7 Easy Ways to Encourage Kids to Love Learning
If you are an educator, a parent, or a guardian, you are probably already aware that it is not easy to know how to encourage kids to love learning.
But you cannot give up trying to motivate and help your children to love schoolwork during this vital stage of their life. They are still young, and a love of learning can be encouraged and developed before it is too late and their future gets messed up.
If your child doesn’t like school, read on because, in this post, we shall discuss several ways to encourage kids to love learning. The tips provided below are effective, and thus, when put into practice, your child will soon be curious to learn new things and they will start loving school.
Continue reading to discover how to instill a love of learning in your child.
How to Encourage Kids to Love Learning
- Discover your child’s interests
Perhaps the reason why your kid doesn’t love learning is that they have been studying subjects they are not interested in. If that is the case, one of the first steps to take if you want to know how to encourage kids to love learning is to find out the subjects they love.
You can discover their interests by listening to them, asking questions, and observing the kinds of movies, books, or games they are currently into as well as the other activities they like doing.
Exposure to different experiences can also help you and the children know their hidden talents and interests. For example, you could travel, visit museums, or sign them up for various extracurricular activities.
It will be easier to teach and encourage your kids to love learning once you find out what things interest them.
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- Make learning fun using games
Children like to play games. Hence, looking for some fun educational games to play together is one of the best ways to encourage your kids to love learning.
You can find many such games to play for free online on websites such as Calculators.org. It has a large collection of games that you can play depending on the subject or skill you want your child to learn.
For example, the website has math games, word games, quiz games, science games, memory games, puzzle games, and many more fun educational games of varying difficulty levels.
You can be sure you will not lack a suitable game to play with your kid, no matter their age.
The games on the Calculators.org website have different themes, use vibrant colors, and also have great illustrations. They have a timer and are often accompanied by soothing background music and sound effects which will keep the child engaged for a while.
The site also has no ads, and thus it is safe for kids to use as there will be no intrusive or inappropriate advertisements popping up unexpectedly. Furthermore, there is no need to sign up to use this website, making it easy for anyone to access.
Any parent, teacher, or guardian who wants to encourage kids to love learning should take advantage of the many free educational games available on Calculators.org to make studying fun.
- Show them your love of learning
Most children usually emulate the behavior of their parents. Therefore, if you want to encourage a love of learning in your kids, you should show them that you also have a passion for studying.
You could do things like being enthusiastic when helping them do their homework, getting a book to read while they study, or talking to them about the interesting things you have learned and applying them in real life.
When the kids see you reading, they will want to read more as well. They will also be curious to learn new interesting things to share with you.
Additionally, seeing you read as an adult will let them know that schoolwork is not a punishment, and thus they will develop a more positive attitude towards studying.
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- Determine your kid’s learning style
Every child learns new things differently. The 4 main types of learning styles your kid may have are auditory, visual, kinesthetic (also called tactile learners), and verbal (those who prefer reading or writing).
Although most kids usually show a balance of the various types of learning, some have a preferred style. If your child doesn’t love learning, it is possible that they belong in the latter group and you both don’t realize it yet.
Finding a way to identify the learning style that works best for your kid will help you know how to encourage them to love learning. You can determine which type of learner your child is by observing them, their interests, and their behavior while studying or when you are teaching them.
Once you discover the best learning style for your child, it will be easier to help them study in a way that they find enjoyable and comfortable.
- Encourage participation
Many educators and parents make the mistake of teaching kids in the form of lectures instead of starting discussions and motivating participation.
But, if you want to learn how to encourage kids to love learning new things, you should make them participate by turning study sessions into a time for discussion.
You can encourage your kids to be active participants by asking them open-ended questions, engaging in practical activities, and requesting them to read things out loud.
You could also create an atmosphere where the children feel free to share their opinions and ask questions when they are curious or if they don’t understand something.
- Don’t push them too hard
Whether you are a kid or an adult, no one likes being told what to do or being forced to do something they don’t want to do. So, even though you are trying to encourage your kid to love learning, don’t be too pushy.
That doesn’t mean you should always give in whenever your child is a difficult student. It simply means that you should learn their limits and know when to back off, especially in the early stages of helping your kid love learning.
Forcing a child to study when they don’t want to or to learn a subject they aren’t interested in could make them hate school even more. And you obviously don’t want that. So, instead of being pushy, take the learning process slowly and be supportive and encouraging.
Remember to keep your child’s interests in mind and know why, when, and how much to push them to learn and be better.
- Compliment and reward them
Everybody loves to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts and good work, and kids are no exception.
If you want to discover how to encourage kids to love learning, you can use compliments and rewards as a way to change their attitude toward school.
You could praise or reward them for good performance, finishing their homework, good behavior at school and at home, getting ready for school fast, and participating in extracurricular activities, among other things.
Rewarding your child improves your relationship with them and makes both of you happy.
Compliments and rewards will entice the kids to love learning, and, within no time, the good behaviors and habits they adopted will become normal to them. So, create a reward system for the various behavioral milestones you set for your kid.
However, you should be careful when using rewards and compliments as one of the ways to encourage kids to love learning. When done wrong, such a system can affect your kid’s sense of self-worth as they grow up.
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Wrapping Up
Does your child hate schoolwork? If they do, you now know how to encourage your kid to love learning.
If you know your child well, their interests, and the learning styles that work best for them, it will be easier to help them study. Use the above tips to instill a love of learning in your child.
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