How to Help a Child With Social Studies Projects
When your child looks at you with those big, pleading eyes, and begs you to help him make a bas relief map for geography, or build a model of a Civil War house for history, or fashion a string of South Sea Island beads for an anthropology assignment, of course you want to help, but you should be able to find ways to offer guidance and encouragement while refraining from taking over the project, so the finished creation is truly your child's creation.
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Instructions
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Read through the instruction sheet and discuss the social studies project with your child. Ask how he would like to start, rather than diving in and firing off suggestions. If he is unwilling or unable to determine how to start, ask how he would go about making the project if you weren't there. Praise his creative thinking and offer additional ideas for his consideration.
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Visit the children's section of the library. Check out books on the project topic, or rent a video to help your child's imagination get wrapped around the culture or environment she is to explore. Visit a social studies website, such as www.SocialStudiesforKids.com, with your child to search for similar project ideas conceived by social studies educators.
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Encourage your child to take the helm of the social studies project by drawing up his own supply and material list if one wasn't provided. Ask your child to accompany you to the store to help choose materials needed to complete the project.
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Start the social studies project early. Set aside a reasonable amount of time to work on it so the Brazilian rain forest model doesn't become an excuse to ignore responsibilities around the home, or skip science and math class assignments. Suggest marking the family calendar with the project's due date. Explain the importance of taking responsibility for managing one's work flow so nothing falls through the cracks.
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Stay positive and find ways to suggest fixes that won't bruise your child's ego as the social studies project progresses. Praise the detail of the clay model of a family your child is creating for a sociology class. Ask, for example, why she didn't consider using pink clay for a more realistic look, rather than saying, "What's with the green people, Tiffany? Did your teacher ask you to craft a family from Mars?"
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Make a big deal out of the finished project. Take a photo of the child holding that Native American canoe. Hang it on the fridge. Send the jpeg to family members to show your pride. Place the finished project in a safe place once it's returned, and even if your child's best efforts earned a "B," treat that grade as though it were a shining accomplishment rather than dashing spirits because you believe that, given your assistance, it should have earned an "A."
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