Home can be a very distracting place. It has siblings, toys, food, television and many more things that, to a child, will seem a lot more interesting than schoolwork.
For a homeschooling student, these distractions can be quite the challenge to ignore. It’s even more of a challenge for the parents trying to encourage their children to keep their eyes on their schoolwork.
With that in mind, here are a few things that can be done in order to encourage focus in academic studies.
- Explain the long-term importance of studies to your children. Although this may seem to fall on deaf ears, regularly remind your children of how learning will help them in their lives. This is not to push them forcefully into great academic accomplishments, but rather to emphasise that education is a key to many doors. Your children may not know what they want to achieve in their adult life, but they can be equipped, so that when they get there the possibilities will be open to them. Education leads to opportunity.For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. - Ecclesiastes 7:12
- Keep to a schedule. Schedules bring stability and predictability to the schooling hours, and these things are so important in keeping a child motivated to keep working. Academic work is exhausting. For a student to know when their breaks are, or when PACE time is due to finish, will make a huge difference in their performance. Schedules and time-tables will help students learn that there is a time for everything, and that if they allocate specific time to focus on their schooling and NOT let anything else push into that time, they will GET WORK DONE. This accomplishing of work then leads to feelings of accomplishment, satisfaction in completing their goals, and actual digestion of knowledge – and all that leads to motivation to get work done the next day. Scheduling shows a student that they only have to give a limited amount of time to their schoolwork, after which they can focus on their hobbies, chores, family – other life stuff – so they won’t feel bogged down. We have a recommended timetable in our TEACH handbook (download below), but there are lots of other timetables and scheduling solutions available online too. Find the one that is right for your family and try to set it in place.He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. - Psalm 104:19
Get the hard stuff done in the morning. Scientific study shows that the brain can comprehend and digest academics more in the morning. After a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast, your children will be mentally ready to take on the bigger challenges. Start the school day with all the heavy-duty subjects (usually Maths, English, and Science) that need extra concentration. If these harder subjects are left for the end of the day, you may find that your children burn out quickly and are unable to achieve their goals, which can be discouraging and deceive them into thinking that they are not capable – which is not the truth.
If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success- Ecclesiastes 10:10
- Encourage a love of learning. Yeah, there probably will be a subject that your child just DOES NOT enjoy – a least favourite subject, if you will. Sometimes this one (seemingly) lackluster subject can make them think that learning/education is boring. It’s your job to show them otherwise. If one way of learning something isn’t working for your child, maybe they just need to see it from another perspective. Now, the PACEs have the academic information, but if your child is struggling, maybe find a video that supplements the topic, or do a project that will help boost their understanding of it. When they do master something they have found difficult, praise them and rejoice with them. Sometimes a love of learning comes from the fact that yes, something was REALLY hard, but they still got it in the end.Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6
- You are THE example. Children are watching you. If they see that you are procrastinating, they will procrastinate. You have to practice what you preach. And if you fail (which will happen, because you are human) you have to show them how to make it right again. It’s a daunting thought, but how you behave as an adult will have a huge impact on how they develop. This goes for aunts, uncles, older siblings, and friends of the family as well. Children are our legacy. It is our responsibility to imitate Godly character, so that they can learn valuable life lessons.Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:16
As the French Proverb says, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” If you are finding there is a lack of focus in your school day, these are all really good ideas, and we encourage you to implement them. However, not everything is a quick fix. All children are different, and their needs are different. You can tweak and alter these suggestions to fit with what brings out the best focus with your children. Be encouraged.