School Projects.. how much help?

Honestly.. how much help do you give your kids on school projects?

Noah had a diorama and book talk due. We talked out what scene he wanted to depict, we batted around ideas on how to accomplish it, we went to the craft store and bought items. His dad cut the foam board for him and I helped with the hot glue gun and drew faces on his cut outs. It was a nice effort and it looked just fine.. until you see other dioramas. Some have lights and some have mechanical elements,, they look like they were professionally done! I felt bad because Noah's clearly looks like it was done by a 9 year old.

So am I just a sh*tty, lazy mom? I feel like maybe we should have done more? He's not MAD but he's clearly kind of disappointed that his is so amateur. He's got another project due next month and I really want him to do it on his own again.. but Rob thinks we need to put in more work to help him 'keep up'.

So I come to the experts of LIF. How much work do you put into your kids projects? Should we be doing more than supervising and helping flesh out ideas?

Re: School Projects.. how much help?

My oldest son has terrible fine motor skills and doesn't give a rats behind about coloring or crafts of any sort. Any portion of a project that has no educational value I do for him, or help him a tremendous amount. I figure why torture the kid?


My younger son lovesvcrafty things so he does his projects mostly on his own.

So my short answer is: the amount of help varies child by child.

Re: School Projects.. how much help?

We make suggestions if he asks (and sometime if he's veering off in what we think is the wrong direction). He pretty much does his own stuff. I'll buy what he needs but encourage him to use what we have.

The teachers have told us that they can tell the level of help & that's why they do an oral presentation on how it was done. A kid needs to be able to explain the process, etc.

The one time I had Grandma help him with a project, I was mortified. It was clearly done at her direction. He typed the words, put it together but it was all her. It was a tissue box with accordion fold pullouts like little mini books on each side. I wrote a note apologizing to the teacher & outlining what he had done.

Re: School Projects.. how much help?

Re: School Projects.. how much help?

As it turns out.. I think I should have helped more. In reviewing the rubric, it appears that the teacher is focusing on neatness, cleanly cut lines, seamless integration of pieces, etc.. I know he put forth a LOT of effort into making it as neat and nice as possible.. but it genuinely looks like a 9 year old did it (uneven, wavy cut marks on the papers, visible glue or tape in spots. It's nice.. but I think she may have expected and wanted more. I guess we'll see what the grade winds up being and adjust for the next project according to the teacher's expectations.

Re: School Projects.. how much help?

See & as a teacher, I agree w/ Barb. I would assign a project in 2nd or 4th grade (various years) & it was VERY evident if the child did the work, or the parents. I'm not there to grade the parents on how well THEY can do the project, but the child.

It is all about how they can visualize what they are going to do; plan it out in their head, talk about it; set forth an action plan & then put it together. Of course I would expect parents to assist when needed, but I would always want the child's words/ideas; his handwriting and his artwork.

Unfortunately it does get to who can outdo each other & HOPEFULLy the teacher sees through it & grades the CHILD for how they understood the project & carried through with it.

I would often write notes like, YOU did a wonderful project, however, the project was to see how well your child has mastered what we have learned and to see him problem solve and complete the project to the best of his ability.

Re: School Projects.. how much help?

I love our teacher this year. She told us on the first day of school that ALL big projects for the year, including book reports would be done in class to avoid just the problem. She wanted everyone on equal playing field and didn't want parents "helping" out. I love that she gets to see what the kids are really capable of and not what the parents can do.

Re: School Projects.. how much help?

I don't help at all. I have a friend whois a teacher and she can tell immediately who had helpfrom a parent. I might help them brainstorm a bit, but they do the real work. I want them to be capable of deciding to do the work, getting up and doing it, rather than me holding their hand throughout the process.