It is something that both the parent and child equally dread and fear each year, the science fair. There is a lot of pressure on you as a parent. You do not want to seem like a bad parent because your kid does not have an amazing science fair project. Your kid has a lot of pressure on them because they will be judged against their peers and can end up feeling embarrassed when they forgot about the science fair and had to find something the night before.
But, the science fair project can be something good when the right amount of time is given to it. Your kid may not have the coolest project but if they have come out after the science project having learned something new about a subject, you can give yourself a pat on the back. Your child may not win first prize but they will have the joy from learning something new.
You may not be able to prevent tears from being shed but you can stop the late nights and stress from happening with these five tips:
Preparation
It is the classic science fair story, the child did not tell the parent about the science fair project until the night before and the scramble of staying up all night begins. This usually ends up with a sub par project and a lot of frustrations on both sides.
The solution sounds simple but is harder when put into practice: be prepared. You as a parent can find out what month the science fair will be and start getting your child to study different science fair topics. You do not have to commit a big amount of time each day to the science fair but you can slowly start spending half an hour or even 5 minutes to start brainstorming. The closer the science fair approaches the more supplies can be brought and organized. If you do find yourself in a crunch you can check out a free poster maker so you can keep your budget on track. The more prepared you are the less you will have to worry when the science fair day happens.
Brainstorm
This was touched on earlier but let us take a closer look into how you and your child can start brainstorming. If you want to be an overachiever you can find a local dentist or doctor that will work with your child to do a project. This might be easier if you have a close family friend that is in the profession your child wants to study.
Get Informed
If this is your first science fair project as a parent you may not know where to start. You probably have not done a science fair project since your own in elementary or middle school. Talk with the teacher to see what they expect from their student and then see what you need to do as a parent without stepping on your child’s toes and independence. You can do some online research about different science projects that have done well in the past so your child does not do the cliche volcano project that gets everywhere.
Time
Do not wait until the night before. You may have to be a little intrusive or proactive and find out when the science fair is a nice amount of time before the actual science fair day. You can spend as much or not that much time on the project. This can be several months or may a week before the due date. Whatever you decide make sure that you have talked with your child about it. If they are super excited about it they may want to spend more time on it. If science isn’t really their thing they may not want to spend three months in advance learning about a science topic.
Relax
That’s right, science fair projects do not have to be all stressful and full of anxiety. There is nothing better than feeling proud that your child put in effort and work and it finally all paid off. There is nothing better than knowing that your child learned something and is proud of the final project that they made.
