research projects and other school related projects---do you have your kids do them?

[kfeusse]

My kids are 8, 10 and 12....

 

Do you have them do extra projects that are outside of the curriculum you are using (espeically for Science and History)? If so, tell me what you do and at what age you had them do said project. thanks.

[2_girls_mommy]

Well, we have done a science fair for 2 years. But that is not outside our curriculum. We choose topics that are in the field that we are learning for the year and that month the work with the science fair is the curriculum. So far we have done this for 1st and 2nd grade w/one child and 3rd and 4th with the older.

 

For history, we did Story of the World for history for all of grammar stage, so it included lots of fun project ideas. We did some over the years. They were still required to do the regular work in a week, and some of these were into our weekend and evening times. We have made models of Roman roads, water battles out of playdough and cork boats, made a dessert w/an oasis in the first 2 or 3 volumes. As kids got older, the work was more make a poster of this or memorize this speech, or copy this style of poetry or story type and write your own. We did the writing ones whenever there was a suggested one.

 

Reports, well we do a classical education. So there is a lot writing required on a weekly basis: outlines in history, and summaries in science, history, and literature. Our english curric teaches and asks for book reports and different writing assignments at times, so they do those. I usually ask that they are on a topic we are learning about in history or science, but occasionally dd10 will pick something she really want to learn about that we haven't been studying.

[angela in ohio]

I encourage them to have at least one personal interest, so that would probably qualify.

 

As far as assigned research projects, we start working on those in about 8th grade.

[Ellie]

No. :)

[kfeusse]

I guess what I meant is, if you were studying the solar system, would you have your kids look up a particular plant in books and on the computer and tell you back some interesting facts about what they have learned either in the form of a short essay or something?? Up to this point, we have only done what has been given to us in our curriculums and I am wondering if it is time for my 5th and 6th grader to do more...above and beyond. Am I hurting them for later if we don't?? Do I need to be preparing them to do research type projects and reports?

[2_girls_mommy]

Its hard for me to say since we have never used a planned curriculum for science or history (beyond SOTW which is all real books and projects and such.) So I have never had to assign that kind of thing. That is what we do all of the time. We get lots of library books on whatever we are studying. We do projects and write about those things.

 

And for those of us doing logic stage WTM style history, picking a topic and researching further and writing about it is a weekly assignment. So it isn't extra curricular.

[Whereneverever]

I guess what I meant is, if you were studying the solar system, would you have your kids look up a particular plant in books and on the computer and tell you back some interesting facts about what they have learned either in the form of a short essay or something?? Up to this point, we have only done what has been given to us in our curriculums and I am wondering if it is time for my 5th and 6th grader to do more...above and beyond. Am I hurting them for later if we don't?? Do I need to be preparing them to do research type projects and reports?

 

Does your writing program include research reports? If they've never done one, then yes, I would do it.

[kfeusse]

Does your writing program include research reports? If they've never done one, then yes, I would do it.

 

no it doesn't....so how do I even begin...I mean, I don't know what to do. Is there a book out there someplace that would help me...or something?? I am lost and nervous.

[Jenny in Florida]

I guess what I meant is, if you were studying the solar system, would you have your kids look up a particular plant in books and on the computer and tell you back some interesting facts about what they have learned either in the form of a short essay or something?? Up to this point, we have only done what has been given to us in our curriculums and I am wondering if it is time for my 5th and 6th grader to do more...above and beyond. Am I hurting them for later if we don't?? Do I need to be preparing them to do research type projects and reports?

 

At those ages? Yes, I think they should probably being doing more than just verbally repeating some facts.

 

In the situation you describe, I'd probably have the kids write up a short report on the planet. For a younger student or one who needs more help, I might create a template with prompts and spaces to fill in assorted information (name of the planet, location in the solar system, type of planet, size, etc.).

 

I'd encourage them to draw a picture of the planet, maybe.

 

And after we'd studied all of the planets, I might have them do some kind of hands-on project. My son, for example, made a model of the solar system with planets made of salt dough. Before we baked them, we flattened the back a little. Once they were hardened and cooled, he painted each one, referrering to the illustrations in a book I had on hand. He painted a piece of cardboard black (or dark blue, maybe) and then glued each planet onto the backing in the right order. We printed little labels with the planets' names, and he glued those in place, too.

 

Requirements for "output" ramp up quite a bit as time passes, and I believe that making that a gradual process is probably better than dumping all of it on kids when they hit high school.