Science Fair - Torrance,CA

Science fair projects = parent homework which I really don't need! I hate science fair projects and all the other parent homework I am required to do!

Yes, talk with the principal. I suspect the project/fair is a state wide requirement and cannot be changed but find out for sure. If the science fair continues to be required then don't prevent your children from having a project. How much money, time, and effort you spend is up to you. Letting them work on it by themselves may not get them a prize but their projects will still count as more than a 0 which is what they'll get if they don't do anything.

I suggest that the most difficult and also most important part of the project is choosing an interesting subject that doesn't require so much money and time. My daughter and my granddaughter have done projects for the Science Fair that took less than 5 hours and cost less than $10. The most time that their fathers spent on it was in doing the choosing and making an outline/plan for it.

You can get ideas for science projects in books at the library. I've seen one book that had suggestions for Science Fair projects int he title. The books will help you help you child devise a plan. We never did buy the project board but used cardboard from a large box instead.

Once the project is started don't spend time reminding/pushing your child. It's their project. A gentle reminder, just as you do for homework, should be all that you do. You can use a calendar to set goals for each day/week.
Talk about the project and ask ;your child questions as a way of keeping them involved. Show interest but don't be in charge.

Why is the grade your child receives or not received for their science project more important to you than the grade they receive for any other school project? My granddaughter is in the 5th grade and for at least three years now she's had other projects that were more time consuming and counted for a larger percentage of her grade than her Science Fair projects have. The idea behind these projects is to teach them how to choose, plan, and execute to completion an assignment.

By not letting your children do this project you're telling them that when it's too difficult they don't have to do it and they don't have to do assignments. You're showing lack of respect for the teacher and the school system.

I do agree with your talking with the principal. By doing so you're teaching them to speak up when they don't agree. This is showing respect as long as you have them do the assignment if the requirement is not changed. Look at the whole picture and how what happens now influences your children's view of school and learning. Not doing an assignment is a form of rebellion. Is rebellion the way you want them to handle disagreements? Do you want them to face a lower or failing grade rather than do something with which they don't agree?

My view is that we have to learn how to get along in a flawed system as we make an effort towards improvement in the system.

I have a Ph.D. in science (oceanography) and I think that it is ridiculous to have this kind of project assigned to a first grader. When we were in first grade we were learning to read, take care of the hatching eggs, and do some math. First graders are not developmentally ready to plan, research, and present a science project of their own choosing. They are developmentally ready to watch a teacher model all of those processes. They are developmentally ready to wonder, explore, get messy, but not turn that wonderment into a chore. This kind of pressure too young leads to burnout, as someone below said, "can't wait to finish this in 8th grade." 8th grade is an appropriate time to plan, research, and present a science project.
I have never heard of letter grades for such young children - but maybe I am sheltered there. First graders caring about an "A" makes me shudder.
If you have concerns about this continual intensifying of school over the years, so that 1st graders are now doing what 5-6th graders used to do, I highly recommend checking out the movie Race To Nowhere - it is about the intensifying pressures and expectations for high school kids to get into college. Now you have to have a resume, multiple AP classes, community service, a sports , etc. Here is the link (got About the Movie, then to Trailes):
http://www.racetonowhere.com/

This is a great conversation topics, especially after all the news about Tiger Mother last week!

This is a great question. I had the same thing happen with my first grader. One kid built a solar panel! At age six? I also get asked to judge the county level fair because I teach at the local college and I never do it for this exact reason. How could I possibly judge a child fairly when it can be very difficult to know which projects have been done independently? I also agree that some projects can be very expensive, which makes it difficult for some children.
I have a friend who taught fifth grade science and she was so frustrated so many kids just down loaded science experiments from the internet or sat back while their parents did the work.

I do think you should talk with the principal.

My sixth grader is working on a project right now and he is working with a friend. All four of us parents are simply driving them to each others houses and taking pictures with our camera. I am working really hard at letting him enjoy his independence and the pleasure of discovering things for himself...including how to solve problems or deal with difficulties when things get complicated. I could care less about the results of the fair itself.

Good for you for letting your kids be themselves.

That is sad that the judges did not give out the ribbons to the kids that actually worked on it. I used to volunteer to be a science fair judge all through college and even after and I always made sure to not if a parent helped the child or not. Believe me you can tell when a parent does the work. I think maybe you should talk to the principal and make sure the judges are doing their job.

Science fair is just like any other report of project that your child will be assigned. Students need the experience of learning how to decide on a project, getting organized and working out the details. As a parent you are a partner in your childs education so yes, there will be times in their school careers where the will need your assistance.

If you do not feel like it was fair last year then ask the teacher to be honest about how much of the work is judged based on the childs work and what percentage of work should the parents be doing.

Then ask to see how the projects are judged. I was a judge for different events at different schools and the criteria was specific in some areas and vague in others.. For instance originality was given a huge percentage. While neatness was not as high of a percentage. Also at some schools a project that was obviously done by the child was given extra points and at another school "neatness" was given higher percentage.. .

