Help, Motivate, & Encourage Your Child to Learn

• April 13th
• 3 years ago
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Before you set a table for two (or perhaps you already did – congrats!), let’s talk about making your child FALL IN LOVE with learning. This article may not be romantic, but it sure is beneficial for both you and your child.

The insatiable desire of young minds to learn about the world around them is unavoidable. If they were sponges, they’d soak up everything they came into contact with.

Many times, children’s natural curiosity about the world is snuffed out by their parents. Many children find going to school and learning new things to be a dreaded experience. 

Help Your Child Develop a Passion For Learning

1. Acknowledge What They Like

As an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut, Sally Reis, Ph.D., explains, the key to unlocking a child’s potential is to find the child’s interests and help them grow. To maximize a child’s potential, finding and nurturing the child’s interests is essential.

To help children develop a love of learning that will last a lifetime, it makes sense to help them find and explore things that interest them.

Allowing children to pursue interests rather than having them dictate what they learn has been shown to improve learning outcomes in studies. Because of this, it’s so important for teachers to let students choose what they do in the classroom.

Talk to your kid about what he’s doing, reading, watching, and learning. Expose him to a wide variety of experiences, such as museums, theaters, zoos, and so on. Check out a wide range of books from the library for him to peruse. All of these activities can help you discover and pique the interests of your child. Many questionnaires are available to help you discover a child’s interests. Make sure your child has the resources he needs to keep exploring the things he enjoys. Find books about superheroes if you know one of your students enjoys this type of reading material. Learning will become more exciting as a result of this.

 

2. Let Them Act and Do 

In addition to aiding in information processing, hands-on learning is more pleasurable for children. A lot of kids have no interest in reading at all.

Mathematical word problems are more likely to be answered correctly if students act them out in front of a class than if they do not. Psychologist Sean Bilock of the University of Chicago found that the earlier a child started moving around and exploring the world, the more likely he or she was to succeed in school. All of a sudden, things begin to change when children are allowed to explore their surroundings.

In the classroom, teachers should use movement, interaction, and tactile experiences. The use of manipulatives is a quick and simple way to achieve this. One of the best ways for kids to learn basic addition is to count with anything, like toys or fruits.

Parental involvement at home can enhance the educational experience of your kids. Take your child to a zoo if he’s learning about animals in school. Taking him to a toy store where he can play with toys in vibrant colors will be beneficial if he is learning about different colors in school, and he will love the experience.

Make an effort to provide your child with activities that are both engaging and hands-on. These are valuable learning opportunities for your kids.

3. Fun, Fun, And More Fun

It’s important for young children to have time for unstructured play. For this reason, they are able to appreciate the importance of hard work, creative problem solving, and the challenge of learning new things for themselves. Organized activities can cause children to lose control of their own time. Children don’t require non stop entertainment; instead, they should learn to self-manage, which is a valuable skill in a crowded classroom.

It is possible to give clues to children studying geography (whether in the classroom or at home) and then ask them to identify the country they are studying. It is also possible to create crossword puzzles and word searches for academic purposes. Make a model of a life cycle out of items found around the house or in the classroom.

There are times when a good dose of levity or a well-crafted story is all that is required to make a lesson more enjoyable for the students.

 

Short periods of time spent doing something silly are known as brain breaks. The monotony or difficulty of a task is broken up by the teacher in order to re-energize the students when they begin a new lesson or assignment.

It is only when children begin to see learning as less of a chore and more of an adventure that their enthusiasm for learning will grow.

 

4. Show Your Passion and They Will Do the Same

According to Deborah Stipek, Ph.D., Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education and co-author of Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning, parents are encouraged to share with their children what they’ve learned about sports, science, art, or cooking. Talk to your kids about interesting articles or educational programs that you’ve recently read or seen. Simply describe what happened and why it piqued your interest. Though they may not fully comprehend the subject matter, your children will be able to discern your interest in it. Additionally, the idea that education doesn’t stop with childhood will be conveyed.

