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Anyone for a second-hand school project? 

In excellent condition.  A bargain at half the price.

Recently my sis and I were discussing the amount of work involved in kid’s school projects. Then by chance, fellow blogger Circles in the Sand wrote a post mentioning the same topic.

At this time of year, with one week left of school, my kids are bringing home some of the work they did during the year.  Our Polar Bear project arrived home recently. I say “our” because this bear is as much mine as DD2’s.  She wrote the facts that I researched and selected, I made the bear and ice, and DD2 added the finishing touch with the glitter.  The project is ours.

Important decisions have to be made when your small child comes home with a project for homework.  Like do you go for a 3D model or just make a poster with information and pictures?

Your child will have big ambitious plans.  To her a project on the Antarctic means that we need a swimming Polar bear – an underwater model of course, complete with water and live fish.   I had to use my best negotiating skills to scale back those ambitious plans to a small cardboard model with some cotton wool and glitter.  This negotiation is all the tougher because teacher has already suggested that a “something different” 3D model is the preferred option.

Then parental help is required with research on the internet, selecting information, writing information, correcting mistakes, cutting, moulding, using glue and decorating. God forbid that you should have time commitments elsewhere, like other children to consider or even maybe a job outside the home.  And let me tell you no employer can match the orders or timekeeping demanded by a 7 year-old working on a school project.

And finally, there’s the presentation in school.  You hope beyond hope that no other mother little darling has gone the whole 5-star route and created an all singing and dancing project that will leave yours in the shade.  Because that would mean an evening of drying your child’s tears and explaining why you chose the approach you did when your child knew that the “swimming in real water” Polar Bear would have been judged the best if you had only let her make it.

My sis recently jumped for joy when her Son4 came home saying he had to do a project on Dinosaurs.  You see, she had kept Son3’s Dinosaur Project from a couple of years ago when he was in the same class.  So she presents it to Son4, ready-made with facts about five different types of dinosaurs and a model, saying “Here you go, a Dinosaur Project!”.

With six kids, my sis barely has the time for homework, never mind extra projects.  And what does Son4 say to this fait accompli?

“That’s no good, I want to do it just on the T-Rex!!”.

So she was back to square one, and had to make a project with a boy who doesn’t like writing, listing facts or making models out of paper and cardboard.

Now with two Dinosaur projects in storage, my sis reckons she might yet get use out of them, because she still has two more sons to go through that class!  And if they don’t use them then she will sell them to another stressed mother.

So what do you think?

Is there a market for ready-made school projects? 

Are you a parent with little time and a few spare euros?!! 

If so, I’ve got 1 Polar Bear and 2 Dinosaur projects ready to go.