Too Many Craft Projects?

[vhoffman]

My dd is in fourth grade. So far this year she has had 6 crafts-type projects to be done at home. Come on! Everyone knows the kids can't do it, at least on their own. So it becomes work for the parent. Ok, so we just plug along and do 90% of the project for her.

However, its really getting out-of-hand. Just before Thanksgiving we (she) was assigned to build a model of a Spanish mission for social studies. Yes, I know, kids learn by doing, the teacher can stand there and talk, etc., but the kids really learn when they have a more active role, blah, blah, ...........just how does a 9 year old kid make a model of a Spanish mission? It was suggested we (she) could build it of Play Doh, wood, clay, be creative! Oh, btw, did I mention we were given exactly one week to complete this marvel? And it was assigned over the weekend before Thanksgiving! As though we didn't have other things on our agenda! The instructions said that parents could assist, but the child should do most of the work. Then it said "it would provide an opportunity for family interaction and bonding". Like, duh, we never "bonded" before this project? We just about stood on our heads trying to get that blasted thing done. Then, get this--the teacher takes off 5 points for "lacking in originality". Come on--if 22 kids are assigned the same project, do expect to get 22 similar results. This teacher is the queen of nit-pickers, anyways. She took points off a project because there was too much white space on some pictures dd cut out from downloads. I helped her--there was barely a 32/inch of white space. If I cut any more it would have interferred with the integrity of the picture. How picky can you get. If dd's project was "original" she'd take off points for not following directions! It seems this teacher is looking for opportunities to take points off, not to use the projects as a learning experience.

Now, at the pinacle of the holiday season, we have another opportunity to "bond" as a family (but do remember, dd is supposed to do most of the work!). We are now expected to build a Gingerbread village .Include various geometric shapes, such as cones--Christmas tree, Rectangles, squares, triangles--gingerbread houses, be creative and original, but points will be taken off for not following directions! Oh, yes, its due in one week--seven marvelous, fun-filled days of bonding with our child while creating a village of various shapes. Just think of the things we will learn! The directions called this a "fun" project. Nothing that is graded is fun! Its work! If the children were allowed to create something for the joy of doing it, it would be fun. But when its graded and nit-picked to death its hardly "fun".

Just what is the point of all this crap, anyways? Surely a child can learn geometry without creating a gingerbread village out of paper. Just a vent. I wonder at what grade the school supply list doesn't include crayons, markers, glue sticks, etc. Seems they spend much of the day coloring and cutting paper. That's in addition to what they send home for the parents to do! No wonder we're a nation of functional illiterates--all we teach our kids is how to cut up paper! Hey, isn't that what they do for "therapy" in the nut house? What a head start on life!

 

[disneyjunkie]

Those sound like fun projects to me. The grading your daughter teachers uses would bother me much more than the actual projects.


I have not and will not do projects for my son.(He's in 10th grade) I make sure he has all the needed supplies, then I sit back and over see his progress. His projects were never as great as the ones his classmate's parents did but they were his work.

 

[vhoffman]

Yes, its against our principles to do our child's projects for her. However, the projects assigned are simply impossible for her to do on her own. The requirements are ridiculous, and the time frame is way too short. We did let her try to do the Spanish mission project on her own but all she could come up with was some simple drawings. This project required a 3-D village, with 25 specific things! In my opinion, the project should have been done in class as a group project instead of putting it off on the parents. DD had absolutely now idea how to proceed. We had to help her or she'd fall flat on her face.

Why assign such projects, knowing that its beyond the child's level? My aunt and cousin are both teachers and both said the project seemed more on a high-school level. Such projects simply serve to frustrate and discourage children! Also, if the project is to be done at home then the parents are supervising it. At least give clear directions as to how its to be graded. We can't be expected to read the teacher's mind. And the timing really stunk--to assign such a project right before Thanksgiving, and now another, similar one right in the middle of the Christmas season. Like we don't have anything else to do--oh, btw, she still has her usual homework and assignments to keep up with!

 

[debster812]

DS is also in 4th grade, and has had 3 similar projects. The first one was to build a monument to something that changed the world, and occurred in the 20th century, and write 3 paragraphs. He built an AMAZING replica of the Wright Brothers first plane and wrote about their 1st flight. DH cut the cardboard he used for the wings, but otherwise, my 9YO DS did the entire thing himself. From printing the picture off the internet, to deciding what he wanted to use for materials, to building it.

