In the end of summer many children lose motivation to go back to school. There are a few reasons for that lack of motivation.
If your kids did nothing all summer long – they didn’t read, write and study – they just got in the habit of having fun and playing each day. It may take weeks to break this habit, but don’t run to extremes.
Start making little changes right now to motivate your little ones to go back to school with joy, not sadness. I’ve got some tips that will help you change their opinions and encourage them to begin learning today.
1. Tasty food for breakfast
Getting up from the super cozy bed early in the morning is a challenge for kids who spent summer doing nothing. One of the fastest ways to get your children up for school is to create something really amazing and delicious for breakfast.
Smell of fried eggs or tasty fresh cooked waffles will wake them up better than anything else. They need to get a lot of essential nutrients to boost the brain power and memory.
2. New school tour
If your child is going to go to a new school this year, help them to get used to it a little bit earlier. It’s really nervous to go through it, so you can ask their new teacher to show you both a new school and tell a little bit about their new classmates. When the first day comes, your child won’t be afraid to go to school.
More: Less Stress, More Success: How to Start Over at a New School
3. Back-to-school party
Perhaps it sounds really weird, because parents usually throw some parties on the last day of school. But let’s update this tradition and create a new one.
The new school year can also be a great reason to throw a kid-friendly party. Invite all your kids’ friends and let them play together and have a lot of fun.
4. Knowledge
The main thing that your children get from the school is a new knowledge. However, not all children love to study. Some of them consider it a very boring activity and a waste of time.
When you hear your children saying they don’t want to go to school, yelling isn’t the best way out. As a parent, you should motivate them to want to know more.
You can try to create some safety experiments at home or tell them what the great feelings you get when you learn something new. When your child learns how to write, encourage them to write to anybody they really love – grandparents, friends, cousins or even celebrities from their favorite TV shows.
5. Give some after-school mini gifts
Your children will be excited more if they know that they will get something special after school. They will study harder and try to get better grades only for it, so you can motivate them this way, if nothing else works.
Those little gifts should be expensive, though. Something like a new pen, a coloring book or a delis cookie can do the trick.
6. New and old friends
Everybody loves to spend more time with their friends, but during the summer season children rarely spend time together since some kids go to their grandparents and others take trips with their parents. Moreover, many kids go to the camps or start working, when they get some free time.
When the new school year comes, your kids’ friends come back and meet without a peep. Some new children can appear so tell your kids that they will have an opportunity to make new friends this year.
More: 8 Useful Tips for Preparing Your Child for School
7. Back-to-school shopping
Back to school time means a lot of new things. Although shopping with kids is a hard experience, ask them to help you buy all the necessary things they’ll need at school.
Try to buy some new clothes too. They will be more excited to go back to school and show new purchases to their friends.
It’s really hard to come back to school after long lazy and fun summer days. Just like you don’t want to go back to work after a long vacation. Give these tips a try and see what you can do to encourage your children to enjoy learning each day.
Do your kids want to go back to school? Are they unmotivated despite your best efforts to engage them?
