GCSE Art Exam.

I will be SO glad when this week is over! Meg has her Art exam on Thursday and Friday of this week. I feel like I am nagging too much. She doesn't want to practice and she needs to. Drawing is not her best skill so we have chosen simple bottle/pot shapes to draw. The painting will be easier. Part of me says back off as she will not be using this at college ( she is going to be doing a life skills course) Meg had moderate learning difficulties and type 1 diabetes. Her weakest areas are numeracy and literacy. Her older brother and sister also have similar problems. Meg will be the first of our children to sit a GCSE. All I want is for her to pass. Her predicted grade is D/E which is fine. Am I asking too much ? Should I back off? I just think it would do her self esteem the power of good to get it.

Her friend is also sitting it so it would really hurt if she failed and her friend didn't.

Anyway, I have bought water colour pencils, paints, acrylic paint, oil paints canvases, water colour paper , sketch pads. She has access to all my craft supplies and tools ( not many people can say that! ) I bought everything so we can do a complete run though of the exam. I suppose its because I am her mum that she is resistant. All she wants to do is watch the blinklin Disney channel! Or chat on Facebook!

I managed to get her to paint the background yesterday ( based on Mark Rothko paintings )

We even mixed up a gold glitter paint for the first coat and painted a recipe in her sketch book.

Now I just need her to paint the image, we have photographed an arrangement and turned it into a poster art image with filters. This way she only needs to use four colours and they are in blocks of colour. Apart from do it for her, I can't think of how else to help her. I have to say that I am NOT impressed with the school - originally the exam was on the 20th May , so they have brought it forward two weeks. But, also, they have not supported her as much as I would have liked. There were extra classes at lunch time but I guess no TA would give up lunches to help her ( not that she has a TA in art - She SHOULD have 20 hrs a week) Working in a school myself and as a former TA , I understand that resources have to be stretched sometimes. I wasn't told about the extra classes though , I found out from another parent.

Like I said, I will be glad when this week is over. In the big scheme of things, it's not that important ...but ...just in case...cross your fingers for her please.

Love Soojay xxx