 | SAPLINGS is a group of children aged roughly 10-15yrs old. They are tutored by Max who facilitates a diverse range of subjects from philospical debates to science experiments. As Max says " I always ask them if there are particular things they would like to look at. Generally we concentrate on Science, Maths and English but projects overlap. For instance last term we looked at seeds and the way they differ depending on the climate they are from and we ended the term writing a personification of a seed! More recently they have been writing their own play which we are performing to the parents at the end of term. |
THIS AUTUMN (Sept - Dec 2012) our overall theme is "Celts, Culture and Worship".
THE SPRING TERM (Jan - April 2013) our theme will be "Water in the Community"
THE SUMMER TERM (May-July 2013) our theme will be "Sustainable Planet Sharing."
We will cover many mini-subjects within these overall themes and they will be arranged in half termly blocks so that new people are welcome to join us for one of those blocks.
The Science we do is usually seasonal as we connect with the outdoors here. The Maths we do is based on problem solving e.g. bridge designing or logical problems. It usually involves a group discussion.
I like to encourage debates and often throw in ethical or cultural dilemas. We've had some interesting chats recently about whether they think we need a queen and whether it is ever OK to steal things.
I finish the day with sharing a book together. I am reading "The Wish List" by Eonn Colfer which is brilliantly written. I usually like to read books that have a sequel to them to encourage them to read further if they like it."
As a parent of a student in the group says "I loose count of the amount of times in the week that I hear "Max says..." Max has so obviously provided such a thought provoking environment for them. They seem to feel so at ease chatting. I'm sure the poor guy doesn't even get a lunch break. I love the fact that my home educating teenager has such inspiration as part of his week. They're very lucky kids."
