Our youngest child (2nd grade) just received a project from the teacher requesting that she and her classmates to create something. I wonder if this is how they are teaching our youth to look to their future, or simply trying to get parents to think outside of the box that they may be in.
Keep in mind that it is somewhat involved in that they have to write a paragraph on what the invention is, but also have to draw a quick picture of what it should look like, and even a small model of the invention. My wife and I are ready to go but are trying to get her to think it through. She’s already come up with something that is pretty nice and has good intentions.
But I wonder what some of the parents are going to do. I know that my wife and I will probably over think it, or get our child to over-reach, but we’re trying to think outside the box.
I can remember when our oldest two children were asked to make a mask for their 3rd grade class. The school was looking for something like a face drawn on the back of a paper plate that they could use a rubber band or similar item to hold it onto their face. Just to show what kind of insane parents we are, we asked them if they would like to do a paper maché mask. They said, "That sounds really neat mom & dad!" 
Well, that’s just what they did and most of the work was done by them. After all, mixing up the paper maché goop and letting them dip newspaper into it and then putting it onto a latex balloon didn’t required that much work. They even painted the masks themselves after I dried them very well using a hair dryer. The whole process took about 3-4 days even though they did it in addition to their homework. If they push themselves for something as simple as creating a mask, then they will most likely push themselves for doing other things just as much or more.
Final thoughts: Our belief is that children should be taught to strive for a balance between pushing themselves to maximize accomplishments while enjoying their youth.
