Has your new year gotten stale? All the excitement has passed, and winter has settled in. Everything seems frozen – including our motivation! Wait! We can’t just leave it there. Awesome teachers always go for the gold…Aim for the bullseye, and march toward motivation! So, what’s your game plan? I’m sure you’ve got something… Well, just in case you’re fresh out – here are a few tips to get those juices flowing again.
- Let’s rearrange the room! I’m going for a completely different angle, and I’m changing all the desks around including mine!
- Let’s rearrange the schedule! Yeah – boredom… Swap math for reading and language arts for science. Try it! You just might like it!
- Get out of that rut and use a different teaching method every day. Have you forgotten the methods that you should have in your teacher toolbox?? Just in case: lecture, discussion, brainstorm, demonstration, role play, drill and practice, forums, small groups, collecting, games, cooking, journaling, research papers, flow charts, mapping, gaming, timelines, models, field trips, puppets, photography, experimentation, and video/film.
- Refocus on the goal. Review the goals that you made at the beginning of the year and discuss how progress is going and ways to refocus on that goal.
- Get out! Leave the classroom and those desks behind. Go outside and do some learning. A change of scenery often works miracles.
- Increase student choice/involvement. Get them to brainstorm ways to get motivated.
- Share your motivation. If you are excited about what you are teaching that is often highly contagious!
- Get organized. It’s tough to stay motivated when you’ve got clutter all around. Homeschoolers may find that incredibly difficult, organize your room and your paperwork with free printables like this printable high school diploma. High school transcripts and diplomas are one of the toughest parts of homeschooling highschool. But, using a blank high school diploma can expedite your endeavors!