20 tips to make learning more fun

1. vocabulary in the bathtub

Those who feel comfortable at their desk prefer to do their homework. However, psychologists and learning coaches Stefanie Rietzler and Fabian Grolimund also recommend discovering new places to learn for a change. Why not let your child learn vocabulary in an unfilled bathtub or in a cave behind the sofa? It may work particularly well with memorisation in a secret hiding place, because new things stimulate the brain.

2. self-determination motivates

«So, how are you getting on with your homework?» - «You should finish your presentation first before you start your maths.» Nothing inhibits pupils more than control and heteronomy from parents or teachers. Michaela Brohm-Badry, Professor of Education at the University of Trier, writes in her teacher's guide «Learning Motivation»: «Too many instructions and help only teach helplessness.»

However, people are particularly motivated when they can act in a self-determined way. This has been proven by US motivational psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in numerous studies since the 1980s. So instead of constantly controlling your child, make it clear to them that they are responsible for their own homework and learning - and that you are there to support them if necessary.

3. find the performance peak

Find out when it is easiest for your child to concentrate. This time should be reserved for homework and studying every day of the week. For children and teenagers, the afternoon performance peak is usually somewhere between 2 and 5 pm. After that, most of them become less attentive. It is therefore advisable for many to do their homework as soon as possible after the lunch break - and to devote the less productive time to friends and hobbies without a guilty conscience.

Those who can balance well learn more successfully.

4. balancing makes you smart

Those who can balance well learn more successfully. This is confirmed, for example, by the 2012 study «Bildung braucht Gesundheit II» (Education needs Health II), which was commissioned by the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. It provides impressive evidence: pupils who could not balance well were 0.6 grade levels lower in maths and 0.7 grade levels lower in German than children with a good sense of balance. The scientists' reasoning: both learning and balancing involve processing sensory impressions that arrive at the same time. For your child, this means standing on one leg more often and trying to close their eyes; or putting a rope on the floor and walking on it. It's fun and improves grades.

5. give your memory a boost

Sport also makes for fit brain cells, as can be seen from the «Physical activity-friendly school» guidelines published by the Zurich University of Teacher Education in 2020. It says there: After moderate to intensive physical activity, working memory is more efficient. This is due to brain messengers (neurotransmitters such as dopamine and noradrenaline), which influence the control of attention and are important for learning and memory processes.

According to Canadian health researchers François Trudeau and Roy Shepard, exercise appears to stimulate the growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that links information so that it is remembered. However, the study does not reveal whether football is better for memory than swimming or running, for example.

Six-year-olds can concentrate for 15 minutes at a time, nine-year-olds for 20 minutes and eleven-year-olds for 30 minutes.

Martin Korte, neurobiologist

6. kangaroos learn better

However, it is not just sport, but also free play - preferably in nature, where children climb, jump, run or balance on tree trunks - that feeds the brain, says Stefan Schneider, brain researcher at the Institute for Movement and Neuroscience at the German Sport University Cologne - and: «Children should be allowed to experience movement in as many different ways as possible.» The researcher appeals to parents not to deny their children such experiences by overprotecting them. And when it comes to homework, this means simply getting up from your desk and hopping around the room like a kangaroo.

7 The ABC of learning

You don't have to explain German grammar to your child - in the long term it is more helpful if you give them a few tips on how to organise their homework:

1. Set goals. The student should write down what they want to do in the afternoon, for example «learn 20 vocabulary words, solve three maths problems, read a page in the history book». Every time they tick off a task, a small feeling of happiness sets in and the release of dopamine increases concentration once again.
2. Warm up. Start with the easier homework so that the brain can warm up. (A racehorse is also led around at a walk before the start).
3. Alternate between tasks that deal with something new and those that serve as repetition so that the brain is challenged in different ways. You can find even more helpful strategies in the book «Clever lernen» by Stefanie Rietzler and Fabian Grolimund.

8. take breaks

Six-year-olds can concentrate for 15 minutes at a time, nine-year-olds for 20 and eleven-year-olds for 30 minutes, says German neurobiologist Martin Korte. After that, their performance decreases, which means: take a break! Five minutes are enough to get some fresh air and a drink. After that, the pupil is more receptive again. After two to three breaks, a break of several hours is advisable. This means that a six-year-old should spend a maximum of one hour (with five-minute breaks) on homework.

9. drink a lot!

A brain that suffers from a lack of fluids does not work well. It is therefore important that your child drinks enough during homework and at school - ideally 2.5 litres of liquid if they are between 9 and 13 years old. Coke, lemonade and sugary energy drinks are not suitable. Instead, give your child the choice between mineral or tap water, diluted fruit juices with no added sugar or fruit tea.

The best nourishment for schoolchildren is a wholesome breakfast with muesli or wholemeal bread.

10. nerve food

White bread with Nutella may be good for the tongue, but not for the brain. In order for the brain to be able to work with concentration, it needs to be supplied with a steady and long-lasting supply of energy - and complex carbohydrates, such as those found in wholemeal products, nuts, fruit and vegetables, are best suited for this: They are gradually converted into sugar and in this way allow the blood sugar level to rise for a long time. The best nourishment for schoolchildren is therefore a wholesome breakfast with muesli or wholemeal bread. A banana milkshake with oatmeal or simply a banana also provides plenty of energy. Don't forget to brush your teeth afterwards!

