School projects costing a fortune

[3mickeymom]

I will definitely try painting cardboard. We already reuse what comes home but often projects don't make it home for whatever reason. I will look for items on sale and check out the dollar stores. I would like to mention that I PAID for my PowerPoint software. As I remember it was not inexpensive and it did not come on my computer when I bought it. My son has testing next week so hopefully he will have a break from all these projects. Thanks for the helpful ideas aqnd for letting me vent.

 

[GinnyEmma]

I will definitely try painting cardboard. We already reuse what comes home but often projects don't make it home for whatever reason. I will look for items on sale and check out the dollar stores. I would like to mention that I PAID for my PowerPoint software. As I remember it was not inexpensive and it did not come on my computer when I bought it. My son has testing next week so hopefully he will have a break from all these projects. Thanks for the helpful ideas aqnd for letting me vent.

OMGosh, testing is a break?

 

[mjkacmom]

OMGosh, testing is a break?

My 2nd graders have testing this week - LOVE it! No homework or tests!

 

[GinnyEmma]

Sorry, but testing may be peaches and cream for the parents but it is a bear for the kids. I can't in a million years picture testing as a break.

 

[Pigeon]

While I'm very glad our school hasn't gone to forcing the families to pay for all the printing, I can understand that if a district has made that decision, there's not much a teacher can do about it.

But the endless projects, good grief. Most of the ones my kids get stuck doing require all sorts of crafts crap that is not traditional "school supplies" and cannot be stockpiled cheaply at the beginning of the year.

And while the teachers might convince themselves that they reward kids for using cheap stuff creatively, I'm in the schools enough to know that is most certainly not the case. The teachers reward the kids for having jazzy looking projects. Yes, they need to incorporate the intellectual content appropriately no matter how they do the projects. But the nicer-looking projects, where it's clear the parents have dropped some $$$ at Michaels inevitably score better than the ones where they have not.

I also seriously question the educational aspect of 95% of these arts and crafts extravaganzas masquerading as "assessments." My kid didn't learn anything more by having to make her book report into an ersatz craft materials "sandwich," where the plot is glued to the bun and the setting is written on the lettuce than she would have done just writing the stupid book report in the first place.

 

[Pigeon]

Sorry, but testing may be peaches and cream for the parents but it is a bear for the kids. I can't in a million years picture testing as a break.

I've got one kid who routinely throws up the nights before these tests. Both of them come home looking like they've been hit by a truck. Break? You've got to be kidding.

 

[GinnyEmma]

I've got one kid who routinely throws up the nights before these tests. Both of them come home looking like they've been hit by a truck. Break? You've got to be kidding.

Between teacher's stress and student's it is the worst of the school year. I see many anxiety type attacks.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Sorry, but testing may be peaches and cream for the parents but it is a bear for the kids. I can't in a million years picture testing as a break.

Both my kids love the PSSA weeks. And usually the couple weeks leading up to it also because they are review weeks, because God forbid the kids don't do well on the tests.

Seriously does not stress them at all. I don't know why it should. It doesn't count toward their grade or anything . Its actually the school who tries to get them stressed by all the preparation, and speeches and letters sent home multiple times about eating breakfast , getting plenty of sleep, review your packets,,,give me a break. I talk to my own kids about it....relax and do your best.

 

[Pigeon]

We're touring colleges with our oldest right now, and every school we've visited has a printing services area. I've asked our tour guides whether students have personal printers, and I keep getting the same answer over and over: You want to have a printer for your dorm room so you can print out papers at your convenience, but when the professor wants you to print a 30-page article, it's cheaper to use the school's printer service at .03 per page.

At the university where I work, the vended printing is ten cents a page for black and white (twenty cents for duplex) or fifty cents a page for color. It gets very expensive for students very quickly.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

Both my kids love the PSSA weeks. And usually the couple weeks leading up to it also because they are review weeks, because God forbid the kids don't do well on the tests.

Seriously does not stress them at all. I don't know why it should. It doesn't count toward their grade or anything . Its actually the school who tries to get them stressed by all the preparation, and speeches and letters sent home multiple times about eating breakfast , getting plenty of sleep, review your packets,,,give me a break. I talk to my own kids about it....relax and do your best.

Same here, my boys LOVE testing week!!! No homework, no projects, easy week!!! I love it too as it gives this Mom a break from supervising homework!!!
I'm sad to hear that it stresses some kids out so much, that must be rough. In our state there is absolutely nothing to get stressed out about. The grades are not part of their GPA. I tell my kids that their score is a reflection on their school, to do their best, but certainly nothing to think twice about. Yes, we LOVE testing week!!!!!

 

[allison443]

Same here, my boys LOVE testing week!!! No homework, no projects, easy week!!! I love it too as it gives this Mom a break from supervising homework!!!
I'm sad to hear that it stresses some kids out so much, that must be rough. In our state there is absolutely nothing to get stressed out about. The grades are not part of their GPA. I tell my kids that their score is a reflection on their school, to do their best, but certainly nothing to think twice about. Yes, we LOVE testing week!!!!!

I agree!!

Now a kid that has testing anxiety I would totally understand that it is not a good week for them.

