Tag: Motivation

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

And inspire your child to become a learner for life!

In her book “Teaching from Rest” Sarah Mackenzie references the quote, “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” She goes on to say “…but we must remember that a fire does indeed need to be lit, and then stoked, or else it will burn out.”

There indeed is a balance between pushing your child too much and not pushing enough, and keeping the fire stoked is part of that balancing act.

In this post, I lay out some practical ways you can stoke the fire.

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Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire

Recognize the spark.

Before you can stoke the fire in your child’s learning, you have to first recognize what sparks their interest. For some children, their interests are much more obvious. If it’s not so obvious, ask yourself: What motivates them? What types of things do they get excited about? If they had loads of free time, how would they spend it? Consider the ways they are “smart”, as that likely could shine a light on what their interests may be. 

Provide resources and opportunities.

The easiest (and cheapest!) way to provide resources is using your local library.  Find books on the topics of their choosing.  Show them youtube videos relating to their interest. Are there classes (online or in-person) they can sign up for that will help them grow and learn more? Are there simple things you can buy (or find for free) that can cultivate their learning? 

Ex: Some kids love taking things apart… You could find old appliances/computers for them to do so.

Provide time.

Allow time in your schedule to give them space to explore, wonder and create. What does your day look like? Is it scheduled to the hilt? If so, consider paring back a little to give margin so they have more breathing room to explore and dive into their interests. More time also allows for more conversations that can cultivate a culture of curiosity and wonder. 

Help them set goals.

Goals give us something to shoot for.  It can move us out of a place of laziness/complacency to action.  Are there goals you can set with your child to help them grow? A goal could be as simple as completing a project related to their interest or taking a class to grow their skills. 

Expose them to a variety of subjects and topics.

I think this point is especially important for those kiddos whose interests aren’t as obvious.  By giving a buffet of learning, we can see what interests stick. During Covid, we started to hike more as a family.  My son, whose previous interest (for YEARS!) was weather, became very interested in maps, hiking, geography, and state parks as a result. 

Tie it into the other subjects when possible.

Now, this is obviously not always possible. But when you can, tie their interests into other subjects.  Are they interested in cooking? Then find out what foods they ate in different periods of history and what they eat in different parts of the world. Minecraft (or any building activity)? Have them create builds related to what they’re learning.  Drawing/art? They can draw pictures related to what they’re learning about history/other topics (Chalkpastel.com is great for this!)

You get the idea.

Give them opportunities to teach others what they know.

In his book, Passion-Driven Education, Connor Boyack refers to this teaching of others as the protégé effect. The protégé effect is an idea introduced by Roman philosopher Seneca.  Seneca said, “While we teach, we learn.”

This could be teaching to younger siblings, or family members, or friends. It could be formal or informal. The point is when you teach something you learn it on a different level. It propels you to a place where you really know and own the information.

Ask what they would like to learn about.

This is simple, but you could just ask your child what they would like to learn about.  Chances are you already know, but you may be surprised! 

Books I recommend related to this topic:

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Finding the Balance

If there’s one question that I mull over way too much regarding my kids’ education it’s this: How do I find the balance, or sweet spot between pushing too much and not pushing enough.

Anyone else with me? 

In my beginning years of homeschooling, I thought the more challenge and work the better, and that this would result in a more “educated” person.  But as the years went on, I’ve seen the value in giving them the breathing room to explore their interests and letting their own motivation drive their learning. 

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

I know challenging my kiddos is important, but when taken to the extreme it can cause burnout.  On the flip side, I know taking a relaxed approach can yield many benefits, but can also sometimes lead to laziness.  

find the balance

So how do you find the balance? 

In Sarah Mackenzie’s book “Teaching From Rest” (which I try to read just about every year because of all the wonderful nuggets of practical wisdom), she writes:

“If studiousness is a virtue worth cultivating, I find that I am drawn toward vice on either side of it. On the one hand, I am drawn to steamroll over my kids, to lord over them with checklists and grade levels withouth regard to their nature as unique persons made in the image of God.  On the other, I am drawn to negligence or carelessness. I comfort myself with adages about children learning all the time and, hoping that my child will encounter an idea for himself without my interference, fail to form my student’s affections out of fear that such work is coercion or manipulation.”

