Valentine Box...

Ashley had to make a valentine box for collecting her valentines at their party on Friday. She made the box herself....she wrapped it (obvious that she wrapped it), cut out hearts (not perfect hearts, but she did it), and then glued white sheets of paper on it for the arms and legs. It is VERY obvious that she did this herself. Since making the box, one of the arms and legs fell off, so she said, it's a Valentine Zombie. LOL.. OK,that I thought was pretty creative. Here's the dilemma. I noticed the boxes that the other kids are bringing in are EXTREMELY well put together and the kids obviously had some parental assistance. There's even a very cool Sponge Bob one, a Panda one, etc. None of the other ones look like the kid did it by themselves. I guess they take the Valentine boxes seriously. I asked Ashley if she wanted help with her box, and she said no, she likes it just the way it is. She's proud of it and is going to take it in just the way it is. I just hope that the teacher doesn't think she didn't put any effort into it because she really did. I also hope no one makes fun of her box.

Teachers know when the parents do the kids work for them. I think the teacher will be so pleased with her work. The poor kids who's parents did the work for them, are the real losers in this situation. They will not be able to take pride in their work since they know they did not do it. I think it's kind of sad. there is a story about this in "Hidden Messages" by Elizabeth Pantley. I highly reccomend it.

I love the idea of the valentine zombie. Ashley is so clever.

I say phooey to the parental help on the box. I think Ashley had a wonderful idea and If she is proud then good for her! I wouldnt worry about the other kids. They may think the idea of a zombie is much cooler then some already known idea. U know kids, all things creepy are super cool.

She probably doesn't know what a scary zombie looks like, she only knows what one is from watching Wizards of Waverly Place and the zombies on there aren't very creepy... except they lose an arm and leg here and there during the Zombie Prom. LOL

Oh, and thanks gals for the reassurance. My initial thought was the same, but then I started second guessing myself.

Sounds like she did a great job. Don't stress, she is pleased with it and you like it too. Anyone else's opinions are irrelevant.

Amen

I think Ashley should take her box just the way it is. It is better for the child to make it, then the parent. It's supposed to be fun. And hopefully the other kids won't make fun of her. They'll probably think its cool.

Listen Dee Dee, get used to the parent over-involvement syndrome, it's only going to get worse. Just be thankful that Ashley is a strong enough kid that she can take pride in her own accomplishments, which is after all, the whole point, right?
Trust me, teachers absolutely know when a parent intervenes in a project, and shouldn't be giving more credit to the polished, professional pieces over the ones done exclusively by the kids themselves. I would hope that is the case with Ashley's teacher.
I hate, hate, hate the "big" projects that practically require parental involvement. There is a notorious 3rd grade project involving Native American habitats at my kids' elementary school that I swear to you often prompts parents to break out the power tools. Yes, my kids probably feel a little lame bringing in their modeling clay and popsicle stick hogans, but I'm not doing the work for them.

She proudly took her box in today, and she was very excited to show everyone what she had made. Looking back, I feel a little silly that I second-guessed my involvement with this project. I think I was just caught off guard when I saw how elaborate some of the designs were, and didn't' want Ashley to feel like hers was inadequate. But, she was proud of her box, and I am proud of her. This was just a fun project and she had fun doing it.

Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom and encouragement... glad I have you all to keep me on track. Like you Jeanne, when it comes time for the more complicated projects, I will assist Ashley if needed but I certainly won't be doing her work for her. She has a famous person report coming up next quarter where she will have to research a famous person using at least two different types of sources, then do a report and a project on this person. She will be doing the work herself, and if the simple Valentine box is any indication, it probably won't compare to the other projects, but at least she will get something out of it.