{"id":2231,"date":"2024-09-04T13:28:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T13:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/?p=2231"},"modified":"2025-11-03T20:01:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T20:01:52","slug":"4-ways-to-keep-kids-motivated-to-learn-this-school-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/2024\/09\/04\/4-ways-to-keep-kids-motivated-to-learn-this-school-year\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Keep Kids Motivated to Learn This School Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If your kids are like most, their motivation to complete nightly schoolwork starts off strong and wobbles as the year progresses. Homework? They don\u2019t want to do it. School projects? Bring on the grumbles. Reading ahead for next week\u2019s assignment? Can\u2019t be bothered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re running out of motivational speeches to give your kids on the fly, don\u2019t worry. Below, teachers share their tips for what you can do to make sure your kids stay on top of homework, school projects, and reading all year long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Create a Special Study Spot<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Children are so easily distracted! Creating a designated space as a study area and keeping it as focus-friendly as possible can make all the difference, says Karen Baicker, Executive Director of the Yale Child Study Center\u2013Scholastic Collaborative for Child &amp; Family Resilience, and Publisher for Family and Community Engagement (FACE) at Scholastic Education Solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat space can be as simple as a screen-free area with a comfy spot to sit and a surface to write on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furnish the study spot with your child\u2019s favourite school supplies (don\u2019t forget a dictionary!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHaving a variety of coloured pens, markers, and fun pencils can also make homework fun,\u201d says Melissa Miller, a 1st grade teacher in Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Work Together to Learn<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Children may have a difficult time sitting down to complete homework on their own. Maya L\u00ea Espiritu, an elementary school teacher in California, suggests arranging a time in which you and your child work alongside one another, if possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou don&#8217;t have to be doing the homework with your child,\u201d says L\u00ea Espiritu. \u201cInstead, have your own work or a book that you are reading, and model focusing and working hard on your task.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also ask your child to teach you what they\u2019re learning. \u201cIf they can teach the material, they are learning at a deeper level,\u201d says Miller. \u201cTell your child that you would love to listen to them read while you are driving \u2014 instead of listening to the radio \u2014 or while you are cooking dinner.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Get Up and Move!<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>To keep your child inspired during a long homework stretch, make sure they have the opportunity to get up and move around between tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKids need movement,\u201d Miller says. \u201cYou\u2019ll find that homework time goes much faster when kids get their blood flowing.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For every 10 to 15 minutes of homework, Miller suggests setting aside 1 to 3 minutes for a quick interlude of dancing, laughing, or whatever helps your child release tension.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMovement does more than get the wiggles out,\u201d Baicker concurs. \u201cIt boosts brain power and helps with focus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Read With Your Child Every Night<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a misconception that when a child learns how to read, they\u2019ll only want to read on their own. Not true! Reading together boosts literacy skills \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/2022\/12\/20\/3-reasons-to-read-with-your-elementary-schooler-every-night\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">even for elementary schoolers<\/a> \u2014 and continues to foster a love of reading and discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs your child grows as a reader, grow with them,\u201d says Miller. \u201cMove into book series that are slightly above your child&#8217;s reading level so you can have rich discussion, discover new words, build comprehension, and create mental images.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The quality bonding time you\u2019ll share during your nightly read-aloud is a reminder your child is never too old to be read to or read with!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shop great books for post-homework family read-aloud time at <a href=\"https:\/\/bookclubs.scholastic.ca\/en\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scholastic Book Clubs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>Originally published by Scholastic Parents on June 27, 2022. Versioned for Scholastic Canada.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If your kids are like most, their motivation to complete nightly schoolwork starts off strong and wobbles as the year progresses. Homework? They don\u2019t want to do it. School projects?&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2232,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[8,5,6,7,34,48],"class_list":["post-2231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-topics","tag-back-to-school","tag-book-clubs","tag-book-fairs","tag-parents","tag-september","tag-teachers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>4 Ways to Keep Kids Motivated to Learn This School Year | Scholastic at School Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scholastic.com\/parents\/school-success\/homework-motivation-strategies.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Ways to Keep Kids Motivated to Learn This School Year | Scholastic at School Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If your kids are like most, their motivation to complete nightly schoolwork starts off strong and wobbles as the year progresses. 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