Home Education Journey

 So..........my child hates art. I find this difficult to understand, what with my art degree but she is so talented! I'm obviously biased as a mum (I've literally just cleared out boxes of Niamh's drawings because I declared her scribbles at the age of one to be utter masterpieces......sigh) but I do think she's got the raw talent, just not the focus.  I keep trying different mediums, different subject matter but her preteen interests are veering away from drawing - when Niamh was younger, we wouldn't leave the house without a little sketchbook and she created wonderful little drawings.  Now - my main aim with teaching any art lesson is to focus on the basics. This was a short drawing lesson, but reminders about tone, light and shade are super important. It's easy to just sketch and not really see what you're looking at, so the reminders really do help kids to focus and look. Pointing out interesting shapes helps too.  One thing I have done for Niamh throug...

 So Niamh really enjoyed the photography, and we decided to focus a little more on it (plus our awesome friend Peter is allowing us to borrow his camera for a little longer) but for this project we decided to focus on the natural world.  Niamh loves animals (squirrels have proved to be delightful to capture even though Niamh is horrified at how many squirrel butts she has pictures of). She's mainly annoyed though.  Niamh is a bit of a perfectionist, this can lead to meltdowns over mistakes but photography offers a clear reward to patience and trying again - super important for any kid - any skill they can focus on, practice will transfer to other subjects and provide a reference point to refer back to. Niamh often wants to give up when she gets frustrated, and gently encouraging her does pull her focus back in.  I'm so proud of the work she's put in to this, her colours/composition/depth of field is spot on in every photograph but we've had an ace time doing this....

 I don't have a DSLR anymore but luckily we've been able to borrow a bridge camera from a friend. It's got an awesome zoom so Niamh has been using it to see if she can clear wildlife shots. Yesterday we were lucky enough to see a heron, but today we think we know where the heron's nest is so we'll be staying a distance away but a heron shot would be such an amazing achievement.  Niamh does struggle with her focus level and patience, so I'm using photography as a means to get her to see that focusing and being patient has rewards. I can't wait to upload the photos she's taken so far! Photography is really good for me too - it's a form of mindfulness that is really helping me right now. We're moving house soon, my stress levels are through the roof, so going out each day to just take everything in (while being distracted from the stress) is a massive bonus. 

 Wetsuits have arrived - time to acclimatise!  Excellent splash at the beach with the perfect swim spot, Niamh wasn't ready to dunk but hopefully she'll get braver with the cold water. 

 We do a lot of art/music/religion/geography and history outdoors, but the way we have a good routine (which is absolutely essential for home educating) is we do Niamh's core subjects first thing.  Core subjects for Niamh are maths, English and Science. French is one too, because learning a language (any - it doesn't matter which) looks great to future employers/universities. I use the book but Niamh uses flashcards - as I think the repetition works well for her memory.  Maths and science are two of Niamh's favourite subjects but English is probably her worst. Her writing is super neat and beautiful, but comprehension at this level presents difficulties. Especially if the text or book is fiction - too many characters and Niamh gets distracted, and she struggles to connect information if it isn't worded in the exact same way as the question. Grammar, vocabulary and punctuation isn't too much of an issue but creative writing does. Niamh hates creative writing so this ...

 I love classical music and this is something I actually did for a mindfulness practice during DBT. I thought it would translate well to an art/music lesson for Niamh - especially with the addition of colour.  Romantic piano has two parts to the music - the dramatic and passionate, and then the more peaceful, softer side. I wanted Niamh to be able to recognise the two parts and demonstrate it using colour. I think it's harder than it sounds and visually maybe a bit samey, but we just used Sharpies and spare paint. I'm wondering if ink would work better.......overall quite interesting to see and keeping the music to less than 3 minutes per picture is great for keeping focus. Kids can only learn what music they like, and what they like to play, if exposed to a range of music.  It was Niamh's suggestion to try having eyes closed and that worked better - maybe because the focus is MORE on hearing. 

  A simple enough introduction but I'm hoping to use these for Niamh as a meditative practice initially and then bring in the science, religious, architectural connections. She spent ages colour mixing, and it's harder than it looks, but she is focusing! Simple kits can be bought from craft shops for less than a tenner and I can see this lasting years.  Great activity for parents and kids.  

 I think everyone is aware of how lockdowns have effected people's mental health, particularly children's. As this current lockdown comes to a close, we're now reusing the fairy garden items as a house move beckons (and we try and leave our old homes with improved gardens) the plants have new homes and we're taking a risk and making a public fairy garden in one of our favourite places.  Fairy houses are one of our favourite things to do in parks and woodland, you can make swings out of grass and twigs, steps, acorns make gorgeous bowls and you can fill them with 'fairy food' such as elderberries, Rowan berries and feathers and leaves make the softest beds. (I'll admit, I'm a really big kid at heart!) Obviously it's a risk as kids could take the items, but it's no great loss, and if it makes other kids smile and maybe be inspired to add to it, that would be wonderful. The worst that can happen is a child finds a new toy.  I've been really grat...

 Textiles are everywhere we look and Niamh is super crafty - although she does often lack focus, so understanding the basics is more than fine. I don't think kids should be forced to do everything, and they certainly can't be great at everything, but understanding the basics initially can set a good grounding if your child decides they would like to develop certain skills in the future.  Niamh enjoyed the felt making - particularly mashing the felt together with soap and a potato masher, but I get the sense that our next textiles project will be sewing but needle felting at Christmas is appealing too.  

 So for this project, I wanted Niamh to have a serious challenge. Worksheets can get very dull and I wanted Niamh to be able to consider how structures are made, materials and what is best suited and problem solving when things go wrong. Niamh is reasonably good with hammers and screwdrivers and in Wakefield we had a garden so this was possible. I was inspired with this idea by a wildlife gardening site on Facebook and I thought a little waterproof structure would be great for stargazing.  Using the fence as the back wall meant less materials were used overall, and I knew using wood found in the woodland close by would be easy for Niamh to work with (plus we went there every day so collecting the wood was feasible even if it meant I looked quite odd carrying logs home).  Niamh initially chose for the structure to be placed around the fire pit but this seemed risky, plus the gravel meant that it shifted underneath the main structure.  This is based around the idea of ...

 Harewood house is an excellent place for kids from the animals and birds to playing dress up in the house! Stunning furnishings, wallpapers and craftsmanship everywhere you go. Niamh enjoyed dressing up as a servant but the slavery connections with Harewood are for another time. 

Niamh doesn't get a choice of what to do with regards to core subjects (maths, English and Science) but she does get a choice with her other subjects. Djembe drumming rythmes were learnt from some fantastic YouTube videos and watercolour painting has become a firm favourite.   

Microscopes are so much fun! We love to go outdoors, collecting small objects, and investigating the difference between what our eyes see and the reality. The second object is a piece of straight cut paper which under the microscope isn't straight at all.   

 Census time in the UK. I was trying to explain how the census worked and why we needed statistics, so following on from International Women's Day, we used statistics from Refuge's website to make sure we had the correct information and Niamh chose her clay shapes and had an introduction to colour theory to make sure people's eyes were drawn to the text. An excellent little feminist project!