Give exact examples of what won last year and seemed obvious to you as parent "assisted".. Ask what amount they are expecting..

Also, as a parent YOU decide how much you are going to help your child remember, how much you are going to push them along and how much brain storming you are willing to do.

We taught our daughter very early on, that we are not responsible for homework or any projects. If she wants assistance she needs to ask. We will not remind her so if she does not remember or follow through, she will get the true grade she earned. Once she started 5th grade, I never asked her about homework or projects. She knew I was willing to help, but I was not responsible for her school work. Figure out a way for your child to remember, how to make a schedule.

I would definitely bring it up to the principal. Many years ago someone did this at our school and it ended up with the entire science project being researched and completed IN school instead of at home with parents. Parents were able to help with the actual experiment, but everything else was done under the eyes of the teachers.

Same thing with our young authors project -- book writing. You could tell which ones were done by the parents. Now they're all done in school too. That's the way it should be.

I am a teacher and we had the same difficulty... parents doing the work for the kids and it WAS obvious that a kid who couldn't string two sentences together came up with a 3 page written explanation... lol... so we just stopped having the fairs and went back to having the kids research and do the projects at school...I prefer to see the whole process from start to finish from my students... perhaps if the teacher is open minded you could ask her to let your kids do an independent project that would make up the 10% ... just sayin' ..

Hey E.,
I was a teacher and although our district doesn't participate in science fairs we have other projects that require a lot of work and parent involvement. It is true that many parents help too much and that those kids seem to be the ones rewarded. However, despite this fact, your kids are learning valuable information (research skills, etc) that will last them the rest of their lifetime. Perhaps if you focus on this positive aspect maybe it won't be such a drudgery for you.

Schedule a meeting with the teacher and the principal and express your concerns. Be prepared for absolutely nothing to change, but you will get answers to your questions and you will feel better because you didn't just "stay quiet" .

In our school system, beginning in 3rd grade you are required to participate either in the history fair or science fair. Your choice.

Part of the process of the projects are learning time management as well. Most of the teachers I know and have worked with give a schedule to the children with specific dates for portions of the project due to prevent procrastinators and parental work. It is simple, a specific date for .... idea, plan, research details, etc all the way to the date the project is brought into the school. A rubric is also given with the schedule so the parent knows the basis for the grades and how the project is graded it portions.

Yes, you can tell many parents do the projects, especially if somone has a last minute, procrastinator project. It DOES require SOME parental involvement... supplies, etc. The project chosen needs to be something the child is interested in, something reasonable for the child to be able to do.

I've seen numerous projects at our school where it was obvious that the idea itself was an adult idea vs a child idea. You can go online to get ideas for grade appropriate projects.

My daughter FINALLY got to stop science projects after the 8th grade. She has been in honors/AP Sciences and it was a requirement to do a project but you did not have to enter the competition. Now in 10th grade Honors Chemistry, it is not required, thank goodness.

Good luck to you. I wouldn't make a big deal about it because the judges, teachers, principal and any educated person can tell if a parent has done a project. What goes around comes around.

I'm with you on this one. Having my kids in school is like a part time job for me!

This happens to us all the time. My girls are required to do several projects throughout the school year and I always insist that they do it themselves, (like the instructions say!!) with guidance from me if needed. Inevitably, theirs are the among the "worst" projects because all the other kids have their parents doing the work for them. It's a tough spot.

In my case, it's not that the projects are too difficult, it's just that the other parents feel the need to "show up" everyone else and take it as a personal competition for themselves. Very frustrating, as I cannot lecture the other parents on the value of teaching self-reliance to their kids. :-(

I agree that if a project counts for that much of a child's grade, it should be done in school so that the teacher knows the child did the work themselves. Talk to some other parents first and then go see the principal together. Strength in numbers, right?

Best of luck to you. Let us know how it turns out.

You just have to make a better project than the other parents :)

Science Fair projects make me want to puke... I hate them.
My children both did them... They are expensive. They are time consuming.
Both of my kids have terrible handwriting, so they type everything into the computer and print the information in bite sized chunks. They cut the paper and back it with a color... it's really what they do for every project... It's easy and it works.
They use my Cricut machine to cut letters and my sticker machine to make the letters sticky so they stick on the display board.
The finished product is very professional looking, but they've done it themselves... Often they've been told that I did the project - this is not the case.
I provide them with the tools. They have the ideas. They do the research and create the experiments. (I have to say the disintegrating toilet paper experiments were the absolute worst!) They create the displays...
Who wins? Usually not my two, but they get an A. And when it comes right down to it, they just want the A.
YMMV
LBC

My son a "project" last yr.

Most of it was done in class-the diorama was done at home. turns out the teacher asked each kid what they did. It was obvious the parent involvement. the kids that had parent help got F's. i helped, but he did it. and you could tell.