Bit cold on the island today and a distinct lack of sunshine. For a change my day has been focused on one thing - education. George and Max were introduced to Prezi as a way of moving the presentation of their considerable brainstorming skills forward. This interactive software enables them to move from idea to outcome through clearly defined stages and bring in images, text and video as points of clarity. I already use it in my creative work but I am not an expert so we kind of learnt together. I love these types of sessions when learning is on a level playing field as they are always the most productive. It does make you think about traditional schooling where the teacher is the 'expert'. I am not afraid of being a step behind sometimes and it is good for the boys to take the lead. It was a straight divide between Max, with the ideas, and George with the ability to break that idea into steps. We have done a huge amount of storyboarding in our home school because I think the skill is so transferable. Lots of people have ideas but do they all have the skills to move from idea to outcome?
I left the boys to it after a while so they could get on with their own presentation without their mother interfering. It is really important to know when to step away in home school and I am not always very good at that. I think of learning as a series of trails that take you where the destination is not always known in advance. I can't imagine why my children would want me to hold their hands on all these learning trails. I am quite sure I would get on their nerves. They are half way through their new presentation and that was quite far enough for one day. You also have to be careful of saturation point when there is no more productive learning to be done. If we can't spot that in home school we are doing a pretty poor job.
Attention then turned to Harry as we completed his assignment on sports nutrition for his diploma. I admit to still being a little lost on some of this but Harry has got it down really well and that is what matters. He is over half way through now and we are on course for an early summer completion. Harry is keen to do another level 3 diploma this time specialising in sports nutrition but he will do his level 2 Gym Instructor qualification first. The job market is so challenging for young people that he thinks getting more vocatational qualifications is the right road at the moment. Sensible young man.
Molly has returned to university and is on her way to a weeks field trip in Yorkshire. All wellies and mud I expect and I think her days are quite long. This afternoon I had a meeting with another Mollie who is a young film maker on Arran. She is working with me on the Butterfly Tree project by documenting its progress. She has made some lovely music videos already on her youtube site and her sense of 'the immediate' is just what I need on this project. We had some time to discuss the storyboard for the project and she will now make that up before we meet again. Mollie is very talented and bursting with ideas. She just needs the opportunities and that is where I come in. We are back to he issue of employability. Although Mollie plans to go to university she still needs the right opportunities to extend her portfolio. I had a wonderful career in dance and performing arts and I now take every chance I get to put something back into the industry. It is such an exciting time for film making and Mollie has it all ahead of her which is fabulous.
I will tracking the progress of her work on my Butterfly Tree page which is on the top menu. Mollie will be involved in every stage and her final film will also be on that page later in the year. I am also hoping that she will be involved in the Hannah Frank dance film but that is the subject for another meeting!
This post, more than any other, probably illustrates why I shall miss home school when it is over. It takes up a huge amount of my life and, rightly, has top priority. I sometimes find it all a bit much but mostly I simply adore it. It is a privilege to be part of their education and I am confident that all four children will fly very high but in completely different directions. As for me I am going to put my feet up.......now I know you don't believe that for a second. Worth a try though.
Until tomorrow. xx
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