Jolly junk modelling japes

I greet each week's homework task with mixed emotions

Will it be easily translatable for Natty? 
Will I have to spend hours breaking down the task into steps she can cope with? 
Is it something she has knowledge and understanding of or is it a vague concept we'll have to tackle for the first time? 
Do I think it's valuable for her, even?

I must admit, some weeks I don't quite find enough time or energy to know where to begin to teach Natty about the 3 largest rivers in the world for example, or there are the times when the research and ordering or resources, such as a simple circuit making kit, takes so much time that we don't hand it in on time.
But don't get me wrong, I am delighted that she gets the same homework as the rest of her class. She's in mainstream education, and it's about re-working what her peers do, to make it work on Natty's level and in a kinesthetic way that she enjoys.

Anyhow, much to Daddy Downs Side Up's delight, this week's task was to create a model of a mode of transport!

Cue a rummage in the recycling bin and a bit of imagination. It's what we do best. Just add some time together and a few giggles and hey presto! homework complete.

Now, at this point I would like to say that Daddy DSU enjoyed the task a bit toooo much. He got a bit serious about how accurate the train (that's what Natty decided to make) was. There was shaping and crafting and sizing to scale. No detail went amiss.

He attached double-sided sticky tape to each component part, and Natty assembled the pieces how she wanted them, quickly and without the need for that 'wishy-washy-ineffective-doesn't-work-on-cardboard' glue. We then took the train into the garden and covered ourselves in paint painted it. I added the finishing touch... a plume of steam coming from the funnel!

Natty refused to wear an apron and thankfully the old hand-me-down dress she had on barely fits and was destined for the charity shop this week anyway. It was a simple sacrifice to make, for such a fabulous piece of artwork.

I always recall Natty's reception teacher telling us of the importance of junk modelling, of encouraging imagination, of turning old rubbish into a thing of beauty, of your own doing, something you make choices about and take ownership of.

Here's a robot we made a couple of years ago.

It would seem that you are never too young (or too old) to get involved. So give it a whirl!


#familyproject #homework #SEN


For more fun learning activities to try at home, see our selection here.