Introduction version two; super school
Those of you that have been with me from my first post may not appreciate the new direction I have decided to take this blog in, when I first came here it was purely out of interest based on the enthusiasm of someone I no longer follow, because it was so different to the concept I was sold I felt unsettled, however I still liked the idea of supporting as many projects that utilise blockchain as I can, being left with this space I then knew I wanted to do something with it I just wasn't sure what, I did try a little art/writing and Velveteen still flourishes but she is in her natural environment and is a lot happier, she just couldn't settle here
So welcome to just little ole me
Today was the first official day of what I refer to as organised education, you see I have tried from the moment my first child was born to widen horizons of learning with my children, however recently due to circumstances beyond my control my two youngest' a boy aged 15 autistic and learning disabled, and a girl age 12 no challenges, are without schooling and it has fallen to me to teach them, in an organised manner, I am good at teaching my children this is the first time it has been structured around set times and work produced, so the new direction for my blog is now purely practical; I needed somewhere to document each home superschool day, so I found a use for steemland
I appreciate those who may prefer the more creative side and I say thank you to you for your support and kindness, I am just not comfortable sharing that side of me here, please for those that mistakenly suffer misunderstanding my purpose for being here I will say quite clearly; I am not here to develope a following, I am not here to make money, I don't mind people showing an interest or supporting this little blog, I love to make new friends and talk, I welcome polite and respectful debate, I welcome comments if they are polite and respectful, I have no wish to create an internet presence or impart knowledge this is just a small place to document each day of homeschooling, helps me see where to fill in gaps, which direction to go in, and where I need to improve, plus I needed to show 'work' that my children produce.
so today is wednesday may 9 2018
I decided to start with ancient history and today we began to learn about the Sumerian tablets, I decided that I will try to show all sides at all times so I will show both what is in the uk curriculum , the mainstream media, and also alternative media and independent sources, to that end I chose today to go through explaining why we look at all sides and the importance of unbiased information, how to not discount either mainstream or alternative because of perceived bias and how to glean from all sides what is fact, what is conjecture, what is opinion and what we feel we connect with from all we learn, how to remain open to the idea of flux and the possibility of new evidence
I chose to show the history channels documentary on the sumerian tablets (1), being an example of an introduction to the more generalised and accepted version of history, we enjoyed the documentary and discussed what we had learned, we followed that with an exercise in independent writing based on what we remembered of those facts, what we learned from the documentary and then compared our writings
We learned of the change from hunter gatherer based living to agriculture based living, we discovered the invention of the wheel, the concept of religion, of laws, the daily lives and diet, and the celebrations as well as pitfalls and tragedies of Sumerian life.
We saw where the area was located on a map and how it looked then and how it looks today, and the huge importance of the major changes that occurred within those years ranging from around 4000 bc to around 2000 bc
We followed this, after a short break, with drawing a design for making a clay tablet of our own and we discussed what the sumerians put on their tablets~purely in the most basic form at the moment, and what we would put on a clay tablet and I love the designs they both came up with, both chose a different side to show, my daughter chose to show how she loves to grow flowers for our garden now and then underneath she drew a design showing how a girl in sumerian times would grow wheat, it's a brilliant design and I was very impressed in her version of then and now and how she chose to relate her reality to that of a girl whose reality took place over four thousand years ago- again please remember all information can be subject to change and each lesson is based on what we learn from that particular subject in this case the history channel documentary
My son chose also to show and then and now and he chose his version and it's brilliant, showing him using a computer and a young person in sumerian times fishing, he also chose to show the invention of the wheel, a brilliant point that I am really glad he picked up on,
After lunch we got out the clay~we are a very creative household we have always clay, paint,paper all manner of stuff to make stuff with
my daughters clay tablet
and my sons clay tablet
My daughter also wrote a poem
it reads;
Wandering travellers on the hunt
for food
Walking along the weary road
turns left
Wheat awaits
The Sumerians were their name
The importance of learning of the birth of civilisation can never be underestimated and it was an amazing experience watching my children make connections, visualise other times, appreciating major milestones within human history, I have vastly enjoyed today but what has affected me most is seeing my children for the first time enjoy learning, for the first time in their lives they were given geography, history, art, design, culture, religion and politics, and they enjoyed every moment, I was asked a zillion questions which is brilliant and I encouraged them to look for the answers and to deduce what they surmised took place, the time flew by and I heard something I doubt many teachers hear, they loved today and were looking forward to doing maths tomorrow
that was my day, hope you had a good day too
(1) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9avJXTvHuMjHULPRhA7r5Q
