Super School

found the kids loved the best. Why did I start Super School? Read on....

Homeschooling wise, I started Super School because I wanted a school Mums could come to. We were getting a lot of socialising done but I wasn't comfortable with the amount of "learning" we were getting done. There were things I could send Super Boy 6 to alone to learn but I wanted to be there so I could continue the learning at home for him and be able to answer his questions. I am also a big believer in “kids teaching kids" so all these collided to form Super School for Active Learners. I come from a traditional education background. Mainly because my parents are both teachers, my mother-in-law was a teacher and I loved school. My dream was to go to University from a very young age and I excelled graduating with honours in a Bachelor of Business with a major in Advertising. I am an academic. I love to research. More than anything I love to understand why people think the way they do. I used that passion to sell people products they didn’t need when I worked in Advertising for over 10 years and I was really good at it. I was promoted rapidly and in charge of my own accounts worth millions at the age of 22. I loved it. Fast forward six years and I became a Mummy and I grew a conscience. Bu**er! I could now see the industry I loved was selling my baby stuff he didn’t need. What to do?? I really didn’t know until my baby was school age. And I didn’t want to send him. What? I loved school! I was surrounded by teachers! But the more my husband and I looked into it, the more we were dissatisfied with the current schooling system. No play before or after school was a big one. We had spent Super Boy 6's prep year travelling Tasmania, hiking 56 of the 60 great walks and some that weren’t listed, exploring, learning and thriving together in a natural, free environment. We were supposed to all of a sudden tell him he wasn’t capable of kicking a ball before school, because he could get hurt? To sit in a classroom for hours a day learning things that were outside in the real world ready to be uncovered, explored and conquered? (An exaggeration but you get the point). I started our “official" homeschooling journey this year. I am a believer of the Montessori principle of “following the child," and agree with research that shows formal learning before the age of seven may harm a child's love of learning in the future. So, I follow Super Boy and Super Toddler's lead and use the Goldilocks strategy: Push too hard and they lose interest; Too little and they get bored; Just right and they are happy, healthy, thriving learners. Following the child (and, to be honest, that is where my Montessori knowledge ends) led me to using Super Boy 6's natural interests to encourage learning. It worked a treat. A lot of our learning unfolded through “special time" where Super Boy 6 and I play uninterrupted together doing his choice of activity. For example, through Star Wars, we learned syllables using R2D2 beeping. When playing with the Super Heroes, we would sort them into the “caped club" or the “non-caped club" or the “masked club." We even sang a little song “The caped club, the caped club, we all love the caped club." Turns out they call this sorting and classifying at school. The point is, I didn’t set out to “teach" these things to Jack, they just unfolded naturally. It made me realise the power and importance of connection and play in learning. And this my friends is the premise of Super School. Mums and kids learning together in a play-based, active learning environment. To produce Super School I draw on all of my passions and experience, including being an Honours Classical Dancer, completing the QUT Acting Course and Stage Management of minor and major productions, including Dear Charlotte (based on the novelist Charlotte Bronte). I draw from the experience of my Mum, an amazing inspired teacher and the awesome resources she has handed down to me. Too good to keep to myself, I knew I needed to do something great with them, to help other Mums who were homeschooling without any support like I had. I love seeing the kids eyes light up when I get it right. I look to their faces for feedback of how I am doing, their engagement and excitement. My mission is to evolve Super School into an inspirational learning environment. Where kids are free to express themselves, their interests and feel important. They are our future and they are worth every sleepless night. ###xJaz###x