Motivating the Reluctant Learner

Are you wondering how you can motivate the reluctant learner in your life? You may be wondering what defines a reluctant learner. It is someone who just wants to slide by, they don’t always want to finish a task. They have the potential but don’t always have the motivation to keep learning. Here are some tips on motivating the reluctant learner in your life.

Motivating the Reluctant Learner

At times, it can be frustrating to have a learner that doesn’t want to learn. However, there are ways to motivate them. As a homeschooling parent, you don’t need to look at this as a bad thing, look at it as a fun challenge. You get to be a part of someone’s journey to love learning. Reluctant learners just need a caring adult to spend that extra time with them. Showing them that putting in the work and doing the work is important. These tips will help any reluctant learner if they are applied to the right situation. 

Make Learning Exciting

If you already have a reluctant learner, it’s going to be hard for them to learn if their lessons are boring. One way you can motivate a reluctant learner is to make learning exciting and fun. Give your child a job to do, let them lead a lesson, use voice inflections. Get creative in this area and do what you have to do to make learning exciting. 

Listen to Your Child

Another aspect of motivating the reluctant learner is to listen to your child. Don’t just think they don’t care, listen to what they have to say. If a child doesn’t feel as though they have a voice in their learning, they may not care. Let your child speak up and give opinions. Teach them that they do have an active role in their learning. 

Breaks are Super Important

If you have a reluctant learner, making them sit there for hours learning isn’t going to help them in any way. You are trying to create a love for learning in your child. One way to encourage a love for learning is by allowing them to take a break when they need it. This doesn’t have to be all the time, but a break every hour is a good idea. It gives them time to stretch and think and to really think about their day. It gives their brain a break as well, which is very important.

Add in Something They Love

When you are homeschooling, you get to do stuff a little differently. You get to access learning tools that kids in public schools can’t. When you are trying to motivate a reluctant learner, then you need to add in something they love. If they learn for x amount of time, then they get to do their favorite activity. As an adult, you know how exciting it is when you get to do something that you really enjoy. 

Find a Schedule That Works

Part of your reluctant learner’s problem is that they may not like the schedule for their learning. If you find that your child isn’t motivated to learn in the mornings, then moving it to the afternoons isn’t a bad idea. Change up the schedule if you need to. Just find a schedule that works. 

Try Interactive Learning

Instead of workbooks or worksheets all the time, try to make learning fun and engaging. Being a homeschooling family allows you to use technology to learn or get out of the house and do hands-on activities. When you try interactive learning, you are motivating the reluctant learner in your life.

Motivating the reluctant learner in your life may take some time, but these tips will work. Use them all at once or one at a time. You will find that a reluctant learner just needs a little push to do get motivated. It doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with them, it just means they need a little extra help!

Be sure to check out all our other posts in the Breathe New Life into Your Homeschool Series

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