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ideas they have come up with. Ask them how they will use them in the project and a child begins to learn that what they are doing is putting their knowledge into practical use. "That's a good idea" is better than being told to do things in a set manner. The mind of a child wants to establish a certain independence, and instead of throwing your own knowledge at a child, encourage them to learn and see how their mind works by talking your way through the notes they have made and discussing ways these can be used to help them with the finished project.

Being there if they get stuck.

A child should always be able to approach an adult if they come across a situation too difficult for them to overcome. This doesn't mean taking over. This means listening and understanding what the difficulty is and helping them to overcome it. Even little things like not knowing how to open a jar of paint are things which you can demonstrate and then get them to try. This improves their practical skills and helps them to overcome problems on their own in later projects.

Helping them gain self esteem and confidence.

At the end of the day, the project may not be perfect. Children are children, and it is far more important that the project was tackled to the best of their ability, rather than based on parent expectation. "What a super model!" is far more encouraging than "That looks crooked". Children will learn on their own whether their work is good enough and don't need additional criticism in the home.

Having been through the planning, construction, researching and understanding processes with the child, what they make with those ideas and knowledge should be their very own project. Expecting perfection from a child leaves them frustrated and harms their self esteem. Every so often if you have little expectation of your child, they excel themselves and give you a wonderful surprise with what they know and how sensitively they deal with problems in life. The process of the home project is aimed at helping a child to become self reliant.

From a space project to an animal farm project, what matters more than anything else is not the physical result but the impact on the child. When you have learned to help your child to tackle home projects on their own, the real reward is not the work itself, but that glow of pride upon their faces and sense of achievement as they present their project to you. Once you learn that, the rest is easy.

Learn more about this author, Rachelle de Bretagne.
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