Interest-led learning {and a plug for my kids}

Homeschooled kids do a lot of cool things. Yes, I am well aware that kids who attend brick and mortar school do cool stuff, too. But folks, the amount of awesome proportionate to the amount of time available to dig into said awesome, well …

Homeschooled kids win. Hands down.

Take, for example, the interest-led learning arc open to homeschoolers. A few years back, Mathaus expressed an interest in film. Christopher and I pondered, prayed, and finally said, “Sure. That sounds like a legit learning experience that you’re pursuing. How can we make this happen?” Library books. An online course. A group of teens meeting at our dining room table for months. A simple video camera. Time to tinker with the iMovie software.

A hobby was born. And with it, the opportunity to delve into some topics that we would never have touched were it not for this passion for film. We’ve discussed copyrights, intellectual property, stereotypes, what makes a film “family friendly,” music scores, and so much more. All because he asked … and we were open to saying yes.

These days, Mathaus’ love of film is something of a given. He’s that kid who watches something, then has to ruin it for you by telling you why the director did the lighting this way, or how the story had to be adjusted to make up for some potential lapse in the plotline. I’m kidding about the ruining. Sort of.

When we get to Nepal, Mathaus will be our chief videographer. He’ll be documenting the important stuff that we see and do, as well as finding ways to record bits and pieces that will communicate with our supporters back here, in the States. He’s looking forward to finding stories wherever we go. Nepal is nothing if not ripe with history and details. I doubt he’ll have to look far.

In the meantime, he’s busying himself with smaller potatoes, like our local library’s Teen Video Contest. Together with Mary Hannah and Jack, he’s entered again this year. Scroll down to find their entry; it’s for Douglas Adams’ The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. The competition is pretty fierce. We’ll see who emerges victorious. Either way, I think Mathaus, who has been able to explore his passion, is the ultimate winner.