By day I work in IT for non-profit government organisations like Universities and Emergency Services, but in every other waking hour I do what I love! I try to make learning fun.
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| Me at a market stall for my book launch |
Living in a regional centre is an amazing experience, everyone knows everyone. But it really hits home when you read the obituaries of the little kids you went to school with and find out through gossip that something could've been done to prevent their death. If someone in those early days had just taken the time to give them some one on one attention maybe they would have finally got the concept in class that day. If they had a role model they could look up to and admire, maybe they would have behaved differently as they grew up. If their learning disability had been diagnosed, maybe they wouldn't have been labelled a no-hoper and they might have been able to pay attention to the teacher, rather than distracting the other kids and disguising their difficulty with wit or clownish acts.
And most importantly for me. If someone had taken the time to make it fun for them, relevant to their needs, interesting to them, maybe they would've been more engaged and wanted to try a bit harder, rather than being bored and disinterested. Get a sporty kid to write their language assignments on sports? Pretty simple right?
Not so, that's where I found I was wrong. In my tutoring I made it my mission to only do things that are FUN. So we sing songs, write plays, act out stories, paint and draw, do craft and get really hands on and have a great time learning so there's no time to get bored. But there's only so many hours I have in a day, I can try to change the life of one student at a time, but I can't change the world. So I wrote a book called Learning that's Fun and started a website, this blog. I wanted the book to be easy to read so anyone could pick it up and understand it. I'm not a trained teacher, and I don't have any qualifications in childhood development, I just know what I've learnt from my own experiences as a kid, a student, a tutor and an aunty. My little army of nieces and nephews has grown to 22 this year, and they give me plenty of inspiration and ideas.
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| What can you make with plastic plates, a split pin, sticky numbers, a pen & paper? A Learning Clock. Time on the inside, minutes on the outside. |
I'll never be a millionaire from my book, because the people I wrote it for probably aren't the type to go out and buy a book that could help them. But through Facebook and this blog I can continue to share my message and little games and activities that make learning fun and help kids with areas they might be struggling with. And by partnering with welfare organisations and charities I can share the book with the people who need it most, so they can help their kids break the cycle and have the opportunity to a great education and a chance at success in life. Even still, there's a little something for everyone in there. Maybe a little reminder, or an activity or idea they hadn't thought of before?
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| A little book with a huge message |
If you'd like to contact me all my details are below, I'd love to hear from you.
- I often run market stalls for my book along with a fun learning activity for the kids who pass by.
- I'd love to come and meet your group in person and do a little talk about some of the concepts in the book and share my experiences. I usually bring a little giveaway or mini showbag.
- I'm also heavily involved in my community and fundraising that's relevant to education & learning so get in contact if you'd like to talk about something you are running.
- Also check out the Media/PR page to grab a copy of my media kit for advertising and sponsored content.
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| Raffle for the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation |
Louise Jones
Learning Funologist
Learning Funologist
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
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