My personal opinion is, at this age, it's just as important for the kids to learn how to do a project, as it is for them to complete the actual project. Not a bad life skill to start learning. I know I'm not as organized as I'd like to be, and if projects, and timelines will help DS in the long run with those skills, I'm all for it.

Sorry you seem so unhappy with your DD's teacher, school, and projects.

 

[mjantz]

I agree that there seems to be a push for forced family togetherness from schools lately. My kids new school expects that parents will do stuff as a family so they don't force the togetherness. However, their old school was horrible about this kind of stuff. 'Take home this Turkey, decorate it with your family & return it so we can put it up in the hall!' And this was for a grade. I always found it annoying because we didn't need a silly art project to have a reason to spend time with our kids. We're always doing stuff together even if its just spending one-on-one time watching a movie or going to the grocery store. We take a nice vacation every year which is even more together time & we're always going to a museum, movie or some family activity. A few weeks ago we went to a planetarium & next week we're going to the Nutcracker.

I'd say if the project is meant to be done as a family, then do it as a family. You know you don't need to recreate a Mission to spend time together but it has to be done so do it & then celebrate with a meal out or something.

 

[vhoffman]

yes, I agree, its important for kids to learn how to do a project, from creating a timeline, to organizing materials, doing research, etc. That's what I told my dd. I even told her she will get through life just fine without knowing how a Spanish mission was laid out. That's not the point. Its learning how to put a research project together. I guess my problem is not the project itself, but how it was just thrown at us. This is the first time dd has done such a project. In my opinion, it should have been a classs/group project, just to get the hang of how such things are done. The teacher should have walked the kids through some of the steps, like researching it, how to use Google, how to design a plan, etc. Instead, they just sent it home and said "do it". Well, she's in fourth grade, not high school! I feel I'm the teacher! Also, give adequate time for such projects. We were given one week with a weekend before a major holiday in between. Believe me, we sweated over it. It was really beyond a fourth grader's level.

Be realistic with the assignment and give adequate time. Also, why so much emphasis on cutting, coloring, etc?

 

[disneyjunkie]

There's no way a teacher can please every family. I for one would complain if these types of projects were done in school.


I hate group projects. My son always ends up with at least 2 slackers in his group. It's really annoying to have the other members of a group receive a lower grade because others wouldn't pull their weight.

 

[momto2girls]

I agree with you OP! That sounds completely out of hand!

 

[fakereadhed]

Just what is the point of all this crap, anyways? Surely a child can learn geometry without creating a gingerbread village out of paper. Just a vent. I wonder at what grade the school supply list doesn't include crayons, markers, glue sticks, etc. Seems they spend much of the day coloring and cutting paper. That's in addition to what they send home for the parents to do! No wonder we're a nation of functional illiterates--all we teach our kids is how to cut up paper! Hey, isn't that what they do for "therapy" in the nut house? What a head start on life!

DH got an A on a mousetrap he built for my seventh grader.

It had so many specific requirements, that when she asked me to help I couldn't figure it out. I couldn't have done the project myself if I wanted to. How's a seventh grader supposed to figure it out? I told DH you're the engineer- you do this one. When she has to make the human vascular system out of spaghetti, I'll take that one.(I'm a nurse ) It took him over a week in the workshop with lots of cussing, and he finally did it. We had DD label all of the parts because that was the point of the assignment...types of simple machines all used in one project. Sometimes I think these projects become bigger than the actual lesson taking place.

 

[kg66]

Forgot to check where you're from, at our DD's school, she too is in 4th gr. and they do the majority of the bigger projects at school. We have to compile the list of materials required, but then they do it at school with a buddy(assigned, not by choice). The teachers reasoning is so they can see what ideas the kids have, how creative they can be, and how they bring it from paper to completion. They know that when they send the projects home to be done, majority is done by the parents. Works for me, there's plenty of other homework we "bond" with every night.

 

[aubriee]

Excuse me, I usually try to avoid controversial threads, but this really irritated me. I am a RN employed in a mental hospital. We do not consider our hospital a 'nut house'. It has always received one of the highest ratings in Texas by JACHO. Our clients attend classes on anger management, money management, relaxation therapy, co-dependency, drug rehab, animal therapy, computer training, social skills, and have counseling with their families about their family issues, etc. Basically, we treat their mental and physical problems, but also try to help them get ready to not just survive, but do well, in the outside world. The clients in our 'hospital' do not cut up paper as therapy and neither we, nor our clients, nor their families consider our facility a 'nut house'. Sorry, off soap box now.

