Something that people often ask me about in consults is how can we focus on our children's interests AND still gather work samples to help meet the requirements of our regulatory body? Is there a way to do both?
(My son working on a Minecraft Planning printable found in our Resource Library)
I don't want this to sound like a hard sell but I have developed something that does meet this: our THL Resource Library and I want to share with you why and how this works.
SAY YOUR KID LOVES PLAYING WITH LEGO.
I had one of these kiddos. One of my dyslexic, autistic, ADHD boys LOVED Lego (still does!) and wanted to play all day with it. How could you give your kiddo the time they need to develop their Lego passion AND be able to gather work samples to keep records of their learning?
INVENTOR PRINTABLE Suggest they research who the inventor of Lego was and why they invented Lego in the first place. If your kiddo is able/willing to write their findings down themselves, they can always orally narrate (tell) you that information and you could write it down for them.
Are they learning? YES!
Are they immersed in their interest? YES!
Can it help them in their future? YES!
Are you ticking boxes for outcomes for history, english and science? YES!
Can you use the inventor printable as an example of their work? YES!
You can write down word for word what your child shares with you on the inventor printable and chances are, this will also enhance your relationship because they see you being willing to listen to something that is of great importance to them!
(This printable - and 500 others like it - is in our Resource Library)
SCIENTIFIC METHOD PRINTABLE
You might suggest to your child that they create an experiment with Lego. Can they build a huge suspension bridge out of Lego? What weight can it withstand? Maybe they can hypothesise about the weight they think it can take and then test out their theory to see how close they get to their answer. Even kids who are reluctant writers can sometimes get into a writing activity that holds meaning to them and bounces off their passions.
(Just an example of one of the pages of the Scientific Method sheets we have in the Resource Library. We also have a more simplified one page version of this for learners who need that).
READ ALOUD SUMMARY
Choose a Lego book (even an audio book for reluctant readers) and have your child write (or again, orally narrate to you) the basics of the book. Chances are they will listen to the read aloud because it is about THEIR INTEREST and chances are if you ask them what they liked most, what they didn't like about the book, what stood out to them etc, they will tell you! Write it down on our read aloud summary printable also available in our Resource Library.
(You'll find this one in our Template Bundle #3 in our Resource Library of printables).
HAS YOUR KIDDO WATCHED THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE?
If your Lego loving kiddo has watched the Lego Batman movie (or any other Lego movie!) you could have them do a movie review using our movie review template which has prompts the child can work through.
('Boxing ticking' and passion building can be both done at the same time!)
ONE FOR THE BUDDING ANIMATORS
What about the budding Lego stop motion kiddos out there? My son LOVED creating stop motion films out of Lego. One of our printable templates is for documenting the stop motion process.
(These are 3 of the 8 pages in our Stop Motion printables pack. You just choose which pages suit your child and what they'd like to do, then print out those pages. There is a page with lines set further apart too to make reluctant writers feel less overwhelmed).
For younger artists, you might have them fill out this little page based on their favourite creation:
(You'll find these two printables in our Templates Bundle #3 collection in the Resource Library).
HAS YOUR KIDDO DREAMED OF VISITING LEGOLAND IN BILLUND, DENMARK?
Perhaps they could research all about Billund and then fill in this city/town printable.
THEY COULD EVEN VISIT LEGOLAND ON GOOGLE EARTH
...and then fill out our Google Earth printable about what they saw.
And please don't think that I'm saying you have to have all these printables filled out in one day or even one week. Nope!
What I'm saying is that you don't have to make your kiddo do things they just do not want to do in order to get work samples, nor do you have to reinvent the wheel trying to create your own templates or spend hours scrolling the internet for these.
They are held in ONE place: in our THL Resource Library which you can gain access to immediately for $7 a month or for $70 for the year. They are easy to find, easy to print and you can also request your own templates be made as a bonus Members Only feature.
My kiddos genuinely love using our templates (which I print off in bulk and have in plastic sleeves in our 'templates folder'). It is super easy to create one.
I hope you have found this helpful and can see that you can focus on your child's interests and create work samples that are in line with what they love. Let me know your thoughts!
Happy learning! Lusi x
Commenti