How to Get Your Kids to do More Schoolwork at Home

When it comes to school, I tend to be the type of mom who likes teaching through experiences. I don’t stress over getting paperwork done, but it always gets done.

I have found that I like teaching my kids and my kids enjoy being homeschooled.

Though some days I feel like I’m not doing enough, my children’s test scores show otherwise. They are soaring. They are learning a lot and they are doing better than they ever did in traditional school. But, to be completely honest, getting my kids to do schoolwork at home hasn’t always been easy.

It used to be a fight and there was always one kid who was crying and begging not to do school. The first few weeks we were homeschooling, I literally felt like my husband and I made a mistake and our kids needed to go back to public school.

But when COVID happened, I knew sending the kids back wasn’t an option. So, I did a LOT of research and decided not to stress school. What happened? Well, we tried a new approach and the kids begin to do schoolwork at home without all the tears.

If you’re struggling to get your children to do schoolwork at home, I feel ya! That’s why I’m sharing these simple tricks that helped my elementary aged kids and hopefully they will help your kids too!

How to Get Your Kids to do More Schoolwork at Home

Don’t Fight School

When we first started homeschooling the kids, I had this mindset that the kids had to keep a strict schedule and school HAD to start at 8 am. What I soon found out though, homeschooling is a LOT more flexible than public school. After spending many mornings depriving ourselves of the beautiful weather outside, we soon found out, it was much smarter to take the distractions away and let the kids play outside before school. While many parents may not agree with school not being the first thing done everyday, letting the kids wear out their energy and get rid of their distractions was actually beneficial to their learning. 

After spending hours outside playing, the kids would come inside and be ready to learn and they would learn better. Instead of fighting with them to focus on school, their minds had nothing to distract them. Though its unconventional, we actually have school at different times everyday but we always make sure it gets done.

Be Flexible

My one child can be very notorious for not wanting to sit for hours at a time doing his schoolwork, so I’m flexible with him. That means I don’t force him to sit for hours at a time doing schoolwork, I break it up for him and spread his school throughout the day. Since his work can be done at anytime and anywhere, I give him incentives like doing his math for an hour of play. I have really found that being flexible in school helps me and my children equally. 

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

Somedays we have amazing schooldays. The kids wake up, I wake up and we’re all ready and excited to do school. Other days, not so much. It’s bound to happen. But when you beat yourself up over things not getting done, or feeling like you’re not doing enough you really need to look at what you’re actually doing. Sure, you may not have done bookwork on history that day, but taking them to a National Park or something counts. And, some kids actually learn better visually rather than through writing.

Homeschooling can literally be as simple as reading and watching a show about tornadoes. You don’t have to beat yourself up because you feel like your child isn’t doing enough. Chances are, your kids are actually learning a lot more than you realize.

Don’t Push Them for Something They Aren’t Ready For

Last year, when my children were still in public school, my son was struggling with addition and subtraction. Every day his teach would send home these ‘fast math’ sheets and require him to do them. I always thought he liked them, but after a while, he refused to do them. So, when we started homeschooling, he refused to do any addition or subtraction and I assumed he didn’t know how.

So, I stopped pushing the issue and, a few weeks later, he started doing math like nothing. Those fast math problems actually ‘froze’ my son up and he forgot how to do math. He was so used to having to answer a simple math question in a certain amount of time, when he felt like he couldn’t he just stopped and begin hating math. Since my son has been out of that situation, this year my son is soaring with math.

Rather than force him to be ‘fast’ with his problems, I remember he is still a child. Pushing your child too hard to do something their mind isn’t ready for, just makes school hard for them and gives them a hate for school. While other kids may be doing multiplication while your child is still doing subtraction, it doesn’t mean you’re not doing enough. Your child learns at their own speed and should be given the patience to get there.

Remember, Your Child is Still A Child

One of the biggest things most people forget when doing schoolwork with their young children at home is that their child is still just a child. Children need to move and they aren’t always going to be focused and that’s completely okay. In fact, I once read a book that put this theory in a whole new perspective. The passage read:

The First Eight or Ten Years—Children should not be long confined within doors, nor should they be required to apply themselves closely to study until a good foundation has been laid for physical development. For the first eight or ten years of a child’s life the field or garden is the best schoolroom, the mother the best teacher, nature the best lesson book. Even when the child is old enough to attend school, his health should be regarded as of greater importance than a knowledge of books. He should be surrounded with the conditions most favorable to both physical and mental growth. EGW: Child Guidance

After reading this book, it put my children’s education in a new perspective. While I will still do education with my kids, I do spend most of my energy letting my kids be kids. I know one day they won’t be small and this time is precious for learning and growing.

These are just some of the ways I get my kids to do schoolwork at home, what are some ways you found work? I’d love for you to share them in the comments below.

Last Updated on 5 years ago by Crystal Carder