Mini Farmer and I make chocolate mint popsicles and talk about intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation. Montessori Philosophy teaches that children are born with innate curiosity and a desire to learn.
Intrinsic motivation comes from within. When you're intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity solely because you enjoy it and get personal satisfaction from it.
In this video, I give Montessori inspired ideas to help raise your children to be personally and intrinsically motivated.
This series " Get Children to Love to Work" is about how to approach chores or responsibilities. I will be explaining my ideas and techniques in regards to each of these questions in future videos.
We have all asked...How in the world can I make my kids do chores? How can I teach responsibility and a motivation to work?
Here are my ten questions from the previous ten step overview video.
1. How can I make this responsibility uniquely theirs?
(I set her up for success by making her an egg apron)
2. How can I Include them in my daily chores?
(I Invited her to help me do morning chores)
3. How can we have fun while doing this?
(We talked, danced, and laughed while working together)
4. How can I foster intrinsic motivation?
( I allowed her the "Free Choice" to pick up hay for the ducks along the way. This was completely her idea)
5. How can I praise effort instead of outcome?
( The hay keeps falling off the top of my bucket so the outcome wasn't that great, but her effort to take hay to the ducks was noteworthy)
6. How can I give more freedom to explore and experiment?
(I don't make unnecessary rules. I let her climb in the little door even though it makes more sense to me to use the big door)
7. How can i give them tasks to make them feel important and needed?
(I gave her the opportunity to struggle and figure out a way to get into the coop by herself. This boosted her sense of competence)
8. How can I excite them with my love for an activity?
( I talk excitedly about our garden and her involvement in it's care.)
9. How can I guide and model correct behavior in a gentle way?
( I ask her to put the tomatoes in gently instead of saying no or don't throw them. )
10. How can i teach them something about what we are doing?
(I talk to her about the names of all our vegetables and what we are doing. )
I want to create a home where we do what we love, and are satisfied in our work.
I am the happiest when I get an idea, work hard at it, and then reap the reward of my labor without anybody else telling me that I have to do it. Let's create the same space for our kids. A home where they can work/play alongside us and join in the work as appropriate. Soon they will find things that make them happy, and will be offering to do it because they like how they feel when they contribute to the family. There is a place for punishment, a time for rewards, but this should not be the main motivator for being a helper.
