“Fun Learning” an oxymoron?….Well at Pushforward Education we understand that not all young people are able to fit the standard one size fits all academic system. Its not all about sitting in a grey classroom trying to concentrate when maybe a young mind is not able to. If we can find an interest and they can learn from that – how much more fun learning can be!
Learning to grind steel wearing appropriate PPE whilst designing a mud kitchen for the primary students.
Exploring Local History – Horringer Chalk Caves. Buying gloves at the local shop and dealing with community engagement, manners and money.
Over in woodwork one of our young people made a chopping board, engraved “LP” to kindly give as a gift for one of our young people’s birthday. Learnt today: Life skills, future career choice, carpentry, being kind!
Today this young man was shown how to use different ways to take photo’s from the ground and the air with camera skills and drone techniques.
There is something fascinating about watching a drone soar through the air, wondering what images it is going to take. Maybe it’s the fact that they are unmanned and controlled remotely. Or maybe it’s the way they can effortlessly glide through the sky. Whatever the reason many people find them endlessly entertaining and what a great hobby for a young person to show an interest in.
Creating sensory play today using sand, shaving foam and sensory bags with confetti letters.
Sensory play is any activity that stimulates our senses – touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. It helps children interact with and make sense of the world that surrounds them
Over in the Vehicle Mechanics department more work continued on the MX5 Project. Its looking sparse! But we can’t wait to see the end result.
With almost 200 acres of landscaped Suffolk countryside there is something for everyone at Nowton Park. For sports enthusiasts there are football pitches. To keep the kids entertained there is a large play area.
Never too young to learn how to read a map! Now to figure out where we are and where we will be exploring.
She may be wearing a mask but the eye’s express the smile on her face! What an achievement to make such a beautiful chopping board. Also some model building helping with dexterity and other cognitive skills such as planning, problem solving and logical thinking.
No week is complete without food! Whether they are eating it with the packed lunches we provide, or going to the food museum and learning about food groups, nutrition, where food comes from and watching videos on digestive system to learning valuable life skills of cooking itself – this week a scrummy mac n cheese and a strawberry sponge cake, covered in icing!….which was a challenge to carry home, but delicious to eat!
“Why do the kids cross the playground?”….To get to the other slide! Ok Ok I can’t tell jokes, but I know this young man will be able to soon! Reading something humorous can be empowering for young readers, providing a positive and uplifting interaction that encourages regular reading habits.
Lots of sporting activities too; Swinging. Rolling away the divots after a game of golf, walking in the woods, football and geocaching and visiting local sites like the Pin Mill.
What is Geocaching? Its a type of global treasure hunt of people looking for hidden objects. Described as hide and seek games, where hiders provide online clues. It requires critical thinking, problem solving and navigation – its great for all ages and allows us to use technology, but still be outside, keeping fit and having fun.
Looking at Pop Art and Andy Warhole – sketches and practicing a piece to create. Coloring, a very therapeutic activity for our young people. Word games, number games and showing our instructors and thing or two about computer games!
Space Scenes, Den Building and using Magnetic Building Blocks.
Can you remember as a kid building a den, how much fun that was – the imagination involved creating your own secret place. Once inside your protective blanket shield you could continue your imaginative world.
Play improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of young people. Through play, children learn about the world and themselves. They also learn skills they need for study, work and relationships such as: confidence; empathy, patience, communication, respect for others and compromise.
Over in our Beauty Department one of our instructors is getting a nail makeover.
Helping people feel better about their appearance is also a way of boosting their self-esteem and self-worth. After all, true beauty and wellbeing are also about how you feel, rather than just how you look.
We finish this week’s blog with a little fun downtime. Snooker and Making Music. We are so super proud of what our young people have achieved this week. How they have engaged with the activities and in doing so have learned valuable life skills they can take with them.
Our Ethos
No one can begin to affect the world around them until they are CONFIDENT , COMFORTABLE, happy in their own skin and have found their SPARK! We take the time to understand and develop programmes from where the learner is in the world not where we think they should be.