Over the past few weeks, we parents have had to wear many hats: teacher, librarian, camp counselor, online meeting scheduler, you name it. Now, we’re realizing that getting our kids across the finish line of a disorienting spring term requires one more role change: cheerleader.
How to motivate your child to get through the end of the (online) school year?
Start with the basics
- Provide structure and routine. Sticking to a schedule provides the stability kids need to keep their eyes on the prize. Plus, it minimizes their instincts to go rogue. When expectations are set, it’s more likely they’ll be met.
- Establish accountability. Maybe you can’t motivate your kid—but their best friend can. Have them schedule daily check-ins over text or social media with a friend. Accountability helps kids realize they’re not alone and gives them a tangible reason to work hard.
- Let them see progress. Use a calendar or another visual aid to mark time so they can see how much they’ve accomplished and how much more there is to go.
- Do a related activity. Build upon and extend what they’re learning with a natural connection. If they’re learning about the insects, let them go outside and do the bug scavenger hunt!
- Be willing to experiment. If a kid is struggling with reading a book, turn it into a read-aloud or get an audiobook. If math is “too boring,” do the problems on a whiteboard or outside using sidewalk chalk. A change of scenery can do wonders for a kid’s motivation.
- Break up the day. If you have some control over when they do the work, break things up a little. Let them have a slower-paced morning and do their work after lunch. Make an agreement in advance: “If you take the morning off, you still have to get your schoolwork done before you can play online with your friends later today.”
- Change the timing. There’s nothing magical about the hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.—that’s just when we’re all used to school happening. Of course, if your kids are in online classes, you have to accommodate those schedules. But for things like working through a packet of assignments from a teacher, there’s no harm in experimenting with different times of day. Sometimes the change is all it takes.
- If nothing else help, then appeal to a favorite teacher. A word of encouragement, such as a recorded video message, a text, or an email, from a beloved teacher can be just the thing. Your kid wouldn’t want to let the teacher down.
If we’ve learned anything during this crisis it’s to expect the unexpected. Your kid may not end the year where they—or you—were hoping to. Insist on the bare minimum (completion of all assignments), and set up natural consequences for noncompliance (maybe they miss an end-of-year celebration). Empathize with your kid’s feelings and move on. Allow yourself a moment to gather your strength and recharge.
Celebrate the little victories, and remember, this too shall pass.
