How to Motivate Your Homeschooler Toward Independence

Want your homeschool students to become lifelong learners? Intrinsic motivation is the best way to move them toward independence. Let them experience the positive feedback from mastering hard work on their own.

Natural curiosity is a great motivator. If we can get our young people to care and to love learning, they will be unstoppable!

“Since we can’t know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.”
John Holt

The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care?
Charlotte Mason

Video: How to Motivate Your Homeschooler To Be An Independent Learner

Why Motivate Your Homeschooler to Be an Independent Learner?

When I was in college studying education and finishing up my student teaching, the teacher under whom I was learning mentioned this phrase to me and I have always remembered it.

“Whoever is doing the most work is the one learning.”

This is so true. If you are doing all the school work for your kids, you will be exhausted and they will not be absorbing as much. On the other hand, if your kids are intrinsically motivated, if they take initiative in their studies, they will retain so much more! They will not only be mastering concepts, they will be productive. Their curiosity will drive them to experiment with their ideas.

The more your children do on their own, the more they will be able to do on their own.

Just think about how it feels when you finally master a skill that you worked so hard to learn. It gives you confidence and drive to go even farther in that skill area.

Benefits of Encouraging Independent Learning

It will help your homeschooled student take ownership of his work.
Content can be more centered on a student’s interests.
He will learn to manage his schedule.
Mastering skills gives him confidence to try other new things.
Meets the needs of many homeschool families.

If you have a wide range of ages and especially if you still have toddlers or babies at home, encouraging your middle and high school students to work independently for some subjects will help you to be able to meet the needs of your younger students.

6 Steps to Motivate Kids to Learn Independently

1. Read to them frequently so that they will love reading.

One key factor in a child’s progress is learning to read independently. Fluent reading opens up a whole new world for kids.

BUT it doesn’t make much of a difference if they don’t enjoy reading. The more you read to them, the more they will want to hear new stories and discover new concepts in books for themselves.

2. Use copywork and narration as core habits in your homeschool.

Copywork and narration are habits that cover so much ground…like a multivitamin! Plus, they are skills that, with practice, kids can do on their own!

You can read about how I use copywork and narration in Simple Step-by-Step Guide to Homeschool Writing.

3. Create a Workable Daily Checklist .

Making a daily checklist is an excellent way to give kids a visual tool to help them see what they are expected to accomplish each homeschool day. Involving them in this process at the beginning of the year is an effective way to challenge an unmotivated homeschool student. Ask them what they want to learn about and what interests they want to pursue.

4. Teach them Life Skills.

Academic work is important and has its place, but it’s not the only way to learn. Life skills are equally valuable to learn! Life skills prepare kids for the real world. Not only do they give kids confidence in their abilities, they also can be a big contribution to family members.

For younger kids, start with making the bed, folding clothes, matching socks, washing the dishes, emptying the dishwasher or bathroom trash, vacuuming. Older kids can learn to do their own laundry, cook simple meals, organize closets and drawers, and do simple home maintenance projects.

You can find more ideas for life skills by reading these posts.

Useful Life Skills Suitable to Teach in Winter

UUseful Life Skills Suitable to Teach in Spring

Important Life Skills for Kids to Learn in Summer

Valuable Life Skills for Kids to Learn in Fall

5. Choose curriculum wisely.

When I started homeschooling, I taught each of our kids’ subject matter individually. This worked for a while…until we had three kids in school and I had to teach three separate math lessons… along with all our other work.

I was getting burnt out. It simply was not doable.

Reluctantly, I moved toward curriculum choices that were less teacher-intensive. At the time, I thought that this was an unfortunate necessity. Boy was I wrong!

What happened instead was that the kids started taking ownership of their work. They thrived as they became more personally involved in the learning process. (You can read more about this story here.)

Choose a curriculum that is less teacher-intensive. You can also combine your kids for subjects like history, science, art, etc. Online classes are also a great idea! Our kids love Veritas Pres Self-Paced History program.

6. Model a love of learning yourself.

When you have free time, how do you spend it? If you want your child to be a self-motivated learner, you should model it yourself. Put away your cell phone, stop scrolling social media, and do something productive.

Invest in a hobby, learn new skills, start a small home business, or dabble in creative projects. Be a producer, not a consumer. Make the most of the empty moments in your life by staying busy with fruitful activities. Your kids will see this and they will want to do the same.

What About Group Learning?

Independent learning does not mean that your children should do everything on their own. There are also many benefits from group conversation, competition, reading aloud together, group memory work, discussions, and debate.

Our family enjoys Morning Time and Afternoon Read Aloud time together every day.

What About One-On-One Time?

Independent learning also does not mean that you as a parent are not involved in their education. Moms should work one-on-one with young kids every day to establish a good foundation in reading, writing, and math throughout the homeschool year.

Set aside specific time each day to review their checklists and school work. Go subject by subject. Have them show you their work and help them when they struggle.

Once kids are mature enough, however, transition from your role as a “teacher” to more of a facilitator in their learning process.

At What Age Can a Child Become Mostly Independent?

Whatever your child’s age, becoming independent is a gradual change and happens differently for individual children. Some children who struggle in certain areas may never be completely independent and that’s OK. Individual families should find the level of freedom that works well for them and their kids. This will always look different from child to child and family to family.