Children are like sponges eager to learn when they are young but lose some of that enthusiasm as they get older. So when I was asked by Intel “How do you inspire your children to learn?” I had to think about all three of my children and the different stages they are in their education.
My youngest child is 5 and will be entering kindergarten this August. It is not hard to inspire her to learn as she loves it. Often she is inspiring me to research answers to her own questions and quest for information. With her I try to make learning fun by using the computer, or workbooks (this makes her feel like her brothers), as well as in everyday things. I take every opportunity I can to teach her about something in doing just everyday things. Like explaining to her why she should eat the apple skin or why it is important not to litter. I will explain to her how something works and what something means when the opportunity arises, which is often.
My older two have always been a challenge. I’m not sure if it is their age or because they are boys. They are 13 and 11. With my youngest we use sports to help inspire him. He is a natural athlete and it is important to him so we do our best to relate things to sports as much as possible. When he needs to read we encourage him to pick out sports magazines or sports related books. It especially easy bringing in sports when dealing with math. He definitely gets his knack for sports information from his father.
I’m going to try to talk my oldest into entering the contest What Inspires you to Learn? because by the time the entries are due he will be 14. He is logical and computer minded and once he found his groove in school he pretty much inspires himself. He is a lot like me in the fact that it is important to him to get good grades and he considers being smart a good attribute. When he was young however we spent time with him reading and used the Hooked on Phonics program to help him get to the level he needed to be at. We used a lot of games to help him learn.
With all my kids the key inspiration in their learning journey is interesting material and fun. I believe with kids if you can make learning fun by doing crafts, projects, or games to get the point across they usually forget that they are learning and just have fun. It makes what they learn easier to retain.
As I mentioned above Intel wants to know from students “What Inspires You to Learn?” They are interested in your inspiration and have even put a prize on the line to one student that answers the question “What Inspires You to Learn?”
- Open to students 14 – 18. If student is 14 – 17 years of age, please have parent submit on student’s behalf.
- Contest is open until August 15. Winners will be announced Sept. 15.
- Winner will receive a laptop with Intel 2nd Generation Core i5 technology for themselves, plus a Sony Internet TV for their school
- To enter, students should e-mail their name, age, state, telephone number and answer to the question, “What inspires you to learn?” to firstname.lastname@example.org (minimum 50 words)
- Students can also include links to original photos, videos or other multimedia content that will add to their entry. Please only submit content that is appropriate at school and that the student would submit to their teacher. If the entry includes content with someone in it, be sure that you have their written permission. Students cannot use copyrighted material in their entry, unless they have specific written permission from the copyrighted material owner
- Entries will be judged by a panel of Intel and education experts based upon: (1) Relevance to the question, “What inspires you to learn?” (80%), (2) compelling nature of entry, including supplementary materials submitted (20%). Note: the entries will not be made public unless they are selected as one of the finalists.
Complete contest rules http://bit.ly/IdeaJamEducationRules
Disclaimer: I am writing this post on behalf of Intel and received this opportunity through Mom Bloggers Club. Opinions are my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. You may read more of my disclosure here.