<p>atomom, I’m quite an ethics snob.
Usually, I’d rant about forgery.</p>
<p>7 children?
Not a problem.
:)</p>
<p>“My house had the basics like construction paper and crayons, other houses had basements that looked like an aisle at Michaels. It was a huge revelation to me that some people actually had animal print fabric on hand in their home. Who knew?”</p>
<p>FallGirl, those are called Dance Moms lol. My house is full of remnants of fabrics, trims, and ribbons of all kids. Need a rhinestone or a sequin? I have your back. However, my DS8 does not prefer that all of his projects be adorned in hot pink 3 inch fringe and pink leopard spandex. What to do with all of this now lol?</p>
<p>Minnymom, I am moving to your school district.</p>
<p>This has to be my all time favorite CC thread. I actually am starting to feel less than below average as a parent lol,</p>
<p>Momof3stars - Ironically I was a dance mom! Thankfully never had to sew all the many,many costumes D had for recitals/competitions. </p>
<p>atomom - Your post made my day!</p>
<p>This thread us funnier than the original article</p>
<p>This reminds me to ask my son to pick up the dna model he made earlier in the year. I was having a mini fit in the craft store about the cost of this project, and when he got knocked off a few points for not having the minimum number of bonds (or whatever) he asked the teacher is she knew how much a package of styrofoam balls cost, lol. I guess I should keep my grumbling to myself.</p>
<p>minnymom - I wish all teachers would follow your lead.</p>
<p>My kids had to build “the french house” in 3rd grade. They took french since 2nd grade and were expected to build a house and label everything in it. My kids used shoeboxes, popsicle sticks and construction paper - some of these houses could have been sold in stores. </p>
<p>But really - you think that was a fun project for a boy? I said all the time, elementary school was so strongly favored for compliant girls.</p>
<p>Bless you, Minnymom! I wish more teachers would follow your philosophy!</p>
<p>atomom, I would have gone completely insane in your situation! Re the Bearded Dragon T-shirt: I can’t imagine that I would have had both a T-shirt without other pictures or writing <em>and</em> working magic markers at the same time.</p>
<p>My family still disagrees whether the Egyptian reed boat (about 3 feet long–the kitchen was full of “reeds” from a local basket-making shop, soaking in wall-paper troughs) or the Rube Goldberg project was worse. The Rube Goldberg project became optional at just about the time that the teachers’ kids were reaching the grade where it was traditionally assigned. I am sure that the timing of that change was purely coincidental.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I have seen some museum-quality Moles for Mole Day on Facebook. Maybe I will suggest to a friend that she should establish a side-line selling these on Ebay.</p>
<p>My first D and I learned an important lesson in first grade - the “under the sea” shoebox diorama. I gave her a box, some markers and construction paper and let her go. She had a great time, although she had to explain what some of the “blobs” were. And…of course they displayed all of the dioramas at open house and almost every other diorama was “helped” by parents. They were gorgeous! Even, my six year old realized how bad hers looked. But, I used it as a “teachable moment” and explained that I would never, ever, do her work for her. And both of my kids made it through 12 years of public school with the worst projects in class. (although they did learn which “artistic” kids to pair up with)</p>
<p>The “mission project” was the topic of a really funny “New Adventures of Old Christine” show. The “in the know” parents hired a designer who made a living off making the models and Christine’s kid told her about the project two days before it was due. </p>
<p>My D’s “twin day” was part of a spirit week in middle school so wasn’t assigned. She made a life size doll of herself (no help from me for sure!) and went with that. She won.</p>
<p>I have always hated projects but my D liked them (course she ended up in art school) and my son never had any that he couldn’t accomplish easily on his own or that he didn’t voluntarily sign up for.
Thank goodness we didn’t have to do “salt” maps like I did in school–my mom remembers those–she did a great job. She’d always ask “what grade did we get?”