As far as the main point of the OP post I agree that teachers seem to be assigning more and more assignments that kids must have their parent's help on. Not too long ago my son called me one night asking me to run to Wal Mart to pick up some supplies that my GD needed for a school project that the teacher had only given them only one night to finish. There's no way most households would have had the supplies she needed (foam balls, batting, pipe cleaners, moveable eyes, etc).

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I have to chime in here as this has become a hot topic in my house lately.

I have a DS in the first grade, he has about ten mins of homework each evening. Not all of his homework assignments need to be turned in but we complete them all with minimal strife.

I also have B/G twins that are 4. They are in PRE-KINDERGARTEN. They attend school for a half day, M-F. We are spending about 20 mins per evening on homework assignments for each of them! Every night! And, the teacher assigns homework over the weekend and gave them additional assignments for the long Thanksgiving Holiday. Now, if these assignments were something along the line of "color the Pilgrim in fall colors" I could deal. But none of there assignments can be completed without one on one assistance. I asked the teacher at our last conference if I should be concerned that my children required that level of attention and assistance with their homework. Nope, she says, she would expect that they would not be able to complete it on their own.

Am I missing something? I know she is a teaching pre-k for the first time but still. Am I completely out in left field thinking this is a bit too much for a pre-schooler?

 

[vhoffman]

Another gripe is when they're told "now don't go out and buy anything. Just use items you have around the house". Well, not everyone is a crafter, scrapbooker, seamstress, woodworker, potter, etc., and just happens to have crafts type stuff around the house.

Those who have the advantage in these projects are those with multilpe children who have been in that grade. The parent has a heads-up as to what type of projects will be assigned (they usually stay the same year after year). They know what types of materials to keep on hand, and usually each child's project is a variation of an older sibiling's last year's project. People like us with one kid are at a real disadvantage. We have one week to figure the whole thing out, rather than just dust off last year's project and tweek on it a little and we're done.

 

[vhoffman]

Excuse me, I usually try to avoid controversial threads, but this really irritated me. I am a RN employed in a mental hospital. We do not consider our hospital a 'nut house'. It has always received one of the highest ratings in Texas by JACHO. Our clients attend classes on anger management, money management, relaxation therapy, co-dependency, drug rehab, animal therapy, computer training, social skills, and have counseling with their families about their family issues, etc. Basically, we treat their mental and physical problems, but also try to help them get ready to not just survive, but do well, in the outside world. The clients in our 'hospital' do not cut up paper as therapy and neither we, nor our clients, nor their families consider our facility a 'nut house'. Sorry, off soap box now.

.

Sorry, no ofense directed at the mental health system in our country. Just a figure of speech. Hey, may that will be DD's next project--construct a 3-D model of a mental institution, as seen from the inside. She could probably get some great input from her mother if these darned projects continue to be thrown at us, especially right before major holidays. Wonder what's in sotre for Easter? Build the Easter Bunny out of marshmallows?

Reminds me of a neighbor's child who's project was to build a pyramid out of sugar cubes. He took it to school swhere it was stored along with about 20 others. Next day they came back to find the sugar pyramids covered with ants! So, for any project that involves edibles, may I suggest sending a can of Raid?

 

[MSSANDRA]

I understand a lot of the problems with projects. Even with a middle school age child there are times when I really do need to help him with projects. Though I so not mind and it can be a great way to spend time with your child, sometimes the time of the project can be very difficult to work in with other homework and family commitments. DS has two big project and a reseach paper due before Christmas.

My biggest problem with many projects is the supplies to complete them. We are blessed that we can afford to buy what it takes to meet the requiments but there are a lot of parent that can not. It is so unfair that one child does not have the same advantage as another child. DS had a DNA project last year that had specific requiments that almost demanded a lot of bought supplies to complete it according to directions. Four differnt colored beads, pipe cleaners and a free standing base to name a few. I spent almost 25.00 on these things. I did have a lot left over that we might or might not use again. MANY parents can not or will not go out buy these things.

I am in a preschool setting and we do send home one or two family projects a year but ALL supplies go home and it is always totaly for fun!!!!!!!

