Ever wonder why kids are constantly messing around and turning inanimate objects into toys? It's because they love to have fun! Learning is no different. Every person on earth learns in a different way. Some prefer things read aloud to them, others are visual while some do better with hands on projects. Keep this in mind when you're helping your student at home with homework, projects, or just trying to get them caught up. Incorporate Games Any assignment topic can be turned into a game. Does your student have spelling words they have to learn? Why not play Scrabble or Bananagrams with their words? All kids love prizes, so offering a reward of some sort when your child spells a word correctly is an easy way to add a fun incentive. Get Up & Move Nobody likes to sit still all the time, especially when you're a kid full of energy that you don't know what to do with. YouTube has TONS of fun videos for "Brain Breaks" that are made for every age range. Depending on the age of your student, every 15-30 minutes of working, give them a brain break and have them move around. This can be anything from dancing along with a YouTube video to going outside to ride their bike for a few minutes. Whatever the movement may be, make sure you discuss with your child that they are earning "brain break time" for all the time they're actually working on their assignments. IE: 30 minutes of working on homework = 10-15 minutes of brain break time. Be Creative Assignements on paper and/or the computer get boring after a while. Does your young child need to practice handwriting? Try smearing shaving cream on the counter and letting them "write" with their finger in it! It's cheap, easy and fun, plus it smells good! Thinking outside the box from traditional ways on having kids learn will make them WANT to do their assignments. Plan A Family "Field Trip" Is your child studying Medieval times? Why not take them out to a real life joust where they get to learn about the middle ages and eat an entire meal with their hands?! I guarantee they wont forget that family outting and will go to school the next day telling all their friends about what they learned. Every city has museums and aquariums that cover almost any type of history, culture or science. Many places like this will have discount days during the summer as well.