January 2011 – Home Education Video Wins Prize
Home Education Video made by 8 year old wins first prize in National competition.
This video is a positive & inspiring glimpse into the way home educated siblings can teach & learn from each other, seen through the eyes of an 8 year old.
One of the siblings, ‘Magdalena’ (5) has Down’s syndrome and this video illustrates how the sisters learn equally from each others’ different qualities and abilities whilst having a lot of fun in the process.
A common worry that parents have when considering home education with a child with additional needs, is how to home educate all of their children with such a wide range of needs, and will the extra time that the child with additional needs requires have an adverse affect on the others. This video shows the opposite happening in practice. The older sibling has learnt clear articulate speech, patience, makaton, thoughtfulness, independence, responsibility, awareness of other people’s differences and the ability to accommodate these to be in relationship. The younger sibling is stimulated and motivated to learn by her sister’s exuberance, joy and desire for her sister to join in activities with her. These are just some of the many qualities that each sister brings to the other sister’s life through being home educated together.
The 8 year old sister in the video; ‘Agnieszka’, is an avid film maker and is able to pursue this passion in depth, being home educated. She shoots a lot of footage by setting up the camera on a tripod to film herself with her sister. In this video she edited her footage and added her voice-over in a day entirely by herself using the facilities at www.artsawardwales which her parents run from oakwellbarns:
“The initial idea for putting the video together came from a competition that Netbuddy was running, asking for 3 minute videos on any aspect of life living with a learning disability. Agnieszka entered the competition and won first prize in the www.netbuddy.org.uk video competition. Netbuddy are now using it on their home page. (Netbuddy is a website set up for anyone caring for someone with a learning disability to share tips, ideas, practical advice.)”Agnieszka and Magdalena are both home educated along with their older sister (who is not in the video).”
Agnieszka & Magdalena’s parents offer individual consultations and workshops on home education and parenting. They also run several support groups including ‘First Moon Group’ – a breastfeeding and conscious parenting group, that meets weekly. ‘Central Wales Down’s syndrome Group’ and ‘HE-DS’ (Home educating a child with Down’s syndrome). This is an online discussion and support group with annual gatherings at oakwellbarns to link and network with other families who are home educating a child with D.S. or who are considering doing so. If you would like more information or would like to join any of these groups, please email: alex.anita@virgin.net
Article printed in Education Otherwise newsletter February 2011