MsSandra

 

[vhoffman]

The cost is another point that bugs me. They just assume we have unlimited funds to buy all that stuff. Of course, they say "just use what you have around the house", but, sorrry, last I looked there weren't any Spanish missiions laying around. We spent almost $50 on materials for that project, and it looks like we will spend at least $30-$50 for this gingerbread village. It doesn't help matters that dh is laid off and we're trying to get by on unemployment and savings. I managed to keep our grocery bill down to $60 last week, then I'm expected to spend more than that for what amounts to "eye candy" for the school (its all displayed in the hall, on bulletin boards, display cases, etc).

Please, any teachers out there, don't just assume your students live in a perfect world. Those darned projects are eating a serious hole in our limited budget. But, then again, we did "have fun and bonded" putting it together!I guess I'm going to hace to take back the teacher's Christmas gift (about $30) to pay for the materials for projects. This year teacher will get a handmade card along with perhaps a candy cane or single flower. It won't compare to the other gifts, but, hey, we're talking cutting our grocery budget. It has to come from somewhere! Besides, the gift for the teacher is just a token thing anyways. Its just having something to give at the party. I understand from what I've read on other threads that teachers recycle those gifts, sell them at garage sales, throw away anything homemade such as cookies, etc., so why bother with something expensive? Oh, I would like to give my kids something for Christmas, instead of all the gifts I've been expected to give others, along with the expensive projects.

 

[Hannathy]

I have read this thread and wasn't going to respond but now I have to. First I think YOU are doing way too much of your daughters work, believe me the teachers know who does the project. and second how is a gingerbread village out of shapes going to cost you 50 dollars. I do crafts for an entire Sunday School program for 110 kids and don't spend 50 dollars.

A gingerbread village out of shapes means cardboard boxes from jello and cereal covered with brown paper from bags maybe some glitter or M&M's but really 50 dollars. I think this sounds fun. There is always clay made from flour,salt and cornstarch if you want that kind of medium. Quit trying for perfection and professional results let your DD do it with only a little help.

 

[vhoffman]

How does it cost $30? Easy!

$5 for a base board to display the thing on

$10 for heavy stock paper in various colors

$10 for markers, glue sticks,

$5 for "decorations" for the village--candy, stickers, other trims

That's for the gingerbread village


We spent more like $50 for the Spanish mission, including a model kit we ordered online, additional supplies such as exacto knifes, base board, etc.

Please, remember, it might seem all so very simple and inexpensive to teachers who do this on a daily basis. However, not all mothers out there spend their days doing crafts. Some of us don't have a clue as to how to proceed, then we're supposed to supervise the child's project. (well, if they send it home to do, and nothing done in class, then who's supervising it if not me?). If some of the porject was at least started in class so the kid had some idea as to how to proceed--remember she's 9 years old! We're just expected to come up with all this without a clue as to what type of materials, how to put it all together, even what the teacher expected as a finished product. Guess I'm just deficient as a mother because I'm not an expert on these things! I kinda thought school was to learn, not to just produce. They just hand the kid a project, say "do it", then expect them to figure it out all on their own without any direction wahtsoever. Also, this teacher takes waaaaay too much time off. The day it was assigned, there was a substitute. she just handed out the directions, couldn't provide any explanations, of course. That was on a Friday. After we agonized over it all weekend (dd tried to come up with something, but could only draw a few stick figures), we thought we'd get some clarification from the teacher. Well, she took that Monday off, too! Then she expected the whole thing due that Friday. Well, there wasn't even any trunaround time! Oh, well, like I told dd, sometimes you just do whatever it takes to get through things. BTW, she got a 99%!

 

[vhoffman]

Quit trying for perfection and professional results let your DD do it with only a little help.

Ah, but that's what this teacher expects--professional results! She takes off points for the most insignificant things. On another project she took off points for having too much white space on pictures she cut out. I helped cut those pictures, there was barely a 32/inch of white space, to cut more would have cut into the picture. She also took off points on another project because a little glued figure came partially off. It was glued down when it was turned in, the teacher took about a week to grade it, maybe the glue loosened somehow while it was in her posession. It seems this teacher isn't looking at these projects as a learning experience, but rather as a way to take off points and nit pick.

 

[lalijack]

Can I venture a guess that teacher has no children of her own???

Either that, or she's a delusional wing-nut!!!