Hiya all!So, I'm at what seems to be a natural pause in a British teachers' year; just before May half term with the majority of my exam classes out on study leave. At this point having so much less to do whilst everyone else revises for their end of year tests is really, really strange. I mean... what do I do?
Well naturally for me, thoughts turn back to bear making.
I would never have revealed my 'weird' hobby to the students at my training schools as I think there'd have been enough kids in each class to turn everyones opinion against it. In a way that's the beauty of my school: most of the students are very open minded about skills and hobbies because they all have A LOT of them. We've got champion golfers, riders and actors as well as talented musicians and singers. I'm sure there's some fabulous artists in there because there's plenty of art hanging around the place too!
I first told the current year 7's about my hobby early on when warming them up to the idea of a cross-curricular, science and art project, in an attempt to show them that they're not always seperate things. This week in a fit of madness I have proposed to a wider audience that I will run a bear making club next year and have asked for interested parties to let me know they'd like to join me... and I'm pleased to say I have about 12 interested people so far!
Now don't get me wrong, there's been the odd 'put down' (or attempt) from some students: the old 'sign up older male student for the lolz' has been applied, but really the response has been good, especially after taking a few creatures in. Mentioning money seemed to have the biggest impact on the boys: once they learn that something's sold for $17,000 in the past, ears perk up! Trouble is, most want to go straight in at the sloth stage, and I am sticking firmly to my 'bear first' guns as I think that's the best way to learn the skills before turning to your own patterns.
Anyhoo, thought I'd update you all on how my life is going. The squirrel is a new design for me: might offer her for sale in a few weeks if you're interested, but I'm still enjoying playing with her locline neck and tail right now...
Hope you're all well,
Chloe and the Lugly's xxx
