We Celebrate: Hard Work

The school year is coming to an end (at least on our side of the world) and I can’t believe we have done a total of 16 projects for first grade!

Sixteen! That’s about 4 projects for every quarter!

I’m not sure we want to move up to 2nd grade anymore. Haha.

Our 6-year-old worked so hard finishing these project assignments during weekends so I thought we’d celebrate how diligent she had been.

I told her we celebrate big and small and her efforts on all this made it to our big list.

So this post is dedicated to her.

For all the cutting, pasting, coloring, and long writings she patiently did.

We are proud of how hard you worked, Miatots! 

I really hope we managed to make it fun. ?

Here are some of your snapshots from first to fourth quarter. ? Continue reading

What I Wish I Could Tell Schools About The Projects They Give

I have mixed opinions about school projects. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don’t.

LIKE because it helps our kids absorb the lesson more and it does encourage (or should I say force ?) us, parents, to spend time with them. You know, work together as parent and child to reach a goal. That’s the whole idea, right? And then children feel a sense of accomplishment afterwards. A sense of pride that they’ve created something they haven’t done before.

That is, if we really let them do the job.

Because the crazy truth is –

Most parents do the projects of their kids. ?

Gulp!

I’m not here to judge though. I totally understand! It’s much much faster that way!

If you also tried to make it look like ‘child’s work’?, kudos to your efforts. Don’t feel guilty. Who hasn’t?

The only thing I’m trying to point out here is, this is extra work for us. And we are very busy parents who actually have no time for it.

So what I don’t like about projects is when they are not age appropriate.

I remember when I was in elementary, we were asked to make a parol (Christmas lantern). Continue reading

How Much Should Parents Be Involved in School Projects?

Project assignments.

It would be easier (and faster!) if I do it myself but something tells me not to.

My daughter is in 1st grade and since there are MORE grade levels to come, I thought I’d set the expectations early as to how much (or how little) help she’d get from me.

Well, how much help should we really give?

I’m on the camp who thinks as little as possible. ?

Project making can teach kids so many things – hard work, responsibility, self-reliance, creativity, resourcefulness etc. and we don’t want to rob those learning opportunities from them.

So even if it takes a loooonger time for Mia to finish, I let her be.

I just GUIDE.

“Mommy! Why did you cut those? I wanted to be the one. I wanted to be the one.”

Ooops.

Ok, so I wasn’t a very good guide in the beginning.?  Continue reading