Tuesday 20 January 2009

Project round up

Now the home ed consultation reminds me why we home educate in the first place. Because I consider the primary school system in the UK as promoting an anti education culture. I'm prepared to defend that. It's a system that forgot about a child's interest, enthusiasm, energy, play, excitement, delight, spontaneity. And why? Because these qualities cannot be controlled, monitored, and tested.

Anyway, enough of that. Today Shark, Squirrel and Tiger get on with their own stuff. And this is the roundup of what that stuff is.

Shark Projects
  • Finding out everything watery. Under the sea. Anything, everything. The lot. Knowing it all. And more. Honestly, if she doesn't crack a degree in this subject, I'll eat my head.
  • Reading any fiction with the word dolphin in the title. Then picking fights with the author because they haven't researched their fiction very well and everyone, apparently, knows the difference between the Common and the Atlantic Humpback.
  • Listening to hours of audio stories. Just started Pullman's Northern Lights.
  • Shouting at Squirrel to make her cry. (Non approved activity.)
  • Tending the plastic fish in plastic fish tank.
  • Art stuff in preparation for the summer exhibition. (Trans: Complaining about mummy Grit's resourcing of acrylic paint. Particularly green.)
  • Forward planning. (Pestering mummy Grit about the diving course foolishly promised after heavy drinking session. I will sort it soon, Shark. IwillIwillIwill.)
  • Other art stuff. Printing. (Thank you Mummy Grit for getting the lino boards from scrapstore.)

Squirrel Projects
  • Space, planets, things like that. Sticking glow-in-the-dark stars to the wall in pretty constellations.
  • Hair. Does my hair look nice with this clip?
  • Unicorns. Will Lem marry Blutina? Will Danceyhorn ever escape from the cellar where mummy has chained him to a brick?
  • Jewellery making. Pink is pretty. Look how my bracelet sparkles!
  • Screaming.
  • Tying the furniture together with long lengths of orange wool.
  • Constructing complex playgrounds for mice.
  • Flower arranging.
  • Reading books about monsters and a poisonous caterpillar called Henry. (Squirrel? Are you feeling alright?)
  • Doing something inscrutable with cut out pictures of toucans and budgies. Or rather, getting Tiger to do it and then saying 'That's mine.'


Tiger Projects
  • Costume making for dolly aka Frankenstein.
  • Claiming to be researching the history of textiles from pre-history to the present day.
  • Finding out about Highwaymen. Only the ones who wore nice clothes, obviously.
  • Doing Squirrel's paper gluing projects.
  • Pretending to be a cat.
  • Knitting, weaving, helping Squirrel tie up the furniture until mummy comes along shouting and wielding a pair of scissors.
  • Complaining about Shark.
  • Reading the PGL brochure over and over again and counting the days.
  • Worshipping a horse.
  • Making this cushion cover with wool and a tool which looks like a surgical instrument.

There. All innocent, child-led, play-driven, engaging stuff. And considerably more satisfying than Attainment target 1, Level 2, Worksheet 9.

9 comments:

Mr Farty said...

And this is what makes it all worthwhile. Brilliant!

Pig in the Kitchen said...

may I suggest that Tiger listens to the classic 'Stand and Deliver' performed by Adam Ant? This will help bring the highwayman thing to life i feel. it was tiger doing highwaymen wasn't it?

we had a snow day today and i did homeschooling. i walked to the forest with kids and dog to sledge, and called it PE. then i cleared out the cellar whilst they watched tv and shouted at each other.

do you think i qualify?? ;-)
Pigx

Unknown said...

Very busy and hence no comments but just have to pop in to say 'Hurrah for Shark!' She needs to know at least one person out here understands where she's coming from.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure at that age I was being made to recite times tables and cram for my common entrance exam. The Gritlets have it SO much better!

(as for worshiping a horse - I totally understand and think this is a very reasonable idol to have!)

mamacrow said...

'And why? Because these qualities cannot be controlled, monitored, and tested.'

exactly exactly exactly. qualitative info on a large scale always throws goverment corps for a loop. And I do understand why. But these are LIVES, not bags of sugar!

Anonymous said...

Award for you at mine as well! Pop over and pick it up.
x

Grit said...

hi mr farty! well, i missed off a few projects too. like grit whose new toy is a plastic heart you can actually pump, acquired to teach about blood circulation. this is such fun, especially with the red food colouring.

pig, you qualify. that sounds like a great day.

well trevor, she could yet aspire to become an accountant. let's hope that doesn't happen.

mud, you are right there. some days, when we see other little beings marched past the house in prison uniform, they even realise it.

mamacrow, do you think we can get through to the non-converted?

thank you mud! i will do so asap!

mamacrow said...

grit - I honestly don't know. I don't mind about converting people to homeschooling necessarily, but I do mind VERY MUCH about converting people to remember that (often) they are dealing with REAL PEOPLE with REAL LIVES and not (as I said before) bags of sugar on the shelf.

did I mention before that I spent 5 years working in the NHS in a Mental Health trust? Well I spent most days of that thumping my fist on the table and point out the lives not sugar thing!

and it's the same thing with school - or anything. Fine, send 'em to school IF it suits you, them, etc etc. But that's not why, most of the time. People often just zombie through life - getting their children 'done' (baptised) because it's the done thing to do rather than because they're church goers, getting married because it's the 'done thing to do' in their family rather than because that's truly what them and their partner wants, sending the children to school because they don't even stop to consider if thats the the best thing or if there is an alternative.

ok, I'm rambling and the kids are clamouring to watch Darwin programmes on the i player and play spore, but I must just point out I have nothing against bags of sugar either :)

Grit said...

you are right mamacrow to indicate a distinction; i would like to be here to remind people there are different choices, but i don't want everyone home educating!