To be an excellent role model for your child, pursue your own interests and passions with a sense of gusto and a positive attitude. Make it clear that you are a lifelong learner by displaying your enthusiasm for the subject. Reading books or watching videos can help you learn more about a subject if you can’t take a class. While it may seem obvious, showing your child that you enjoy learning will inspire them to do the same.

Teachers need to be enthusiastic about what they’re teaching in order to inspire their students. If you’re not pumped about it, neither will your students be. An enthusiastic teacher can inspire students to want to learn more about what he or she is presenting.

5. Familiarize Learning Style

Parents should be aware of their child’s unique set of abilities and passions. Working to our strengths is the best way to get the most out of ourselves. It’s easy to tell if your child is having a good time because their eyes light up and they show excitement in their actions.

When information is presented visually, such as in the form of writing or images, visual learners are better able to process it. Those with Asperger’s tend to be keen observers, good recallers, and art enthusiasts.

Auditory learners are drawn to the sound of information. They have excellent communication skills, are good at following instructions, and often have a musical or verbal gift.

 

Students who learn best through movement are known as kinesthetic learners. Through movement and touch, they are best equipped to learn with hand gestures and actions. For the majority of children, one of these skillsets tends to stand out over the other two. You can help a child learn in a way that he or she enjoys and is most comfortable with if you can identify the child’s inner strength.

 

6. Lectures are Sleeping Pills

Expand the discussion further by asking your own open-ended questions. “What,” “Why,” or “How?” are all good ways to begin your questions. Using these questions can help children develop a deeper understanding of what they are learning.

Encourage your children or students to actively participate in their education rather than simply listening to lectures because they might fall asleep and learn nothing.

When your child asks a question to show that he or she is curious, try your best to provide an answer. In the classroom, this is also true. It shows interest and gives your students a learning opportunity even if the question is not part of the lesson.

7. Encouragement is Crucial

According to Stanford University researcher Carol Dweck, students perform better on intelligence tests when their efforts are recognized rather than their abilities.

The reason for this is that children who believe that failure or struggle indicates a lack of intelligence are more likely to avoid or abandon difficult tasks.

Children should compete against themselves rather than with others. Instead of looking at how they compare to other students, you’re focusing on how they learn something new. It is important to be specific when praising your child.

As a result, they will be more enthusiastic. For a child to hear, it can be discouraging to hear what we think is positive praise that is actually quite general and low-key. You’ll see greater satisfaction in your child if you encourage them to talk about what they’ve accomplished.

Many students lose interest in school and begin to associate it with feelings of anxiety and stress. Because they don’t want to risk failing or getting a bad grade, they avoid taking tests. It’s no longer enjoyable to learn if the only goal is to achieve a desired outcome. Determine how much time and effort your child devotes to their assignments.

The importance of instilling in children the idea that success isn’t a matter of innate talent like intelligence cannot be overstated. As a result, success is the result of a long period of practice, hard work, and many failures. A child’s ability to persevere, strategize, and work tirelessly until a solution is found is more likely when the child views problems as opportunities for growth. Set realistic goals for your child and be there for him or her when he or she falls short of those goals. Take the pressure off of him, and instead of praising him for his achievements, encourage him to learn from his mistakes. 

When your child can relax and enjoy the learning process, it will be easier for him or her to learn.

8. Pushing is Bad

Research by Dr. Ryan and his colleagues found that the most successful parents didn’t micromanage or put their children under any unnecessary stress. They supported their children while letting them figure things out on their own. For enthusiastic learners, Dr. Stipek says, it’s important for your child to overcome obstacles on his own. According to her findings, as students’ proficiency in a subject increase, so does their enjoyment of that subject in middle school. It is more likely that you will want to engage in activities that are associated with your strengths.

Our goal at Groza Learning Center is to cultivate a child’s passion for learning by encouraging him or her to expand on his or her natural curiosity. In our field of expertise, we know that teaching is more than just a series of lessons and standards. As a learning center, Groza Learning Center is in charge of creating a supportive environment where children can develop their own ideas, express their feelings, and make their own decisions.