Project based deslumping

Small, who is often self propelled, is also sometimes not.

And at the moment he is in a slump. He’s run out of Alex Rider (read the last book!), isn’t enthused with Maths, not even all that focussed on the pokemon website he started. And as soon as this sort of slump hits in, he gets miserable. Don’t we all?

So tonight I came up with a brainwave. I suggested that I wanted him to learn about the second world war, and that we would start by building a reading list.

I have several books around. (ahem.) And a few more titles that spring to mind that we can get from the library or elsewhere. And I’d love to track down the book I can remember reading as a teen, that isn’t Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden but I remember as about a girl called Carrie, somehow left behind the battle lines, maybe in France?

As well as books, there are films and programs that we can track down. There may be places we can go. And there’s non fiction as well.

What do I want him to get out of it? I want him to broaden his horizons a little educationally speaking. Try a few different types of books. Maybe write about them, maybe just discuss them. Think about how fiction can educate, as well as entertain. Also think about propaganda.

We talked about the science and technology of war as well, so there’s scope for exploration there.

But more than anything, I just want to get him interested in something and feeling a little happier. Not so much to ask for I hope.