable to download Download Daily visual timetable to download

Focus on your child's interests

We know that people learn best when they are interested in the subject being discussed and shared. Adapt the learning at home to take your child's interest into consideration. If your child has a love of dinosaurs, see how you can work dinosaurs into learning. In maths, instead of counting counters, count dinosaurs instead. In English, if you are describing an animal to use interesting adjectives, why not describe a dinosaur instead?

Enthusiasm

Children learn from others. To encourage your child to be enthusiastic and willing in their learning, they need to see that you are enthusiastic about their learning too. Keeping a positive attitude around home learning, and showing enjoyment in the learning will help your child to be motivated too.

Role-model

As mentioned, children learn from others and the actions of their parents provide a great teaching tool for children. Try to demonstrate that you are learning too, whether it is work-related or home-related. The more you can vocalise what you are learning (I am learning how to cook a new recipe today, I am learning how to use my new laptop), the more it helps your child to see that we are all learning and it is something that everyone does at home, even the grown-ups.

Seeing mistakes as an opportunity

It is easy to see mistakes, or not getting full marks, as a failure in some way. It is important that children understand that mistakes show that we are being challenged and that they provide us with an opportunity to learn and grow. It is important that you help your child to see mistakes as an opportunity to grow, rather than see them as an indication of failure. This will help to keep your child motivated.

Rewards

One way to build motivation is by using a visual reward system that recognises the effort your child is putting into learning. Rewards should be small (even a tick or a smiley face) and can be a great motivation for Primary children. It might be that you set a goal for your child to reach when a slightly larger reward can be given. For example, if your child receives 10 smiley faces in the week, they receive a reward that has been discussed and agreed together at the beginning of the week - baking cookies together, extending bedtime by 15 minutes, an extra 30 minutes of tech time. If you choose to use a reward system, it is important that the rewards are small, and the goals set are achievable. If your child is never successful in reaching the goal, it can become demotivational. You could make a reward chart with your child (or see below for a link to some free templates). Your child might like to decorate their chart or add pictures of things that interest them. Alternatively, you could use a Reward Jar. Every time your child is rewarded for their effort then an item is added to the jar until you reach the number you have agreed for a reward. You could use marbles, stones, toy cars, pieces of paper, or any other small item.

Rewards chart to download Download Rewards chart to download