Homeschooling can be tough tough, but it’s up to you to keep your child engaged during lessons. Yes, children may be prone to boredom and drifting imaginations, especially when you are teaching about a subject that they are not that interested in.
However, there are ways to ensure that you can keep their interest, even in the lessons they don’t enjoy as much. If you are struggling to keep your children engaged during homeschool lessons, keep reading for 5 simple ways to improve engagement when homeschooling.
Find Your Own Style
One of the most important things to remember when homeschooling is that every child and every family are different. There are a lot of great resources out there to give you advice about homeschooling techniques, and there are lots of different methods about the best way to teach.
These methods can be useful, but you also have to make sure that you follow what works for you. Find your own style so your homeschooling is unique to your family. When you find your own rhythm and work in a way that your children engage with, you will find it a lot easier to keep their attention, and they will learn a lot more effectively.
Use Technology
Technology is so useful when homeschooling, but a lot of parents do not make use of it enough. There are some great pieces of school software that you can use to limit distractions, or even control the screens on your children’s computer so you can get their attention when you need it.
You could also use technology to find more interesting ways to tackle boring subjects. For example, there are some great educational YouTube channels where you can find simple videos that explain tough subjects. You may find it a lot easier to engage your children with visual aids.
Include Games
Reading from worksheets and books can get very boring (even for the parent). Even though it’s an effective way to learn sometimes, consider including more fun and interesting ways to learn in your homeschool days.
Educational games are a great way to have a bit of fun while also learning, and they can make it easier for children to grasp difficult subjects. There are lots of great board games that help with things like vocabulary or math skills, and you can even get out in the garden and play some physical games as well.
Passing a ball around and asking questions is a very simple game, but it makes the lesson far more engaging for your child and doing something active helps to engage the brain.
Take Regular Breaks
Children can only concentrate for a certain amount of time before they will begin to lose interest. On average, people can concentrate fully for around 25 to 30 minutes before they start to drift off. If you give your children a short break and come back, their concentration will be a lot better.
In some cases, if your children are getting restless and they are not able to focus on the lesson, take a 5 minute break to do something else. Get them up and moving around. Maybe play a game for 5 minutes. You can still make these breaks educational, and when they return to the task at hand, they will find it a lot easier to stay engaged.
Make Lessons More Creative
Creative activities are a great way to engage children and help them remember what they have learned. Not to mention, being creative has educational benefits of its own.
A lot of parents don’t realize that creative activities can be applied to all different subjects, not just art or music. For example, if you have been learning about a certain period in history, why not have your child draw a picture of a historical figure or an event that they found interesting?
This is such an effective way to get them to think about the details of a subject in a different and engaging way. If you were to ask your child to write an essay about something, they might think that it’s boring and they won’t learn much from it. But asking them to draw something or make a model will engage their interest and they will be more likely to learn from it.
Try these simple tips and tricks to see if they help with getting (and keeping) your children are a lot more engaged.
CHIME IN: What are some ways you keep your homeschoolers engaged? Let me know in the comments below!
