I can’t get my kid to do any school work!

Sound familiar? You are not alone! I have been hearing this a lot lately from some of the homeschooling parents. So I have put together a few tips for you if you find yourself in that position.

1. Stop what you are doing. This may feel counter-intuitive but there is no point trying to teach anything if your child has shut down. There will be no learning happening anyway and you will both most likely end up cranky - not enjoyable for anyone. Sometimes you all just need to have a brain break, fill your bellies or move your bodies and then you will be good to go. Sometimes you might need to leave it for a little longer. Know that you can always come back to this, as well. It will be ready waiting for you, I promise.

2. Reflect on the task. It is your idea? Is it something your child wants to learn? Is it too tricky/too easy for them? Don’t forget to ask your child for their input for this part too. It is easy to assume things for our kids and they have a completely different idea. From my experience, kids don’t always like being told what to do and when it comes to learning, they need to see the purpose in it. If it is just ‘learning’ for learning sake and they can’t see the use for it, they most likely won’t be interested.

3. Make it fun. Is there a different way that the activity can be presented? Is there a game that covers the same skills or topics that you are trying to teach. Can you find a real-life experience for you all to fully immerse in the topic. Kids are born to play - when things are fun or presented in a game, it doesn’t feel like learning and you are met with less to no resistance.