Homeschooling & Loving it! – Newsletter Issue 19 – Inspiration Station

“Motivating Your Students in the Hard Things”
by Homeschool.com’s Rebecca Kochenderfer

In this final stretch your high school student may be feeling burnt out, especially if these last years include a heavy workload. Yet, both the SAT and the ACT take a lot of advanced preparation and practice. What can you do to inspire your teen to study for just one more thing?
  
Kindle Relationships
Your teen needs to value the relationship he or she has with you as much or more than the relationships he or she has with peers. Why is this important? Because pleasing you needs to take precedence over peers. If you have your child’s heart and pleasing you is a big priority, your teen will be motivated to do well on the SAT or ACT to please you and to please him or herself.
  
Stay Involved
Even homeschooling parents can become distanced from their teens. This may seem impossible, since homeschoolers are with their children so much of the day. However, with friends and social media competing against us for our teens’ attention, it’s easy to let them slip away the older they become. Research has shown that teens with involved parents do better academically than teens from homes where parents aren’t as involved. Homeschoolers already have a leg up in this department, but don’t take that relationship for granted. Instead, nurture it and you’ll be surprised at how much your teens will trust your advice when it comes to preparing for the SAT and the ACT.
  
Show Enthusiasm
It’s possible that reading about the SAT and the ACT online has your teen more worried than you realize. Or, peers talking about their own stress could be affecting your teen’s level of stress. You can combat this by staying enthusiastic about the SAT and the ACT and encouraging them by pointing out the doors a good score will open. Also, don’t forget to let your teen know he or she can take the test more than once if needed. Obviously, you want your teen to take the SAT and the ACT very seriously.But for some, just knowing there’s a chance for a redo takes some of the pressure off. Keep up your excitement about this big opportunity to show colleges what your teen is capable of and it will likely rub off on your teen.

OTHER TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE