An Exerpt from the Documentary on Service Learning , 2008

Last year Wes was immersed in a project with Time For Belfast and The Toddy Pond School(a very small, but wonderful independent thinking/learning school in Swanville, ME)

I've posted photographs and written a bit about how wonderful the experience was for Wes and hopefully I included how wonderful it was for me as well.

The movie was filmed in HD and premiered at our local theater, The Colonial.
It is really a "gem" and I wish I could play it here...sigh.

After the movie was completed the producers, Caleb Crosby and Ruth McVane, filmed the follow-up documentary which is incredibly wonderful as well. It gives voice to all the children/teens involved in the movie's process and as well we get to hear from their parents about this open, creative, and much needed model in the sphere of institutionalized learning.

Although Wes is not a traditional student in a traditional learning environment, he grew a great deal from the experience of working with professional filmmakers as well as with all the students (homeschoolers as well.)

This is just a clip from the documentary which is fun as it plays back and forth between Wes and me answering questions related to our experience during the making of the film.

I can't believe how much he's grown in under a year...yes, physically, at nearly 6'3", but even more evident is his depth of character and ever enriched life learning!