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Transcript

March 2006

Doing Projects with Children at Home

Judy Harris Helm, Ed.D.

How would you define a project?

A project is an in-depth investigation of a topic that is interesting to children. In families, projects are what children are "into"—what gets them excited and what they like to talk about. Projects involve hands-on investigation, finding the answers to questions, reading about the topic (or being read to), visiting sites or places, and talking to other people (adults and children) who know something about the topic. Projects also involve documentation—collecting information and preserving the experience by writing about it, taking photographs, or videotaping.

How is a project different from the kinds of things I worked on at home as a child—cooking, sewing, or craft projects that I did with my mother and siblings?

A major characteristic of project work is that it is based on the child’s interest and involvement in the process. Projects often begin with what the child finds most interesting. Project learning is also "engaging" and "meaningful." You can tell that learning is “engaging” when your child is intensely interested and shows enthusiasm. He may ask questions and talk about what he is learning, revealing a high level of knowledge for his age. Children come to project work eagerly and work long and hard. They talk often about the topic when they are not working on the project. You can see that learning is “meaningful” when children connect what they are learning to other facts they already know; incorporate new skills such as reading, writing, or using numbers in the study; or indicate through questions and comments that they are doing significant thinking about the topic. Many of the “projects” you refer to in your question are teaching events—such as learning to cook or a craft project—to fill time. In project work, the focus is on the child’s interest. A child may learn how to cook during a project, but the focus is on the child’s curiosity and interest.

What project could I do with my 7-year-old child?

Your child is most likely to respond enthusiastically when the project is already among his interests. A good place to start is to just observe and see what he is interested in. He may spontaneously express interest in a particular object (e.g., a backhoe being used for road repairs), an event (e.g., grandma going into the hospital), a particular place (e.g., a nearby restaurant such as Pizza Hut), or a story or book about a topic. He may show this interest by asking questions or getting excited when he sees something related to the topic, such as different kinds of construction equipment. It is better if the topic is real and can be studied up close. That means something today­-not long ago--and something in your city or neighborhood. Then you and your child will spend time together as he investigates or learns about this topic with your support. Go to the library and find books about the topic. Who can you talk to who can tell you about it? Where can you visit? Don’t hesitate to ask other adults to answer your child’s questions. Then see what your child would like to do with this information: Make a model? Create a poster? Put together a scrapbook? For example, if he is interested in construction vehicles, you might observe some on a building site, find someone who can show one to him, and answer his questions about it (maybe even let him get on one). You could collect pictures, books, and marketing materials on construction vehicles. He might then want to make a model of one vehicle or make a book of drawings or photos. You can celebrate by letting him take this model or book to school or share it with someone special like grandparents.

How do you select topics for projects at home?

Topics are most likely to be received enthusiastically by young children when they are already among their interests. A good place to start is to observe your child and see what he is interested in. Your child may spontaneously express interest in a particular object (e.g., a backhoe being used for road repairs), an event (e.g., grandma going into the hospital), a particular place (e.g., a nearby restaurant such as Pizza Hut), or a story or book about a topic. Your child may show this interest by asking questions. With a younger child, who has limited verbal skills and little vocabulary related to a topic, you can look for expressions of interest through her behavior, perhaps by observing her spontaneous play. For example, a 3-year-old may push forward for a closer view of something that interests her. She may often pick up items or hoard "souvenirs" of experiences such as items collected on a walk. The very young child also signals interest by spending more time focusing on objects or listening to conversations than usual. If your child, even though very young, is interested in a topic, he may attend closely to what you and other children are saying and try to be part of the conversation.

In your experience, what are some of the best topics for preschoolers to do at home?

A good project topic involves real objects. Young children enjoy touching, moving, and using real objects in play. Children learn by touching, moving, carrying, modeling, hearing, tasting, and looking closely. Choose a project topic that has many real things that are safe to handle, not just ideas. A good project topic is connected to something your child knows something about. A good project topic can be investigated at a place you can visit, preferably again and again. A good project topic can be researched by your child. Research for young children consists of observing, manipulating, experimenting, asking questions, trying out ideas, and visiting places. Good topics for preschoolers, then, are centered on their lives and their neighborhoods or communities. Some good family project topics have included vehicles (such as cars, trucks, race cars, fire engines), places of business the child goes to (such as the grocery store, a favorite restaurant, the bakery), animals (those in the child’s environment), or a site where something of interest is happening (such as a construction site, a farm, a bus station).

What are some good projects for kindergarten and primary-grade children to do at home?

Kindergarten and primary-grade children are beginning to use reading and writing as a method of research. Still, it is important to select a topic in the immediate life of your child. All the suggestions for selecting a topic for preschoolers apply, with the added advice to suggest a topic that will have books and other written information available. Good topics have included some of the same topics as listed for preschoolers with the addition of animals that they may see in their local zoo and also investigate on the Internet, local historical sites, special jobs, and locations such as the drive-up bank. Primary-grade children are also more interested in topics that lead to hobbies such as sewing, rocketry, or astronomy.

Are there optimal ages that children should be to work on projects at home? Can children be too young or too old to get into projects?

Projects at home are successful beginning with toddlers. When a toddler begins to show an interest and a preference for a certain thing, such as an airplane or a truck, a parent can start doing project work. Project work can continue throughout childhood.