Now they don’t have home economics–especially sewing class–make a dress and then WEAR IT TO SCHOOL for three days. I wore mine 3 days in a row to get it over with. Now it would be considered child abuse…</p>
<p>And paper mache (which I personally thought was sort of fun because we had lots of tile space and newspaper anyway–first kid only) was so easy compared to the “joys” of plaster of paris which my parents trudged through (actually my friend’s parents–my mom didn’t want the mess). And I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a group art project that had anything to do with a group. My one group project was my mom dropping me off at friends house with a bunch of kids and the parents discussing how best to apply the plaster and what color paints they had available…it was fun (thanks to friends parents) but no redeeming educational value (I don’t even remember why we did it–just the turmoil of getting it done.)</p>
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</p>
<p>I don’t know how you kept track of all of your kids, much less all of their stuff.</p>
<p>Kudos.</p>
<p>You guys are making homeschooling sound easy! </p>
<p>I homeschooled my 4 and whenever there was a project in the curriculum (like make a salt make of Egypt), I simply skipped on to the next lesson. I love arts and crafts but NOT when I have to do it with a child - even my own child. I personally thing crafts with children is a form of torture for everyone. </p>
<p>And I have to ask: what is a 'Mission project." A few of you mentioned this. Is this a west coast thing? I’ve never heard of it.</p>
<p>Well, the “Old Christine” TV show has it as the “annual project” to make a diarama/model of a mission (like the Alamo). Along the lines of any creation of some sort of iconic architecture.</p>
<p>The mission project is a California thing, I think it’s required study statewide in fourth grade. </p>
<p>I remember my older daughter’s fourth grade teacher actually went to her elementary school in fourth grade, and built a mission herself. So here she was, 15 years later, and one of her students turns in a mission that looks eerily familiar. She flips it over, and there is her name. Family and neighbors had been remodelling that mission and turning it in every year for 15 years. </p>
<p>The year after that they started building the missions in class. It was a godsend.</p>
<p>(And yes, when I was in 4th grade, 40something years ago, I too had to make a mission.)</p>
<p>I am not from California, but assumed that the mission project was something along the lines explained by UCDAlum82. With Tiger-Mom variations: Make your own adobe bricks! (or maybe that’s part of the real thing) Grow your own grass! Cast your own brass bell for the bell-tower! Make small goat outfits for houseflies out of real goat hair, and populate the grounds with “goats”!</p>
<p>On CC, you will not have seen me arguing for a strict wall of separation between church and state, but it seems to me that this project might be shut down with such an argument. Not that I am encouraging anyone to make it. La la la.</p>
<p>I hope my grandchildren don’t have to deal with elaborate school projects!</p>
<p>Thanks for explaining what a mission project is all about. I suspected as much but wanted to make sure I was correct. </p>
<p>Here in NJ, when it’s time for state studies, we have a huge emphasis on Thomas Edison. Huge.</p>
<p>Oh, the mission project.</p>
<p><em>shudder</em> I had conveniently blocked it out of my mind until I read this thread. My mom is very artistic but definitely had 3rd child slump with me and refused to do mommy homework. I loved doing homework but all my artistic abilities went in to my singing voice, so I always REALLY struggled with the art project type stuff. Teachers always thought it was lack of effort–nope. I just can’t do it. My brain doesn’t work that way.</p>
<p>I remember getting big blocks of styrofoam and my dad helping me cut them with an X-acto knife. Showing up to school with marker scribbles on it. (It was supposed to be San Luis Rey, I think? I don’t remember.)</p>
<p>In college, I worked at Michael’s Arts & Crafts for a few months. Was wandering the Kids’ Craft aisle around the time this project is due and saw mission building kits. Posted that on Facebook and got DOZENS of livid responses; we were all traumatized by the project.</p>
<p>My poor parents had kids in elementary school from about 1984 until about 2000 (large age gap between my brother and me, he’s about 12 years older than me). I can’t imagine how we all survived. I’m sure my parents breathed a huge sigh of relief the day I finally got “promoted” to middle school.</p>
<p>I was always the one with the kid-made project; I didn’t really care if mine was the worst in the class, so long as I got a decent grade. Thankfully as I got older my teachers all knew I was a smart kid and just not good with the artsy stuff.</p>
<p>I remember my junior year of high school having to DRAW a model of the Kelvin Cycle. Did it the night before on posterboard and showed up to hand it in. The teacher looked straight at me and said, “Not an artist, huh?” I just smiled a teeny bit sheepishly and shook my head. I had learned a long time before that it didn’t matter if I started it three weeks beforehand or the night before…it would turn out the same. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>Graduated 17th in my class out of 741 and with a 3.77 cumulative GPA. I managed just fine and my parents survived. But oh, that mission project. Mention it in a room full of CA kids/parents and watch the horrified reactions.</p>
<p>4th grade we also had “Gold Rush Day,” Where we got to pan for gold in the sandbox and a kiddie pool and buy “prizes” with the gold we found. That was a good day.</p>
<p>I’ve blocked most of the big projects from my memory, but oh how I hate(d) group projects. Hate them to this day.</p>
<p>The coup de grace was in 9th grade. We had to make a generator. Yup. A generator. With magnets and you make them spin and blahblahblah little tiny Christmas light lights up.</p>
<p>This is a school-district-wide project and you can only use a certain kind of magnets bought at RadioShack. There are 7 high schools in our district with about 4,000 students at each.</p>
<p>The district does NOT let RadioShack know ahead of time or ask them to order extra of these magnets. </p>
<p>I was always the kid that everyone wanted to be partners with because A. I was “the smart kid” and B. I would do all the work just to make sure it got done right and I’d get a good grade. Guess whose dad (good old dad) drove her all over Southern California looking for the $#%##@ magnets the week before the project was due? And guess whose generator still didn’t light the %@%^(#&* lightbulb?</p>
<p>The teacher loved me, and had me come in at lunch to try lighting it again. When it still didn’t work she looked at me for a few minutes (me with my eyes full of tears because the thought of getting a bad grade when I had tried so hard so upset me), and said, “You did everything right and I don’t know why it’s not working. I’m giving you the A anyway.” This is also the teacher who refused to let me speak during our “group” presentation and asked the two moochers I had paired up with all the questions (they couldn’t answer any of them) while I bounced up and down with the answers (like the Hermione Granger I am.)</p>
<p>God Bless that teacher.</p>
<p>Ask any kid/parent from LB Unified School District about the powerplant project and see looks better than that of the mission project. Yeesh.</p>
<p>HisGrace–It hurts if I laugh any more…</p>
<p>Earlier on this thread I wrote that I didn’t mind the early projects. Reading about the magnitude of what so many people went thru, I realize we had it easy, at a religious day school.</p>
<p>Back when I went to HS, we had to turn in an insect project, posting MANY insects on a board. My mom had been through this before, so just took me to a specialty hobby shop. I still got in trouble for that.</p>