 

[kamik86]

Same here, my boys LOVE testing week!!! No homework, no projects, easy week!!! I love it too as it gives this Mom a break from supervising homework!!!
I'm sad to hear that it stresses some kids out so much, that must be rough. In our state there is absolutely nothing to get stressed out about. The grades are not part of their GPA. I tell my kids that their score is a reflection on their school, to do their best, but certainly nothing to think twice about. Yes, we LOVE testing week!!!!!

Oh yeah testing was awesome. We didn't do testing all day but in the morning and I once really didn't like the class that I would have to go to right after testing and I knew the test that day was supposed to be unlimited time so I stalled massively so I got to miss that class!!

I never liked projects in school. I could manage normal worksheets and generally even book reports (that didn't need to be typed in elementary school) without doing any significant amount of work after class. I read on the bus and during class breaks when I finished my other work then started the report in the same time.

In high school I had a PDA and did some reports then the same way. I could type in the PDA (had a fold up keyboard) when the teacher decided to stop teaching early and then when I got home would sink it to my computer and just have to copy it into word and format it!!

The craft projects were the only things I actually had to spend time on at home. Well unless they were group projects then I would do the writing and hard parts and work with someone that I knew didn't do as well and liked to slack off they would agree to do the crafty parts and get the good grade without having to think about anything... So I guess these ones did teach me something. This taught me how to put together a team and collaborate in that team with different skill sets so that everyone did what they were best at!

 

[StitchBuddy]

In our state depending on what grade you are in, it counts a lot, as in you don't go on to the next grade. So kids get very stressed out. Thankfully my DD doesn't get stressed about it. But, we do spend a small fortune on projects. Also, just because you are taking the state test doesn't mean no homework. She took a test today and has one tomorrow, had math homework last night and tonight. I'm a teacher and I have a problem with that!!!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I bought ONE tri-fold board. I used printer paper to cover the front. The project went on top of that.

After project was graded and brought home, we took a picture of it. Then the next time we needed a tri-fold board, we took off the white paper and started again.

That way, the same board could be re-used time after time after time.....

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Same here, my boys LOVE testing week!!! No homework, no projects, easy week!!! I love it too as it gives this Mom a break from supervising homework!!!

We still have homework and projects during testing week. A a mom, I think that is ridiculous! Really? Don't get me started!

 

[kkacar]

Ok just to chime in on the testing. Here, it counts the most. If you do not pass that test YOU do not go to the next grade. Now my daughter who has made straight A's since starting school, threw up every morning and cried as well on her way to school each day. Not to mention was seriously nervous each night before the test. So, yeah testing week is not a break at all for us.

kelli

 

[mjkacmom]

Same here, my boys LOVE testing week!!! No homework, no projects, easy week!!! I love it too as it gives this Mom a break from supervising homework!!!
I'm sad to hear that it stresses some kids out so much, that must be rough. In our state there is absolutely nothing to get stressed out about. The grades are not part of their GPA. I tell my kids that their score is a reflection on their school, to do their best, but certainly nothing to think twice about. Yes, we LOVE testing week!!!!!

My kids love it as well, although the older kids don't enjoy the week before, with the constant prep. But, they don't stress the testing at all. There are only a few years that matter to me - 3rd grade, when they have to test advanced proficient to be allowed to test into the GT program the following year, and 6th grade, when they have to test advanced proficient to get into vector classes in middle school (in order to get into honors classes in high school - really don't care about middle school grades except for this).

However, my kids are clueless about these issues.

 

[GinnyEmma]

It is great that some of you love test time and your kids don't stress or know about the issues such as tag placement. I wouldn't say that is the norm, though.

I can't believe some of you have to deal with homework and testing. That is a crime.

 

[taximomfor4]

Sorry, but testing may be peaches and cream for the parents but it is a bear for the kids. I can't in a million years picture testing as a break.

I don't know about that... my 3rd grader and 5th grader have come home from every testing day this week excited that they "just" had testing that day. And when I was a kid, I LOVED the Iowa and other standardized tests. I don't know why. I think because I could go as fast as I wanted to. I was not a supremely intelligent student, just barely above average I think, but was always a good test taker.

Yes, I know my kids are the exception (and only 2 of my 4 actually enjoyed testing days).

As for projects, my kids never have the project the teacher holds up as the Good Example. They are always made 100% by the child, of whatever materials we have around the house. Is call them "Abstract" because they don't look exactly like what they are supposed to be, lol. Their grades are always good, they just aren't the showpieces other kids' are.

ETA: my 7th grader is in an online public charter school. I have to drive her nearly an hour each way, to her testing site. She is one of mine that doesn't enjoy testing...mostly because she still has her normal daily course load on testing days. SO on testing days, she will do schoolwork till we leave at 11, test from 12:30 till about 3, get home at about 4, and finish her day's assignments. (I'd let her slide, except she just had surgery on her eyes and is quite behind on schoolwork with only 5 weeks left of classes.

 

[Sadie22]

I bought ONE tri-fold board. I used printer paper to cover the front. The project went on top of that.

After project was graded and brought home, we took a picture of it. Then the next time we needed a tri-fold board, we took off the white paper and started again.

That way, the same board could be re-used time after time after time.....

That's what we always did. And one bottle of contact cement would last a year for more than one child, so for the person using a bottle a week, maybe too much is being used at a time.??