How To Motivate Your Child To Learn With Recess.gg

Please Share With Your Friends!

I think every parent realizes at some point that one of the best things they can do is figure out how to motivate your child to do…anything.

You know what I’m talking about. Whether you want your kids to clean their room, brush their teeth, or do their schoolwork and work on goals…motivation is essential to kids leveling up to do new things. Kids who avoid work, who struggle to complete tasks and who make excuses are not going to have the same kinds of opportunities as those who try new things.

Learning to try and learning to be ok with failing is actually all part of motivation.

As a mom of 9 kids, I was very overwhelmed when they were younger and I was homeschooling 7 at one time. If a kid didn’t want to do their school work, they could cause enough chaos that everyone else had a hard time thinking straight. I had 3 boys that were 1 year apart and they would wait until I was distracted and run outside to freedom…until I had time or energy to wrangle them back in the house.

** This is a sponsored post. I received this product or compensation for review purposes only and was compensated for my time. I was not asked nor required to share a positive review; all opinions are my own. READ DISCLAIMER HERE for more information.

I quickly realized that in order for my kids to learn, I needed to get them off my energy and onto their own. I needed them to be self-motivated.

I could not sit with them for hours a day waiting for them to do a few math problems or write a few sentences.

You know how what a massive time drain it can be when you have an unmotivated kid. Whether they are acting up, getting emotional, or insisting you sit with them, it can be completely exhausting….and make it impossible for you to get anything else done.

If you have a teenager who is unmotivated, it can be very discouraging trying to help them prepare for adulthood. So then we ask the question everyone asks at some point….how do I motivate my child or teenager to do what they need to do?

Thankfully, for my youngest son who is 10, we found Recess.gg which is not only motivating him, its helping him with executive function skills, emotional regulation, social skills and of course academics too!

“Become a Student Of Your Child – Observe what lights them up and gets them excited, even if it’s only for 5 minutes. Is it a person, a type of interaction, a reward….or consequence? Start there to discover your child’s motivation.”

Sarah McCubbin

10 Tips To Motivate Your Child or Teen!

Motivating kids is both simple and not! It can feel like solving a puzzle. BUT, with a few simple steps, you can actually unlock motivation in most kids so much faster than we realize!

Here Are The Things I’ve Tried and Used To Encourage Motivation:

1. Reward What Works – Some kids are highly motivated by rewards. When they are little, it might need to be an immediate reward, but as they get older, the rewards may require delayed gratification.
2. Reward Hard Work and Not Success – A growth mindset is one that learns even when something doesn’t work. I love watching my son work through challenges in his classes on Recess.gg. Whether its solving a math problem, or figuring out how to tell a teacher he needs help, I have watched him change from becoming emotional at challenges to now working through them.
3. Give Natural Consequences – many times the discipline we use for our kids might have nothing to do with the “crime.” But when we let natural consequences play out and don’t save them from their own bad choices, it shows them what happens when they don’t work hard or when they quit. Natural consequences are also a great way to have meaningful conversations
4. Replace Mindless Screen Use With Intentional Learning– One of the problems with all the screens in our world are the ways that it can give those easy dopamine hits without doing actual work. As parents we may be tempted to remove the devices and screens. But there is a better way. Screens, tech and the internet are part of our children’s future. Instead of removing access to what excites them, replace it with intentional learning about the topics they love. Instead of removing video games, let them learn to design them. Instead of taking their phone, let them learn to use it to start a Youtube channel, take amazing photos or make creative art. On Recess.gg kids learn to build with tech instead of just consume it!
5. Train Kids To Work – Part of having a great sense of internal motivation happens when kids learn to work just because they are part of the family. That means learning to work for no immediate reward sometimes. I’ve found this works best when some work is just part of family chores and other work comes with rewards (earning money or special privileges).
6. Find What Your Child or Teen Loves – Internal motivation is often highly connected to something our kids love or are actually good at. Build on natural interests with skills that they also need to be successful.
7. Use Project-Based Learning – Instead of just using textbook, make sure that part of your student’s learning focuses on projects where they continue to build skills or projected with regular, consistent repetitions. Whether kids want to learn to write a TV Show, design a video game, learn and design engineering projects, they can do what they love on Recesss.gg.
8. Cultivate Your Child’s Interests -Use that interest to do more challenging things. Persistence is easier to develop when our kids have a natural interest or curiosity. Think of their interests as the foundation of internal motivation.
9. Help Them Find Friends That Love What They Love – Once you know what your child is interested in, help them find friends that like the same things. That could mean joining a team, a club or it could mean signing them up for classes online with others who share their specific passions and interests.
10. Find Mentors – Once you know where your kids interests lie, find subject experts…guides to take their interests to the next level. There is something magical about finding another adult who has the same unique interests as your student who can talk to them and encourage them at a much

