The Dreaded Science Fair Project!

As a teacher and wife of a science teacher, it's not surprising to hear each year around this time, the many complaints that revolve around science fair projects. In all honesty, I find them to not only be a great learning opportunity for students, but also, a great opportunity for parents to bond and work side by side with their child.

I came across this article today that lists some great tips for parents as they journey through the science fair project with their child. Enjoy!

Tips for Parents
Source: Interior Alaska Science Fair

Set your child up for Success
Your child will be more likely to have a positive Science Fair experience if you follow these tips:

*Be positive about your child's work.

*Be aware of the boy-girl syndrome; girls CAN do science projects also.

*Be aware of the "perfect project" syndrome; allow yourself and your child to make mistakes. Edison made many before he came up with the right answer!

*Be honest with your children: If you don't know the answer, tell your child.

*Look around for ideas: take youngsters to your garden, library, etc.

*Seek out people to help you, friends who could "assist" your child.

*Get books for your children, join and use the public library.

*Collect and save materials; free and inexpensive materials found around the home often work best.

*Work with materials; allow your child to "mess about" with materials without your direction.

*Allow your child time for thinking, exploring, and doing the project.

*Save time especially for repeating the experiment many times.

*Stress "how to" skills, e.g., observing rather than memorizing facts.

*Examine issues with moral consequences, e.g., animals being harmed for experimental purposes.

*Help children to keep a daily log of their research activities.

*Help children write a report of their science fair research.

*Go over the results of your child's research with your child in order to help him/her practice explaining their research.

*Go to the science fair with your child and take pictures of projects that you are all interested in. These will serve as a resource for future research ideas.

*Talk to your child about future science fair projects that they would like to do.

*Keep a log of ideas as they come up throughout the year.

*If the experiment "didn't work," discuss with your child why this is so. Encourage your child to explain the results and ENTER the project anyway!

*REMEMBER, this is a learning experience for you CHILD. Projects should be done and understood by your child. You are welcome to guide.

There are many websites that have science fair ideas in many topics. Go to Google.com and type in "science fair projects" and several sites will appear