Video Making 101
Around Christmas, I read an interesting article by Terry Holliday called “A Great Homeschool Project-Making a Video.” She followed it up with Part Two. These articles from My Creativity Blog were designed to inspire parents/teachers to include video making into their home-schooling.
Technology enables home-schoolers to broaden their world. Used safely and responsibly, technology can be a great asset to any home-schooling family. My daughter takes harp lessons via Skype. My children do research on the internet. My son, Jake, has his own blog about horses, his love. It is called Cross Creek Horsemanship. I purposely try to use technology as an aide in our education, which is why I was excited to let my children make a video.
Jake was the most excited about learning how to make a video. Therefore, it was only natural that he made the first video. He wanted to do something that he could use for his blog. He decided to do a how-to video. Jake did a method demonstration on cleaning horse hooves. He did a great job, and most importantly he learned a lot. His video is below.
I was very fortunate to have my mom visit for a few weeks. While she was here, my mom devoted a whole day to helping and teaching Jake how to make and produce a video. It is not a small task, but it is doable even for an eight-year old.
In the Texas Homesteader Wheat-Free Cookbook, I have a wonderful gluten-free pie crust recipe. Working with gluten-free dough is much different than with a traditional wheat crust. Typically, the dough is more wet and harder to spread. Clayton has agreed to film me demonstrating how to roll out a gluten-free pie crust. He will then be responsible for editing the video, producing it, etc.
Video making can play a fun and exciting role in your schooling. Allow your child to choose what he/she wants to do. They can write a script, design and construct sets and/or costumes, and act. He/She can choose to do an informative video like Jake. It can be an activity for the whole family. One can direct while the others are filmed. The possibilities are really endless.
Don’t forget you can then upload to YouTube. This is not a requirement, of course. Some might have issues with YouTube, but Jake loves to see how many people have viewed his work. It is fun for him to see the number grow. Depending on the video you make, you can always produce a DVD and give them away as gifts. Check out My Creativity Blog for more creative ideas.
