Tuesday 17 February 2009

reasons for the creation of turtle packs

i love all children. i love teaching them and i also love learning from them.
i have a firm belief that we can all learn to create all we wish to have in our lives and that as adults we have a responsibility to ensure that anything that is claiming to be out there to educate either children or adults is doing it in a conscious manner and ultimately teaching us all how to look after each other and the planet.
i believe that the best learning takes place when a person is interested in the subject matter so there will be a variety of turtle packs that cover the same curriculum level but they will be based in different subject/project areas so that there is a choice of what is studied.
it's important to have a real choice. my aim is to create something that is easily accessible by all and that enables anybody to teach the curriculum material. i also believe that there are many subjects not covered by the national curriculum which are equally important as those that are on there.
everybody can have the confidence to teach - it is part of human nature to learn and to then teach what one has learnt - this is true of even the youngest child who if given the opportunity is very willing teach others something they have learnt.
it is important to learn to be free thinkers. turtle packs will allow people to learn in imaginative ways and they will by their very nature cater to individual needs. turtle packs will allow for investigations and flexibility in teaching methods.

the concept continued

who are turtle packs intended for?
everyone:) the idea is that everybody learns at the same time - we all have things to learn and practise and it's great fun to be able to do it together. This is especially true of families so the aim of turtle packs is that the activities will be fun for all the family and that there will be some benefit to whoever takes part in the activity.
Some packs will initially be geared towards a particular age group but the idea behind all of them is that eventually i will find ways of including all age groups in each pack.
For example: a turtle pack for designing paper aeroplanes will initially be aimed at 7-11 year olds with instructions on how different folds in the paper create a different effect in flight. as a longer term project this will eventually include really easy to put together paper planes for the younger age group and even just pre made planes/ or plane mobiles for babies so that they can begin to experience aeroplanes. for the older age group we could get into real technical details of how planes are designed and the physics behind it all and at this stage most adults will probably find themselves learning new things too!!! :)
the idea is that the packs are used as a basis for further investigations and as a motivational tool for projects.
it is also hoped that as the packs will be available online i will eventually be able to set up some sort of tool that enables people to upload their own adaptations and additions to packs online so that we can all share different teaching methods.
my ultimate goal is to have a website that allows people access to educational material and that allows all of us to share knowledge and information about education.

How are turtle packs intended to be used?
my aim is that turtle packs are portable packs that can be used anywhere for educational purposes.
the idea is that anyone wishing to use the packs can put together a basic stationary bag and then along with the pack they can take this and complete a learning activity anywhere they choose. This is perfect for people who prefer to learn outdoors or who travel around lots or who just enjoy being able to learn wherever they happen to be.
it also fits in with new goals in schools of using the environment to further classroom based learning.
the packs will also include a list of national curriculum levels that are being met through each activity and this will enable parents teaching a home education curriculum to prove that they are working towards a curriculum that is set at the appropriate level for their children and it will also help classroom teachers see where the packs fit into the curriculum for the age group that they teach.

Thursday 12 February 2009

Yippeeeeeee!!!!!! I'm online!!!!!!! :)
For my very first post I'd like to tell you about my concept.
Learning is fun for all people of all ages.
We all love to learn and I enjoy finding ways of teaching adults and children together.
I believe that the best teachers are those who remember that children are here travelling on a journey with us and also have things to teach us adults too.
I also believe that education happens all the time.
I'd like to share teaching ideas.
I'd also like to share knowledge about home education so that parents/guardians can make an informative choice about how best to educate their children.
The concept of turtle packs is to create activities that are portable so that teaching can be made fun and so that learning can happen in all sorts of interesting places.
I'd like to create packs that school teachers will be able to use to increase learning in a variety of environments, and that parents/guardians will be able to use as fun learning activities and as part of a rounded home education curriculum.