Tackling the BIG project
If your child is overwhelmed by a major project assignment, help him understand that "big" can become "small" by following these steps:
1. Read the assignment together and discuss his ideas about the project. Make sure he has chosen a topic that's focused and manage-able. No youngster can do justice to "Ancient Greece." But a grade five student can do a good job on "Chariots of Ancient Greece."
2. Help him describe verbally first, then write down the steps neces-sary to complete the project gathering research materials, reading and taking notes, producing an outline, writing a rough copy; and doing a final draft.
3. Make a schedule. Estimate how long each step will take on a calendar. When each step is complete, your child can cross it off and see the end in slight!
4. Talk about the project as her work progresses to help her think it through and crystallize her-ideas.
5. Review the rough draft, but resist any temptation to red-pencil any mistakes. Find something good to say. Be gentle in your comments. If the project is a total disaster, the first thing you say should still be positive, even if it's only "Oh good, you underlined the title."
6. Resist the temptation to do the project yourself. Your job is to show an interest, to be there as a resource, and to cheer him on.
Excerpted and updated from Raising Great Kids, A Canadian Living Family Book (Ballantine, 1999), edited by Family editor Christine Langlois. Click here to buy the book online.
