It's very difficult for a parent to stand on the sidelines and watch their child work on a complicated science project without trying to jump in and take over. Even though the temptation is always there, parents must only help; they should not get in the way. The key to a child's successful learning about science, or anything for that matter, is for the parents to do their part to guide, not drive.

For basic elementary science projects, all that parents really need do is help the child get started, assist with the presentation and ensure that proper recording of events takes place. The presentation part is where a parent can really assist, but before that, a project really needs to be the child's for the youngster to learn. Resist the urge to take over, but remain active.

Here's how a parent can guide without getting too involved:

* The first step in any science project, elementary level or otherwise, is to come up with a project. Science projects don't have to be earth shattering to be effective. The entire concept is to teach a youngster how to reason out a problem and come to a conclusion on his or her own. With this in mind, it's often more than acceptable to recreate tried and true projects, such as seedlings' responses to different types of light, what type of water enables better floating and so on. Let the child come up with the project, but guide him or her in a direction of one that you know he or she can handle. Too complicated and the child can become frustrated; too boring and the lessons won't be learned.

* Make sure your youngster is following instructions. Ask to see the details of the assignment and guide the child along the path to getting this done. Oftentimes, school science teachers will ask for a child to first present a question and then seek to solve it. This involves setting up an experiment, watching it and recording it. Sometimes three repeats of the same project are needed to help prove or deny the theory the child sets forth. Remind the child here the hypothesis, or theory, is meant to be a guess and it's OK for that guess to be proven wrong. That's the whole point of science!

* Assist with the presentation. If your youngster has followed directions correctly, she will likely have a question formulated the project is supposed to answer, a guess at that answer and a series of recorded data that covers the extent of the project and possibly some pictures of the action. It is now time to create a workable visual presentation that shows what the project was about, gives the results in a nutshell and makes it easy for anyone to understand what was done and why. Follow school instructions here as they may vary.

The temptation to get in and take over a child's project to ensure they have the "best" might be high, but that takes away from the valuable lessons a youngster learns through these efforts. Science projects not only teach lessons about science itself, they also help a child develop a sense of wonder, reason and an ability to question their surroundings.

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