I can relate to this so much! The pull between pushing too much, and not pushing enough is a real struggle.  

Motivation drives learning, and diligence is worth cultivating. 

I do think there is tremendous value in a self-driven child. Many days I’m amazed at what my kids get done when it’s done completely of their own volition.

When their work comes from a place of self-motivation, it has more meaning to them and they remember more of what they’re learning about. Letting them take ownership in their learning is empowering for them and increases motivation.

Yet it’s true that in the real world, you sometimes have to do things you’d rather not. Diligence is also a discipline worth cultivating.

Light the fire, but then remember to stoke it.

One of my favorite quotes about education is “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” Mackenzie takes it a step further and says “…but we must remember that a fire does indeed need to be lit, and then stoked, or else it will burn out.”

Having recently returned from a week of camping (and many hours spent around the campfire), this point is especially vivid to me.  I’m reminded that just like a campfire needs to be stoked and tended to – in order to stay robust, our kids sometimes need our prodding and guidance to help them.

Some days I’m going to get it wrong by pushing too much.  Other days, I’ll probably let laziness go too far. That’s ok. Hopefully most days, I’m finding myself stoking the fire of learning…

See my next post: Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

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Motivation: A Necessary Tool for Learning

Motivation.  It’s key.  Necessary for learning AND life.

Have you ever known someone who barely made it through high school, or even college, but then went on to be very successful in their life? I would venture to guess it happens quite often. But why?

motivation tool for learning

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).
Motivation: A Necessary Tool For Learning.

When one is forced to learn something that they have no interest or aptitude in, there is not going to be much desire to learn. There may be a desire to make the grade (I was this kid!) but the information will not be retained.

When there is freedom in the choice of what/how to study, there is more ownership and motivation. Here, true learning can occur.

I liken it to the motorized walkway at the airport.  Sure, we don’t NEED to take it (unless we’re in a real hurry!), but WOW, does it move us along faster!

I feel this way with my kids much of the time.  When I ride the wave of learning, I (or my kids) don’t have to exert extra energy. Their motivation serves as a tool, or a helper, in their learning.  There are still things I require of them of course, regardless of motivation, but it certainly is helpful to use whatever inspires them, when I can.

Do you ever feel like you’re playing tug of war with your kids?

Do you feel like you’re cattle prodding them to get their work done?  Oh boy, do I!  It does me well to read inspirational quotes or books to remind me of the advantages of homeschooling and having the freedom to let my kids follow their interests.

If you want a great book on this topic I urge you to check out “Passion Driven Education.”

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

It’s not a science, it’s an art.  And what helps me most is taking the time to study and observe my kids.

What makes them tick?

What do they talk about?

Does anything get them excited?

How can I light that fire?

Hitting a Wall in Our Homeschool

Recently, I’ve felt like we’ve hit a bit of a wall with my oldest.  Her newest thing is Minecraft.  As a creative learner, she loves building things and is always thinking up new things to make.  She has expressed wanting to be a marketplace creator (the people who make things to sell in the Minecraft Marketplace).

Since Minecraft is what gets her excited these days, I’ve been looking up ideas to use Minecraft as a tool for learning.  After all, it’s her moving walkway (at least, currently).  Thankfully I’ve found some solutions where we can tie what we’re studying in with Minecraft.  Thank you, GamEd Academy!

Now that isn’t ALL she does, BUT she is very excited when playing Minecraft and I have no doubt when she is building historical landmarks in Minecraft, she is retaining more about those landmarks than me teaching it in other ways.

That’s not to say we won’t utilize other ways of learning too (if you’ve been here long enough, you know living books are one of my favorite ways of learning history), but allowing her some time to show her knowledge by doing a “build” in Minecraft is very gratifying for her.

And with my other kids too, when I tie in things they love and have interest in, there is so much more buy-in for their learning.  Because then the learning itself is motivating to them.  And I’ve played a part in “lighting their fire”.


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