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Jul. 16, 2006
motivation ideas
JenB
(www.homeschoolblogger.com/tiredmom/) had a question about motivation
ideas. My answer got too long winded to leave in her comment box so I
decided to post my answer here instead.
If he has something he
likes to do, like visit friends, play outside, watch tv, play games,
whatever it is, use that to help him learn how to reward himself.
When Kayleigh was about 7-8 she was attending a Montessori school and
she was having a hard time being motivated to do anything. So, the
teacher and I decided that if her work was done she would bring home a
green card, if it wasn't she would bring home a red one. Everytime she
got a green card we would go to her favorite tea house and have hot tea
and a cookie and have 'girl talk time'. When she brought home a red
card, she would have an extra household chore to do that evening in
place of watching TV. It wasn't long at all before she was getting all
green cards, then the cards weren't even needed anymore and she got her
work done and we still got to do 'tea time' a couple days a week.
We began homeschooling the every next year and the reward system worked
again. Punishments made me seem like the bad guy and the one in
control, but rewards made her feel like she was the one in control. It
was up to her to earn the reward and she knew she could do it.
With Athena though (now 16), she is motivated by a list at the
beginning of the day that she can mark off as she works. I have to be
sure and include everything, because she hates the feeling of being
'dumped' on. So every morning we sit down with her weekly assignment
sheet, her calendar, and a fresh piece of paper and make a list for the
day that includes chores, assignments, classes, projects, etc. Then she
is off and running. I rarely say another word to her because her reward
is the internal feeling of being done.
With Nathan (now 14),
he is changing rapidly! When he was little he also like a complete list
for the day. Now that he is a teen the list isn't enough, he needs
rewards to motivate. They are simple things like as soon as your
academics are finished you may go: ride your scooter, do yard work,
sleep, chat online, go skating or to the skateboard park....
When they have a clear understanding of what I expect, they don't seem
to mind doing it. When I am fuzzy or unclear in my directions or
continue to add this or that then they resist and get very grumpy. I
found that when I really took the time to listen to them, they were
much more likely to hear me out. |
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Jul. 19, 2006 - You tailor-made it to fit each child...
Thank you for sharing this
Jessica