SKL Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 We're pretty busy, but it's mostly going from one thing to another, no real long-term goals from my kids' perspective. My eldest 6yo tends to have insecurities / low self-esteem. She struggles a lot with some aspects of school. Although she's very good at some things, she doesn't really get fulfillment out of anything IYKWIM. She seems to have an empty place and she fills it with bad choices, such as stealing. So. What can a 6yo do for a project, something worth working for over a stretch of time? Something that isn't too academic? Something she can plan and be in charge of? Gardening won't work because it's deep winter here. Pets are out - not enough space and I don't have time to pick up wherever my dd leaves off. I thought of maybe going for some sort of initial belt in a martial art, but I don't know if she's old enough for any of the "serious" offerings around here. Oh, btw, I have a second 6yo (both are girls). The youngest doesn't have the same issues, but might like to have a "project" too. Ideas? Quote
AK_Mom4 Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 Knitting a scarf? I've seen some pretty simple knitting kits for kids in Michaels. Or Latchhook a pillow cover. Actually,if you have a table near a window, this might be a good time for her to pick out some flowers or veggies and start them indoors. I know they were telling us to start potatos and peppers this week and our growing season is way late in the spring. Also, a little window-sill herb garden might be fun for her too. Quote
aggieamy Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 What about learning a craft and then working on it together? Crocheting is very easy to learn, inexpensive, and fun. A family blanket would be fun to make and it can be broken into lost of little parts with everyone making squares and then when you have enough you could sew them together. Quote
Julie Smith Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 As it turns out, it's not the project you have in mind. But here is what kind of projects my 7 year old does. (My 8 year old joins in sometimes.) I leave out on the school/kitchen table a "thing". This week I put out cornstarch, 8 full things of food dye, water, spoons, and various containers. My rule was Anything containing food dye must be dumped in the compost and not the sink. Don't taste to much of the stuff because you will likely find it unpleasant. He mixed up cornstarch water and food dye. (As it turns out it is neater then I expected). He then let the water evaporate and was left with colored powder. He made some mixtures and froze it. He made other mixtures and heated them. He made various colored water. He poured stuff from container to container and watched the colors mix. Last week it was candles, lots of candles and the only rule is stay at the table, and far away from your brother so you don't accidentally burn him. Both boys melted giant pools of wax. Poured hot wax on themselves. Put out candles in different ways. ... I can't even remember all the things they did. I think we will take a week off and leave the table clean(ish), but next week it's play dough I'll just put out the various ingredients. Tell them this is all they get, and let them see if they can make a play dough like substance. I do have a feeling that they will end up freezing it, microwaving it, and maybe heating some up over a candle. (It as in whatever they make be it play dough, or some other strange substance) Quote
deannajo Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 check out https://diy.org/ - she can earn vitual badges for doing different "maker" activities - this site led to my 11 year embarking on fort projects over several months, culminating in a huge cardboard gingerbread house, that was quite an engineering feet. Quote
itsheresomewhere Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 Letters/cards to soldiers are a good feel good project. Quote
magic Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 When our kids were younger we decided to do trash castles. We kept boxes, lids, scraps of paper, wood, etc. and had the kids slowly put them together to make a large castle. They used oatmeal canisters, jello boxes, cereal boxes, yogurt cups, etc to make draw bridges, ladders, moats, tunnels, towers, and more. It got to a point where they would ask for me to make something so they could have the container. They would glue, tape, or use toothpicks to stick pieces together and would use fabric and craft paint to decorate it. Eventually they made other buildings as well but the castle was the original and they played with it for a year before we had to toss it. We also got large pieces of canvas for them to make their own playmats out of using paint and colored pencils to create scenes. Quote
jenn- Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 check out https://diy.org/ - she can earn vitual badges for doing different "maker" activities - this site led to my 11 year embarking on fort projects over several months, culminating in a huge cardboard gingerbread house, that was quite an engineering feet. This page looks interesting. I wonder if it will motivate my oldest. Quote
Erica in OR Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 Someone on the forums wrote a post about "personal pursuits" that their kids choose and do during the year. We've adapted the idea to use for our kids this school year, and it could work for yours too. For each month, each child chooses their "personal pursuit", and they need to do something related to the pursuit at least twice a week for that month. The next month, they can choose something else, or continue the same pursuit. As some examples, my 8 year old did a month of learning how to play chess/doing matches online/playing against siblings, a month of working on a Titanic made out of graham crackers, icing, and candy (looking at pictures of the Titanic, reading about it, planning his ship), and now is on a month of model rockets. My older girls have done a month of baking, a couple months of homesteading (making cheese, rabbit care, homesteading fair), knitting. Erica in OR Quote
aggieamy Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 check out https://diy.org/ - she can earn vitual badges for doing different "maker" activities - this site led to my 11 year embarking on fort projects over several months, culminating in a huge cardboard gingerbread house, that was quite an engineering feet. DD and DH are out right now looking in the yard for animal tracks. :) Thanks for posting this! Quote
Snow Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 check out https://diy.org/ - she can earn vitual badges for doing different "maker" activities - this site led to my 11 year embarking on fort projects over several months, culminating in a huge cardboard gingerbread house, that was quite an engineering feet. That is the most amazing site ever! Thank you so much! Quote
plansrme Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 Bird watching? Making bird feeders, identifying birds, maybe? My 9 yo and I just mixed up hummingbird nectar and hung the feeder I found when I cleaned out the garage. We hung it where we can see it from the school room. Google says they are in our area year-around, and many areas by February, so I am hopeful that we'll have some visitors soon. The nectar has to be changed every 3 days, so it's a good continuing project. Or it will be if we get some hummingbirds. Same 9 yo also has an aquarium that he adores. He gets very attached to the little guys. Terri Quote
deannajo Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 I think I heard about that diy site on a Ted talk - or at least a Ted talk started me on a rabbit trail that led to it, I can't remember - we love it :-) I also found some summer camps and extracurricular programs based on the "maker" concept that look SO cool. Quote
Lucy the Valiant Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 Cooking? My girls have a photo album, and when they can make a recipe all by themselves, I take a photo of them for the left page and they copy out the recipe for the right page. There are 9 sets, and I told them that when they can make 9 recipes all by themselves, they have officially completed a cooking class. (Recipes for kids = lemonade out of lemon juice, eclair cake (no oven), etc.) :) They're 9 now, but started when they were 6 - I'd even count pb&j, as long as they do it, start to finish. It was (is) empowering for our girls, and the format works for me because I don't have something sitting out, but it's both an on-going as well as "just today" type project. Quote
lil' maids in a row Posted February 5, 2013 Posted February 5, 2013 My 6 year old enjoys helping me with my Meals on Wheels route (just takes 2 hours once a week). The clients make her feel so good, and she really makes their day. She is in charge of delivering the breakfasts, it makes her feel good because she KNOWS she is making a difference. Making cards and letters to deliver to the clients each week is a fun project. Quote
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