Wise Homeschool Moms Reveal Their Best Motivation Tips

As the end of the traditional school year approaches and the weather improves outside, it can be harder to keep your child motivated to complete his or her schoolwork. To help you finish the school year strong, check out the best motivation tips from 20 wise homeschool moms who follow AOP’s Facebook page:

“The best motivator I have found is no electronic time until today's schoolwork is done. Electronic time in our family is any electric entertainment (non-school computer games, TV, tablet time, game system time, etc.)
- Angela Felkner Richards

“Let her pick which subject we do first.”
- Sarah Haldeman Barry

“Let them be part of the scheduling and assignment process. As long as the work gets done in a timely manner, their input being heard on scheduling helps keep them motivated.”
- Mel Kocke

“Make the work itself relevant and fun. Take any lesson and make it applicable so that it becomes interesting, usable, and concrete.”
- Dorthy Rose Lee

“Give lots of praise.”
- Jennifer Cooper

“Change things up a little every once in a while.”
- Jeanie Pitts

“One strategy I use to motivate my homeschooler is to model the behavior I want him to have by doing my studying in front of him and often at the same time as he does his.”
- Jaci McDonald

“Take a break to shake the wiggles out.”
- Kimberly Lacey

“Give choices. She can choose different things to learn and we go about it. If she doesn’t want to do school, then she has many chores to do. Then, she will usually want to go back to schooling.”
- Amber Clark

“Music! My home schooler loves to listen to music while doing schoolwork, and we take dance breaks when a good song comes on the radio.”
- Michelle Godin

“One strategy I use to motivate my homeschoolers is a fun trip out. If school goes well, we have more time to take walks or visit our neighborhood park. (Sometimes I need the motivation and outdoor time even more than they do!)
- Kerrie Diane Lyons

“Field trips, play dates, special time, extra free time!”
- Ani Lou

“Use competition. My child is very competitive.”
- Lisa Hall

“My 1st grader sometimes gets bogged down, so we use a timer to see if we can ‘beat the clock.’ It works great, especially in math.”
- Kelly Warner

“We have task lists, and they receive a portion of $1/day depending on what they got done. My reasoning is that school is their job, and they need an allowance that they earn. It’s proven very effective. The task lists also serve as a definite set of expectations, which seems less endless.”
- Deborah Buck

“I like to reward them with special request lunches.”
- Jennifer Burns Sherrill

“One strategy I use to motivate my homeschoolers is going to the library. So simple, but so much to explore!”
- Jennifer Brownlee

“Make homemade chocolate chip cookies.”
- Linda Wilson

“One strategy we use is telling them we can go see Grandma after they get done or if they do all their work for the week. Nothing motivates like a trip to see Grandma.”
- Qualls House

“When you finish your work, you can go play with the dog in the backyard. (And lollipops. Don't judge! Lollipops have magical powers.)”
- Lindsey Martorana