What are the benefits of parents doing projects with their children at home?

Through project work, your child will strengthen positive dispositions toward learning and curiosity. He will develop positive self-esteem based on confidence in his own abilities to find answers and to solve problems. Your child will learn democratic values and how others such as mail carriers or restaurant workers contribute to her life. Your child will also learn the value of academic skills such as reading, writing, and math computation as she sees others use those skills in the real world and is motivated to practice those skills. Project work will also benefit you as a parent. You will make time for your child as you commit to following through on the project. You will discover a partner in learning, and you will strengthen family relationships.

Are there some ways that doing project work at home will help my child be better prepared for school?

Children begin to see how interesting the world is and how satisfying it can be to learn. They will learn how to ask questions, how to find answers, and how to record answers (through photographs, drawings, or notes, depending on the children’s ages). They will learn how to think about a topic. They will learn how adults can help them learn. They will learn that developing skills and acquiring knowledge are positive experiences that you encourage.

Are projects something a parent who has little formal education can do?

Certainly, doing project work with your child is more like learning with your child than teaching your child. You will learn together. You can ask questions and find answers with your child. You will be modeling being a learner, which is very helpful.

What are some of the easiest ways to get started doing projects with my children?

Observe your child for a week and see if you can identify what interests him or her. What is exciting? What toys are preferred? Where does he or she like to go? Then follow this observation by providing more information or experiences related to the topic of interest. If he likes balls, show him more balls of different sizes. If she loves to see the horses in the field on the way home, stop one day and watch them. Check out a book about horses from the library. Begin to “mess around with the topic.” Do different activities to increase your child’s interest. See what happens.

Can children who are several years apart in age work together on the same project?

Yes, this often happens. Children may study different aspects of the topic—for example, a project on the neighborhood fire station could have an older child very interested in learning about the job of firefighters while a preschooler is learning all about the fire truck.

Are there any special materials or equipment that I should have handy when doing projects at home?

To do project work, your child will need certain basic art and writing materials. Keep in mind that you need not go out and buy all these items immediately, but you can add to your collection gradually and as needed. You don’t need to have all of them. You may discover some of the items in your house now by just checking cabinets and closets. You can see a list of some supplies that are helpful for project work on the related resource page.

Can I do a home project with my 1-year-old?

Actually you can! Projects are about following a child's interest and supporting investigation of that interest. A 1-year-old’s project, of course, won't look the same as a preschooler's project, but you can certainly follow your child's interest. Is your child old enough that he or she is able to show an interest in something specific? During the year between the first and second birthdays, we often see preferences for certain objects (e.g., balls or bears), vehicles (e.g., buses or trucks), events (e.g., going to the grocery store), or animals (e.g., dogs or cats). Your child won't be able to ask questions, but he can show interest by pointing, collecting and carrying around, or getting excited. If there is something that interests your child, then you can help your child investigate it. For example, in our book Teaching Your Child to Love Learning, we have a project by two little ones who had a particular fondness for balls. In those projects, the parents helped their children explore this interest by collecting different balls, by showing them ball-shaped items such as oranges, by taking a field trip to a play area where they had a "ball pool," and by photographing the children during the "project" and making a book about it. There were many conversations about balls and words describing the characteristics of balls—for example, big, little, heavy, light. Mainly the parents and children explored the world of balls together, with the parent delighting in the child's interest and enthusiasm for the balls and the child delighting in the parents' enthusiasm for them. It is the beginning of sharing explorations together.

What is the best way to go from one project to the other without just "dropping" the first one and beginning another?

I recommend that you celebrate a project even though you think a project is going to move into another project. In completing Phase III, you will talk with children about what they have learned and with whom they would like to share this learning. This is an important part of project work. It provides an opportunity for both you and the child or children to celebrate accomplishments. It provides an opportunity for children to see themselves as competent learners and for others to see them as successful. It might be as simple as making a scrapbook about what they’ve learned, creating a poster, or inviting someone over to see what they have done. Then if the project continues or evolves into another project exploration, this new information can also be celebrated in the same or in a different way.

I am the coordinator for instructors of parent groups that have the goal of breaking the cycle involved with the lack of role models and social values in situations where mothers are raising their children by themselves and also have to work to support their children. This involves socially and culturally deprived communities that are influenced by negative and socially maladaptive role models in their environment. My question is: How can I make it possible and motivating for these groups to do a project of activities that will bring people together, to avoid the flight of mothers or heads of household, and to create positive development opportunities for socially and culturally deprived children?

One of the advantages of introducing the Project Approach to this population is the fact that the project creates its own urgency. Because the child is interested, parents are motivated to act on the child’s interest. We have worked with populations such as yours by having a series of workshops where child care; food; an “art kit” with paint, scissors, paper, and clay; and a disposable camera are provided for participants. Child care is provided for the children while the parents learn how to support and follow children’s interests. At the last session, everyone comes together to share the projects that the children and adults did together. Once they learn to do this, they learn many techniques for supporting learning that they can use even when they are not doing a project. We have put all the materials necessary to do this, including PowerPoint presentations of sample projects, with all the handouts in both Spanish and English, into a book called Teaching Parents to Do Projects at Home: A Tool Kit for Parent Educators. It is available from Teachers College Press and also on Amazon.com.

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