As a long-time homeschooler, I often get approached by mothers looking for better educational solutions for their children. I hear all kinds of stories about what hadn’t worked for them in a school environment. The most heartbreaking stories involve children with learning differences whose prior educational experiences not only failed to teach them properly but also left them with damaged self-esteem, lack of confidence, and a belief that they won’t succeed no matter how hard they try.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason children with learning differences fail to learn is not because they are not capable of learning but because they don’t believe that they are capable and therefore, they stop trying.
I have seen children with all kind of labels thrive and grow in a homeschool setting, achieving more than their school psychologists had predicted. How does this work? Simple – these children did not get discouraged or burned out. They wanted to learn, they believed they could learn, and so they persevered and succeeded.
How can you keep your struggling learner motivated so they’ll keep learning? Here are five strategies for you.
- Read to your child and cultivate love of reading. Create positive associations with books. Even children who struggle with reading can build fond memories of snuggling on the couch with their parents, deeply engaged in an exciting book and begging their parent to keep reading so they could find out what happens next. Children who have positive associations with books, and with learning in general, are much more motivated to learn.
- Introduce your children to other people, whether adults or children, who struggle with similar challenges. It’s tremendously validating for children to know that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with them, that their struggles are not their fault, and that there are other people who’ve also struggled and even succeeded.
- Set small and easily reachable goals. Your child should feel that they are succeeding, even if it’s only one baby step at a time. For example, if your child finds reading a whole sentence overwhelming, ask them to read one word. Then pause, do something else, and then come back to reading and ask them to read another word. Of course, as your child masters a small goal, set another, larger goal. But don’t set the bar higher too fast.
- Celebrate and reward every accomplishment, no matter how small. This is related to #3 above. Reward your child for achieving those small goals you’ve set. For example, my kids love when I read books to them that are age-appropriate but too hard for them to read on their own. So we take turns. The child reads from a book that is at their skill level, and then I read a chapter from the harder book.
- Set up your children to succeed in areas of strengths. This will build their confidence and help them persevere when the going gets tough in their areas of challenge. For example, if your child struggles with reading and writing, give them something they can do on their own that does not require reading or writing. You can design such a project from scratch, customized to your child’s needs. Or, if your child is anything like mine, try the Adventure Study Units I’ve been developing. They require no reading or writing, and you can try them out for free with the Dog Mini Adventure.
Each child is different and might need different strategies and resources, but as the parent, you’re in the best position to create a supportive environment for your child, where they feel motivated, persevere, and ultimately succeed.