School Project FAIL BOAT OR should I say FAIL FLOAT
My SD6 had to do a project for her class. They had to take a shoe box or something like it and make a float for her class. Today they are having a “float parade” during school. Which I’m attending, yea me! She made her float this past weekend. Both I and her father tried to encourage her to take her time, and really get creative. We bought some fun fuzzy balls, glitter, and brought out some wrapping paper for her creative disposal. She didn’t use it. She wanted it her way. She cut a hole in the top of the box, and stuck a stuffed animal in it, and tied a string on it. That’s it. No other decoration was used. I reminded her that everyone in the school was going to the “parade” and all the mom’s and dad’s would be there and was she sure that’s all she wanted to do with her float? It was. So this morning at the bus stop several other kids in her class had their floats (today was the last day they could turn them in), and they were all decked out, colorful, and obviously had some parent help if not parent made. She was so pissed!!! She became grumpy and downright mean. I know she was acting out because she was obviously disappointed in her own creation. So I started to wonder should I have been more productive in “making her”, make a better float? With SD she really has no ambition to sit still and has no pride in her projects. I remember being in school and I loved doing that sort of thing. My mom didn’t have to make me take pride in my work, my mom didn’t do my work for me. But SD is different. She just doesn’t seem to care. So I let her do it her way. Maybe after today she’ll be embarrassed and try harder on her next project?! I feel bad for her, but she needs to learn I’m not here to do her work for her, and that’s what would have happened if I would have started helping her.
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It isn't your job to "make"
It isn't your job to "make" her do better. YOu did everything you could to help her do a great job. She refused. Let her own the embarassment. I would have told her to lose the grumpy attitude and that if she wanted hers to be great, she had every opportunity. I think kids need learn naturally that their lack of ambition may cause embarassment. I say "may" because my skid doesn't seem to care. She thinks everything she does is perfect regardless of VISION.
No, you did the right thing.
No, you did the right thing. You gave her some ideas, tools to do it, and really that's all you can do. You can't do the project for her. I think this was probably a learning experience for her -- I'm guessing she was OK with mediocre, doing a quick job of it, until she saw everyone else's floats and how snazzy they looked.
What I would do is point out to her, if she continues to be grumpy and mean, that you will not tolerate that behavior. SHE made the decision to do the very least she needed in order to get the project done. You encouraged her to do more and gave her ideas and supplies, but she ultimately decided against it. Now, she has no right to be grumpy or mean to anyone else because of HER CHOICES.
You 100% did the right thing.
You 100% did the right thing. Next time her motivation will be how she felt last time. That may have truly been what she wanted and simply wasn't born with the creative gene, and just upset that she couldn't be more creative. She'll learn from this though.
I know I feel kids that young
I know I feel kids that young shouldn't be responsible for "projects" but I guess they gotta learn at some time or other. At least if she's still upset later today I can point out that she did her float all by herself and from the looks of what I saw this morning the others did not! So that's def something to take pride in!!
Good I can stop feeling
Good I can stop feeling guilty then!
Why can't parents just give
Why can't parents just give the kids the materials needed and set them loose?
Teachers aren't crazy. They can tell which projects were done by
the kids.
Kids tell everything. They have no problem letting the teacher know that mom and dad did most of the work.
When my son was in 2nd grade his teacher caused a huge uproar because she refused to grade some of projects that were turned in. The kids told her that their parents had done the bulk of the work.