Make a list of your child's interests. Include his school interests, such as an appreciation for literature or an interest in math. Also, include his household interests, such as helping you in the kitchen or working with you in the garden. List his personal interests as well, such as his favorite movie or television show. For instance, your son may love watching Star Wars and may also enjoy helping you make dinner in the evenings.
Integrate your child's personal interests directly into your lesson plans. For example, if your daughter enjoys helping you make dinner, use her love for cooking to teach her math. Ask her to scale a recipe for more or fewer servings, and teach her how to use division or fractions to do so. Have your child measure ingredients into your recipe.
Use your child's personal interests to teach motivational lessons. For instance, if your son loves watching Star Wars, make a list of the elements in Star Wars that can apply to motivation. You might include ideas like self-control, mental focus and calm emotions. Review these elements with your student.
Indulge your child's personal interests as a means of motivating her. Relate your child's homework to her interests, such as writing papers about her favorite movie or reading books set in her favorite genre. Sit down with your child and watch her favorite movie after a successful day working on schoolwork.
Encourage your student to pursue his favorite subjects, and integrate those favorites into other subjects. For example, if your child loves social studies, design math problems that use social studies ideas, such as population and city demographics. If your child loves to read, take him to your local library regularly and encourage him to check out books.