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School Projects...and the Parent ENGINEERS NEEDED - 2/9/2014 11:05:58 AM

TieMeInKnottss

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I am one for educational entertainment! When my boys were little (& before becoming a single FT working mom) I did educational projects building bird feeders, making snow ice cream, sewing valentines...with them.

My little guy is in 2nd grade.he comes home with directions to make a Valentines box. Thinking..."hey, get a Kleenex box cover it in white paper and decorate..easy..peesy". He starts talking about moving parts... I look at the instructions and this mailbox has to be made from recycled items at home (no buying material), have a moving part or an action, be small enough to transport on the bus, but big enough for 25 cards...and....oh...due by Tues (assignment dated thurs). He is to draw engineering plans, describe how to build, build...
There is NO way he at 8 (& he is one of the oldest in the class) can do this alone. If nothing else...cutting cardboard requires a box cutter and, let's face it...time management on a weekend is not an 8yr old boys' forte....

Admittedly, I love the schools here. Love how they limit homework & projects, doing most in class while teaching the kids to do each step., love how my son who is on an IEP for dyslexia is in special ed with only 16 kids, 2 FT teachers, an "adult assistant" is assigned to any child with significant disabilities so the teachers are not splitting their attention, plus at least 1 parent volunteer so the kid to adult ratio is probably never more than 5 kids...So I will not complain BUT...this is not how I (or my older kid) wanted to spend the weekend

So...any ideas? Yes, I know about the YouTube kid and his cardboard box arcade. I know this is fun and we are enjoying it (fortunately my son LOVES boxes and collects them).

S

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RE: School Projects...and the Parent ENGINEERS NEEDED - 2/9/2014 11:53:00 AM

sansa

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i'd suggest taking your original idea and editing it a little bit. Use one of the square kleenex boxes, instead of the rectangle ones. Cut through three sides of the top and remove the plastic from the hole in the top. Turn it on its side, with the uncut edge at the bottom so it opens like a mailbox. Next, paint the whole thing and decorate. Make a drawing that fits in the hole in what is now the "door" of the mailbox and glue it so that the drawing shows through. Get a bit of ribbon, long enough to be a fastener for the door. Glue one end of the ribbon to the center of the top of the door, and glue a small piece of velcro to the other end of the ribbon, with the opposing side of the velcro glued to the center front edge on the top of the box. If you get it done today, the glue will be set and it'll be ready for Tuesday.

And yes, i agree that this was a little much for a 2d grade child to get done in the time allotted, but it's not impossible. It just takes a little thought. :)

Well wishes and good luck with the project.

sansa

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RE: School Projects...and the Parent ENGINEERS NEEDED - 2/9/2014 12:53:57 PM

ARIES83

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Hmm, seems like a challenge... I'm sure an opening and closing lid would serve as a moving part. Surely they don't expect it to tell the story of Romeo and Juliette in pop up form every time you open the dam thing.

As far as plans, I think drawing them after you make it is probably the way to go.
Who's going to know ;)

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RE: School Projects...and the Parent ENGINEERS NEEDED - 2/9/2014 1:03:00 PM

jlf1961

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From: Somewhere Texas
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I would suggest a remotely triggered non lethal IED with paint.

Recycle the airbag and deployment charge from your car, (really dont need that anyway) a 1 gallon zip lock bag to put the paint in, and a big red button with the label "Teacher Push Me"

You can find instructions for such a device on the internet.

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RE: School Projects...and the Parent ENGINEERS NEEDED - 2/9/2014 3:37:50 PM

LookieNoNookie

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quote:

ORIGINAL: TieMeInKnottss

I am one for educational entertainment! When my boys were little (& before becoming a single FT working mom) I did educational projects building bird feeders, making snow ice cream, sewing valentines...with them.

My little guy is in 2nd grade.he comes home with directions to make a Valentines box. Thinking..."hey, get a Kleenex box cover it in white paper and decorate..easy..peesy". He starts talking about moving parts... I look at the instructions and this mailbox has to be made from recycled items at home (no buying material), have a moving part or an action, be small enough to transport on the bus, but big enough for 25 cards...and....oh...due by Tues (assignment dated thurs). He is to draw engineering plans, describe how to build, build...
There is NO way he at 8 (& he is one of the oldest in the class) can do this alone. If nothing else...cutting cardboard requires a box cutter and, let's face it...time management on a weekend is not an 8yr old boys' forte....

Admittedly, I love the schools here. Love how they limit homework & projects, doing most in class while teaching the kids to do each step., love how my son who is on an IEP for dyslexia is in special ed with only 16 kids, 2 FT teachers, an "adult assistant" is assigned to any child with significant disabilities so the teachers are not splitting their attention, plus at least 1 parent volunteer so the kid to adult ratio is probably never more than 5 kids...So I will not complain BUT...this is not how I (or my older kid) wanted to spend the weekend

So...any ideas? Yes, I know about the YouTube kid and his cardboard box arcade. I know this is fun and we are enjoying it (fortunately my son LOVES boxes and collects them).

S

This is easy....it's all about definitions.

The only way you could possibly build this thing as described is to make it from either dirt or weeds.

"Recycled material"....that is material you no longer need that you would like to find a new purpose for (all of which items would have had to have been "purchased" at some time in the recent past).

Ahhhh....now we're getting somewhere...."recent past".

In my thinking, that was an hour ago. Plenty recent as I see things.

"....this mailbox has to be made from recycled items at home (no buying material), have a moving part or an action, be small enough to transport on the bus, but big enough for 25 cards...and....oh...due by Tues (assignment dated thurs). He is to draw engineering plans, describe how to build, build..."

Go to Home Depot, buy a mailbox that has a moving part (the door to the mail box should suffice to meet that standard).

Smash it with it with a hammer in a few key choice locations ("Recycled material"....that is material you no longer need that you would like to "find a new purpose for"...."oh look honey...it's all smashed up....I can't use this for a mailbox anymore....but....maybe you could fix it and it could be used again?")....it is no longer suitable for the purposes you bought it for, ergo, recycled.

Have him repair the smashed portions, install 3 or 4 screws (he built it....maybe not the entire thing but, trained correctly on this project, he may decide to become a lawyer...this could prove to be a seminal, inspirational dividing line in his ongoing future education)....have him take a can of red Krylon to the outside, glue a white plastic heart with red trim on the raised flag part of the mailbox....voila.....mailbox/recycled materials/he built it....Mom gets some sleep.

It's all semantics and technicalities.

(You can thank me later).

< Message edited by LookieNoNookie -- 2/9/2014 3:38:24 PM >

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