Wonderword! Creative writing extravaganza

Explore and delight in the magical world of words. A creative writing weekly workshop for homeschoolers aged 10-14.

We will recite tongue twisters, do spelling relay races and make up funny communal stories. Over the weeks, I will help you draft and perfect your own writing projects - an old fashioned letter, a comic, a visual poem. I will give you some tricks to help cure the dreaded writer's block and to make your writing exciting and NOT boring.

Your teacher, Tanya Rao, has a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne, and has written and published articles, stories and poetry in different places. I've worked in Steiner schools where we bring language and writing with artistry and joy.

When: The term will run for 8 weeks on Fridays from 13th Oct - 8th Dec (excluding Nov 17th)

Where: Selby Community House

Time: 10am - 12pm

The journey will flow best if you book for the whole term, as some writing projects span several weeks, but you can also drop in casually. Try out the first week, and I'm happy to charge you the difference if you want to commit to the whole term. We will need a minimum of 5 students to run.

Register here to confirm your place. For more information email me at traooart@gmail.com

Maths in Nature Workshop series

"In a voyage that takes us from the embryo to the stars, we will encounter the many faces of pi. Sometimes the divine proportion can be mysteriously perplexing and enigmatic, leaving us wondering what it is really about. Sometimes it is so obvious, we wonder that we had not noticed it before."

Is there a logical pattern behind the way shells, pinecones, leaves or flowers grow, or is it just random? Why do bees choose a hexagon for their hive?

In this workshop series we will explore number patterns and geometry to see how they express themselves in the world around us. We will construct stellar forms within a circle using a compass, a process which develops mathematical and hand-eye precision, as well as an artistic appreciation of beauty. We will investigate the Fibonacci sequence and how this leads to a golden proportion that is the secret to many forms in nature.

This journey will encompass art, poetry, movement and complex mathematics, so we can see the connections between them. We might begin with a ball game or forest walk, then make complicated calculations or predictions, and end by colouring artistically the beautiful forms we have created.

These workshops can be attended casually as single sessions, but are best experienced as a series, where each builds upon the ideas before. At the end, each student will have produced their own book that records their learnings.

Where: Art Studio, Selby Community House

When: Thursdays 9.30-11.30am

Feb 3rd - Apr 7th

Who can attend: 11-14 year olds

Cost: $30 casual or $260 for the term of 10 sessions

Parents $10 casual

What to bring: lead pencils, sharpener, rubber, ruler, compass, coloured pencils (paper & extra materials will be provided)

Bookings: email traooart@gmail.com

Which style of education is the best?

One of my earliest memories is standing in what seemed like a huge hall, as a three year old, with all these stations set up around the room. I could choose whatever activity I felt like - I felt free and empowered, a motivated doer in a world of opportunities. That was my Montessori preschool - we walked on stilts, did puzzles and explored sandpaper letter shapes. It was active, sensory and child-led.

My parents later moved me into a more strict and conservative kindergarten. I remember my teacher - intimidating and sharp. We were expected to be quiet a lot of the time. She used an extensive regime of carrots and sticks to control our behaviour. The feeling of shame when we didn't live up to her standards still pangs. I would cry to my parents, who thankfully heard me and moved schools.

Through my school years, I moved between private and public schools of varying styles, but for the most part experienced what we would call a classical education. All the hallmarks were there - highly structured, compartmentalised subjects, teacher-directed academic content, assessment and testing. And I was good at it. I completed my schooling at an elite private girls school that instilled in me a sense of discipline, rigour, organisation and personal responsibility that I carry with me to this day.

Later in life, exploring creative and spiritual paths, I found Steiner education. It was unlike anything I had come across before. A deep, encompassing philosophy that acknowledged the whole human being, and a rich curriculum that arose out of understanding the inner developmental life of the child. As a teacher, I found the crafts, storytelling, rhythm and interweaving subjects profoundly nourishing and resonant.

Launching my project of Project-based Tutoring awakened a different set of capacities again. I have found my own venture calls for bravery, initiative, vision, problem-solving skills, adaptability, confidence in myself and the ability to connect with others. It is the soft skills that conventional education often sidelines in favour of the hard academics that are now front and centre. Skills you don't just learn in the classroom but through family and community relationships and the adventure of life. Connecting with the homeschool world has opened my eyes to the possibilities for true natural learning that emerges out of the child's interests and motivations.

I feel it was part of my destiny to experience this diversity of approaches that have shaped me into who I am. Rather than being fixated on finding the "correct" way, I have reflected that different styles bring out different qualities. They each have their strengths and blindspots. My classical education was well-resourced with high academic standards, but did not bring out my individuality and lacked warmth. Working in Steiner education there was room for authentic relationships and a rich cultural fabric, but small communities can have their idiosyncrasies. My philosophy now as a teacher is to be alive to what comes forward in the context and go with that, drawing on a network of resources. It is refreshing to look beyond right and wrong and follow the journey that is made for you.