11. concentration killer

Toss in a little glucose just before the geography test? Not a good idea! Glucose, just like white bread, honey, jam, chocolate or other sweets, provides energy for barely half an hour. After that, the body lowers the blood sugar level again and the pupil is hypoglycaemic. Your child will be faint even before half the work has been written.

12. encouragement for your trouser pocket

The sports bag isn't packed yet, the little brother wants his porridge and the school friend rings the doorbell. Nevertheless, take a moment in the morning rush to give your child a word of encouragement: a sentence that contains a positive statement and encourages the child. «Today I'm as brave as a lion», «Maths is my friend», «I can do it, I can do it».

You can write words of encouragement like these on cards at the weekend and decorate them with a picture. During the week, the child can choose a card every day and put it in their pocket. Further tips and exercises for strengthening self-confidence and relaxation for primary school children: Sabine Seyffert, «Entspannte Kinder lernen besser», Humboldt Verlag, 2012.

13. rocking and chewing gum

What is usually forbidden in class helps concentration: bobbing, chewing gum, walking up and down. «Automated, unconscious movements increase alertness via the brain stem and thus the ability to comprehend,» said Erlangen psychologist Siegfried Lehrl, President of the Society for Brain Training, in an interview with the magazine «Gehirn&Geist». In a motionless state, you can only concentrate for 10 to 20 minutes, whereas in motion you can concentrate for up to 90 minutes.

Tickling stimulates the skin and muscles, which in turn increases general alertness and alertness.

Martin Korte, neurobiologist

14. switch off with the fantasy suitcase

Perhaps your child can't concentrate on their homework because they are always thinking about something else. For example, the classmate who made fun of their new shoes or the 50 irregular verbs they have to learn by next week. In such cases, relaxation teacher Sabine Seyffert recommends the «suitcase exercise»: the child sits or lies down comfortably. Then they close their eyes and imagine a suitcase as concretely as possible - light blue perhaps, with a moose sticker and a leather tag with their own name on it.

All worries now go into this imaginary suitcase until the child realises after a few minutes that their head feels clear. So once all the troublemakers have been packed away, close the lid of the suitcase in front of your inner eye and let the locks snap shut. The suitcase is put to one side, now it's time for homework. If they want to talk about it later, your child can tell you what they have packed.

15 Think positively

Teach your child to see school in a positive light and they will be more likely to engage with it. Negative sentences such as «I can't do maths», «The teacher thinks I'm stupid» or «My homework is ruining my whole day» paralyse initiative. It helps to see the situation in a different frame, to «reframe» it, as educational researcher Michaela Brohm from Trier recommends. In positive terms, the sentences could be: «I can't do maths yet», «The teacher is probably not in a good mood at the moment, but it will pass» or «After homework, I'll do something fun».

16. laugh yourself awake

There's a simple remedy for yawning fits at your desk - tickling. Martin Korte, neurobiologist and author of the book «How children learn today»: «Tickling stimulates the skin and muscles, which in turn increases general attention and alertness.» But be careful: please only tickle your child if they signal that they enjoy it.

17. wake up the brain

Your child should only have to read a single page in the English book, but their eyes keep closing. This is where a mental activation task can help: a playful exercise that gets the brain cells going within two or three minutes. After all, the more alert the brain is, the easier it is to learn. «In brain terms, learning means that the synapses, i.e. the switching points between the nerve cells, change,» explains neurobiologist Martin Korte.

In order for the synapses to change, they must be active. Possible wake-up call: Circle all double letters or all «ei» syllables in a paragraph as quickly as possible. Or pick out a word and find all the other English words hidden in it as quickly as possible (for example sunshine: sun - shine - hi - nine). Further exercises for mental activation can be found in the «Exercise Corner» on the website of the Society for Brain Training, www.gfg-online.de.

18 Praise and recognition

Recognition is more motivating than any reward. By praising your child, you can reinforce their behaviour or actions - the more specific the praise, the better. For example: «How fluently you can read aloud, great!» or «You have such good pronunciation in French!» Praise should be as appropriate as possible, advises educational researcher Michaela Brohm, because «praise for things that are taken for granted tends to have a demotivating effect.»

19. just play

There are many games that you don't even realise promote concentration: jumping rope, juggling or - for the younger ones - clapping your hands and singing at the same time, because the child has to coordinate movement and singing. A strategy game on the computer or a game such as Memory, Sudoku or Mikado is also good for training attention, as is any kind of music-making, colouring or handicrafts.

20 Strengthen the will

The thing that keeps us at our desks when the sun is shining outside is not motivation, but volition - willpower. It is therefore worth training it from an early age. You can do this, for example, by getting your child used to the fact that there are things that have to be done, even if they are not fun: packing their school bag for the next day in the evening, tidying their room. «Forcing yourself to do such unpleasant tasks trains your child's willpower,» says Regina Vollmeyer, professor of psychology at the University of Frankfurt.