I love to say that “It is my personal goal as a parent to find what my kids love, to find their natural strengths and interests, and then pour gas on that fire to make it grow. “

It is crazy fun to watch your unmotivated or difficult child become focused, excited and engaged in what they are learning just because you found the magic combination. All of the sudden, they don’t really need you to try and motivate them. They are excited! And because all kinds of subjects are interrelated, once that curiosity has been stirred up, that natural internal motivation will often spill into other subjects and areas of life.

Finding Friends and Mentors For Your Kids

If you want to see huge growth in your kids, the magic lies in finding friends and mentors to join them in their crazy interests. When my older sons were young, I don’t know how many science kits, coding classes, robots and other experiences we did just so their interests could grow. But as they got older, that got to be harder!

My second son actually ended up going to a private school simply so he could have Engineering mentors, join a competitive robotics team and make friends with people who liked the same things he liked. Today he is studying Chemical Engineering and just got accepted into a competitive U.S. Navy Nuclear program (NUPOC) as a junior in college. His entire life we have been pouring gas on his interests and now he is off chasing his dreams all on his own energy.

So where do we find these friends and mentors. If your child love sports, you join a team. If they love animals and farming, join 4-H. But if they have a niche interest or there is nothing challenging in your area in person, then you need to go online to find friends and mentors.

Yikes…did she just say “Go online to find friends and mentors for your kids.” Um…yes!

I’m talking about kids participating in a carefully screened, monitored platform that is guided by subject experts who were also once curious kids and teens with unique interests! Recess.gg has been amazing for my own son as explores subjects he loves, learns new harder skills and practices core academics. I’ve seen his confidence skyrocket!

Taking Classes on Recess.gg With Subject Experts

I think that one of the most motivating things for kids is when they have an adult in their life that loves the weird thing they like as much as they do. That adult becomes a guide…a person who can cheer them on…and make suggestions or ideas they can try that encourages them to do more than they would if it was just mom asking!

My engineering son used to try to talk to me about all his science interests…and my eyes would sort of glaze over. But when I found him an engineering teacher…and a robotics team…he came alive because he had people that loved those topics as much as him.

I’ve seen the magic unlock enough times that its now a personal challenge to help every one of my 9 kids find that…because when they do, their natural motivation kicks in and they no longer resist learning but can’t stop learning enough!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah Walkley McCubbin (@ten_minute_momentum)

Awhile back, I kept seeing ads for Recess.gg pop up in my Facebook account. And an opportunity came up for my son to try out a few classes for free. We decided to try a Math Games class and Drama class. They have a daily Community hour too but we really didn’t do that much at first. We just did Math Games and Drama.

Bob LOVES drama. He is almost always the lead in any play he is in. He’s super social. Making friends is no problem. However…Recess.gg connected him with Miss Elana, an arts and drama teacher who leads students in improv, character development, public speaking and collaboration. His natural skills and abilities are being developed even when there is no play happening!

He also started with Quest: Team Games led by guides Ben and Felipe who are both subject experts as game designers and developers. I signed Bob up for this class because part of what they work on is math games in addition to developing real-world skills in finance, stats, communication, problem-solving, and team work. I’ve seen his math confidence skyrocket at home. He used to easily become emotional over math which had improved some, but now we are seeing a “can do” attitude.

These are just two of the classes he has taken. He also takes a daily Typing Club and does Power Up Your Math where kids can bring their own math curriculum and ask the instructor questions!

Every instructor on Recess LOVES their subject. It’s not like your boring math teacher that’s just teaching because. These people LOVE their content.

Jumpstart Motivation By Letting Kids Learn What They Love

If you want to raise kids that step confidently into adulthood, unlocking motivation is THE KEY to them becoming excited about learning. There are no shortcuts here. If you have kids or teens that are struggling with motivation or confidence…or if they are curious kids with interests you don’t know how to cultivate, definitely check into Recess.gg.

I’d be happy to walk you through the process we used taking classes there and answer any questions.

👉Try Recess.gg with your son or daughter this month and enjoy watching them fly!

More Reading:

• 25 Tips: Motivate Yourself to Clean, Work & Exercise
• 17 Tips to Motivate Students to Learn
• 27 Pros and Cons of Video Games From a Mom of 9