I'd spend hours in the library reading much more than I probably needed to in order to complete my assignments, writing essays on constructivism and creating lesson plans exploring the human experience. To me, understanding the capacity for education though arts and creativity was a fundamental part of how I saw myself both as a student, and later as a high school teacher.
Fast forward almost a decade and I still hold these values close to my heart, but for very different reasons. I didn't teach for all that long (oh dear, examining the exhaustion of beginning teaching is not quite right for this blog!), and have since spent a few years travelling, then in retail and some time studying design - all in their own right creative endeavours. Now, while I'm at home raising my beautiful baby boy, I'm thinking about the world and creativity in a very different way.
As unexpected as the invitation to join the OOTB bloggers project was, an invitation to join a panel at the Connecting the Dots Industry Forum at this year's Out of the Box Symposium was even more of a surprise. The two day event, over Thursday and Friday of next week, explores how we adults acknowledge and nurture creative literacies in the lives and experiences of our children. I've attended days like these before, but never as a parent. My world is so different now the the one I was in when I last engaged in this kind of thinking and I can't wait to be challenged and inspired by the speakers, performances and workshops at the Symposium.
When I arrived home after our bloggers induction I was on such a high. To have sat in a room of adults and listened to members of the OOTB team talk about the importance creativity in the lives of children was inspiring. I was excited to realise that my brain was still capable of thinking, processing and understanding ideas more complex than how many blankets I should put on my sleeping baby in a room that's 21°C was so reinvigorating.
Now our Out of the Box experience is going to provide my family with so much more than an opportunity to take our son to his first live performances. Becoming a mum is so all consuming that it is easy to lose track of yourself a little bit. Already I'm starting to find 'me' once more, in these moments that remind me that my own ideas, opinions and experiences are of value - that they haven't been completely lost underneath all the nappies, wondersuits and breastmilk.
This bloggers project, and the Symposium are making me feel like I'm finding my way back home. To a place where my thoughts as an adult are in the creative realm, and where my activities as a mother help my child to connect, explore and learn through play.
I am a little nervous about being on the panel at the Symposium and although everyone I know tells me not to worry, I kinda wish that public speaking had a backspace key!
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