Many times we asked ourselves:
"How much work is this kid doing, anyway?"
"If he doesn't care about his grades, should we?"
"Is there such a thing as a good work ethic in a nine-year-old?"
"Do we let him quit and/or fail?"
"How important is the 'best effort'?"
But today, on the Saturday before the project is due, we are finished. It was a group effort. Zachary collected all the data and did the write-up. Garry showed Zach how to make charts and graphs. I helped Zach with the display.
We are all exhausted.
Zach's project is called "Electricity in My Home." Every day for a month, Zach checked our electricity meter and wrote down the daily reading.
Garry helped him convert these raw numbers into a daily electricity cost. Zach hypothesized that the daily cost would be $93.00. The actual cost varied between $2.60 and $5.11, with an average cost of $3.47 per day.
I tried to help Zach prepare for his oral presentation in class on Monday. He was less than thrilled with the process, but I think he knows the right information. Because we also spent this week preparing for the Pinewood Derby, we had too many late nights to still be lucid and happy on Saturday. Zach will need a big pep talk on Monday morning before school.
And I might need some Valium.
9 comments:
Oh no! Poor Zach. And you. But it's done and that is wonderful! It sounds like an interesting project. I think Zach isn't the first to regret signing up for the science fair. Last year my Zac's partner for the fair dropped out two weeks before hand...and the project was her idea! Fun times.
Oh, boy....welcome to my world for the past, hmmmmmmm...15 years? Did this bring back some memories! I'd like to say it gets easier! I'll let you know when it does! Hang in there!
Actually, there are a lot of payoffs along the way too, but these are definitely the difficult times of parenting. Trying to figure out where your boundaries are as parents. How much help is too much? At what point do you let them fail? Will they learn more from the success that results from Mom and Dad killing themselves over getting things done right, or from the feeling of regret when they are not saved from themselves. I still don't have an answer to that one.
I will say that now that 4 out of 5 Hopper children are adults, most of them are living lives of independence and showing that they learned a few things along the way. They definitely are learning from thier mistakes and have found out that life doesn't get handed to them. This mom has also learned that they develop character even when they fail.
I think that the biggest lesson I learned is that they will be better for their mistakes as well as thier successes and Mom doesn't need to worry.
I think it is important for them to finish what they started. Bravo!
That picture of Zach is priceless! He's got some cool shoes too!
Oooof. It's so hard to say. If I had to throw my hat in, I think I would say that, at this age, they learn more from being required to finish something than by being allowed to fail. I don't really think they can grasp the consequences of failing to do or finish something, or do it well, until later. If they don't see an immediate negative result (one that actually bothers them), then there's no sting.
This way, at least he learned something about his project and about work, even if he hasn't yet learned self-motivation. You did good!
I agree that they learn better by doing it. I have taught many children and they have been on both sides. From what I see, even though many of them don't care that much about their grades yet, they will later on and they learn that the feeling of accomplishment feels good, even if mom and dad helped a lot. Failing isn't a good thing in my opinion.
this hit a little too close to home. in fact, if i had a valium i would take it right now. but i don't so i will go eat some cadbury mini eggs.
I need Zach's help for my upcoming science project...
Probably my favorite post in some time. I love it! Shades of Dan. Bob and I laughed out loud!
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