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Homeschooling tweens can be a real challenge, especially when you are trying to foster a love for learning. They are at a pivotal stage of their growth and development where they are no longer young children. At the same time, they’re not quite mature enough to take on a lot of the responsibilities and reasoning they believe they are able to. It can become a constant battle between parent/adults and child – especially when it comes to education and learning. Keep reading for my best tips and suggestions for helping them (and you) see the fun and love in learning.
How to Foster a Love for Learning in Your Tweens
Explore Their Interests
One of the easiest and quickest ways to begin fostering a love of learning in tweens is by allowing them to learn with their interests. Some parents struggle with thoughts of their children’s interests not being educational. The truth of the matter is most everything has some component that aids learning – even video games. Finding appropriate options that do teach skills or useful information can be a bit more of a challenge but it’s possible. Almost everyone loves nature and the Grandma and Me Explore Outdoors Activity Kit is a great intergenerational way for tweens and grandparents to spend quality time and teach each other!
This goes for just about everything. If you want your tweens to read more, help them find books in the subject areas they are curious about. Do they love comics and art? There is nothing wrong with comic books or graphic novels. The goal here is to get them interested and engaged so that they start to learn more without even realizing it and they may even share some of that knowledge with you!
Set An Example
Kids and tweens who see their parents or people around them engaged in learning are more likely to become lifelong learners themselves. If you make it a point to regularly be learning this will rub off on them. Listening to informational podcasts, reading books (and making sure kids see them!), setting up a time to work with your kids to learn something new together are a few ways to make this happen.
You might also consider adding an educational component to any travel you do. This could be adding in a stop at a historical landmark or planning to visit a famous site. Get the kids involved in planning these experiences so that you are all learning together.
Make It Fun
For tweens, as soon as they deem something boring – which happens at an alarmingly quick rate at this age – they tend to shut down. While we know not all learning activities will always have a fun component, making it interesting and enjoyable is going to make them want to know and learn more. It also will make those times when they need to hit the books a little less painful.
One way you can encourage this type of learning is through hands-on activities. All kids love to learn by doing. There are so many different options from STEM learning kit projects to online courses and field trips. Enroll them in camps that are focused on areas of interest. Do they love drama? Theatre camp is a fun way to get involved – it also can help develop public speaking, singing, or creative skills.
Is engineering more their style? You can order really interesting STEM kits where they can build working models using different types of technology. Maybe your tween is a baker…take them the orchard to pick fresh fruit then bake a pie at home!
While it may take a little more time to find fun options, this is one sure-fire way to make sure they’re falling in love with learning.
Accept Their Differences
It can be really hard to see your child push back from areas that you were interested in or that you feel are most important. But, it is equally as important to remember that your child is not you. They have their own personality, likes, and dislikes. You may love sports but they are not that interested in it, take the family out to a game and allow them to explore and ask questions. Embracing and accepting them for who they are and what they are interested in can be one of the easiest ways to reduce battles and give them the space to find their passion.
By accepting this, you may find they turn a major corner in their love for learning. Knowing that they are supported in exploring ideas that appeal to them can flip a switch in kids of this age and make them want to know more.
Final Thoughts
Fostering a love for learning in your tweens may get overwhelming at times, but always keep the big picture in mind. The thoughts, feelings, and emotions they develop around learning during these years will most likely follow them throughout adulthood. Now more than ever is the perfect time to help them find the love and joy in learning!