AIBU to feel totally bemused and think 'you smug twatters'

[hobbgoblin]

of the family who, when given the homework as set out below, came back to school after half term with properly packaged; foil wrapped; paper sleeved; fully printed complete with allergies and ingredients; home bloody made frikkin chocolate bars for the whole class?

This was the homework:

Design a chocolate bar wrapper, draw its net, colour it in and stuff.

They took 'stuff' waaaaaaaaaaaaay too far imho.

DS has a fab new teacher - I told her that I was impressed with the DT this term as it actually looked like the children had done it rather than a row of 15 perfect looking identical 'designs'! (Which is what is normally produced). She confessed that it had been suggested that in future she should direct the activity more.
I wrote to the DT co-ordinator.

One part of me thinks 'how wonderful for that child's education that they had a project and worked on it all the way from the design stage to production'.

Another part of me thinks 'how competitive and over the top'.

Most of me thinks 'mmmmmm, chocolate'.

How do you know how much the child was involved though?

Child comes home saying that the homework is to design a chocolate bar. PArent suggests making chocolate bar as something fun to extend the work a bit over rainy half term. CHild is very excited.

CHild is involved in making chocolate bar - ingredients, measuring etc.
Child designs wrapper on paper. Parent then shows child how to use photoshop to replicate their design on the computer for printing.
There could be a discussion about cost of production and what the markup needs to be to make a profit etc.

The child would learn a lot more from this experience than the child who drew a wrapper on a piece of paper- even though the final product isn't entirely their own work. surely THAT is the whole point of homework - the learning experience and thinking a bit outside the box? The next time a project like this is suggested, that child may take more of the driving seat.

they sound v diligent,good application and depth

did you submit a half hearted attempt you did watching eastenders

does the green haze affect your pc

Their surname's not Cadbury by any chance is it?

We had "make a musical instrument out of recycled materials". One parent child made a musical instrument out of recycled musical instruments. Welding was involved, FFS.

hark at some of you lot.envious and dying to stamp on someone else

I agree scottishmummy - it's not nice to watch! :)

Sometimes the dc are just terribly enthusiastic and insist on doing this sort of thing.

Honest.

bet the parents did it
I did most of supervised ds's english project once out of desperation
I got a but carried away with it
At parent's evening the teacher praised it to high heaven and we had a letter sent home saying how brilliant it was. I did feel a bit I think the teacher knew TBH. She was definitely giving me the eye.

this is the weird mn i is so slack and relaxed competition.too cool for school parents competing to be smug in their alleged slackness

all - i dont bother doing nuffink a teacher tells the children.and im so like reckless i am

when really,you laid an egg and were envious when you saw the other kids project

Also, sometimes it's nice to do stuff like that with the dc. The whole family gets involved and there is talking and arguing and jollity and all that other stuff which is tres bonding.

Sometimes it's horrid.

I was about to get started on my child's mosaic design for the school doorstep. Should I not bother? Every child has to submit something, ds is refusing.

DS brought the school mascot home last week and one of the things we did with it was make muffins. Ds wanted to take one into his teacher, so I let him.

Does that make me a twat?

I stopped myself from making up another batch to share round the class though...

Really don't understand why people get so hot under the collar about what other children/parents are doing. As others have said, it's obvious to the teacher who has done the work themselves and who hasn't.

Have a bit or a smirk about it, do things YOUR way and stop worrying about everyone else!

Also, at ds's last school there was absolutely no DT (his favourite thing), so the projecty things were a good way to cover that.

FFS as far as I can tell nobody is saying the parents shouldn't be involved - of course it's lovely and beneficial if you are there to encourage the child and draw out ideas etc. But there is a massive difference between that and the parents who take over and do the work instead of the child, often for their own competitive urges, which defeats the point of homework doesn't it? It seems to be the latter that people are complaining about here. It's not 'competitive slackness' (though I do like that term!) - it's wanting to let the child do their own work.

"Every child has to submit something, ds is refusing."

If you can't persuade or force DS to do soemthing and he gets it in the neck for not contributing then he might learn something from it... i.e. don't be lazy in future. If you do the work then the lesson he learns is ... why bother because someone else will do it?

lordy this has taken a oh-so-serious turn.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.is all about pissing on someone else chips.envy is a nasty thing.

I think the house with the light switch sounds great and a child could learn a lot form being involved in a project like that. Including, give something your all.

Clearly they weren't on the 7.00pm flight to Gatwick on Sunday night, not getting through the front door until 3.00am on Monday morning and having to be at school 6 hours later (erm like us!!)

TBH I was quite happy having my kids jumping round a swimming pool and having fun than doing over blown projects.

I just let them parents get on with it and don't compare myself to them. We are all different and accordingly do things different. It's no big deal.

this sounds cute, would love to do something like this but wouldn't be able to afford to.

When DS was in year 5 he had to make a musical instrument at home - he made a guitar with adjustable strings out of cardboard and wool with a bit of encouragement from me.It looked pretty good and he had planned and made it himself with me helping out when he went cack handed. When he took it into school there were some unbelievable creations and in fact someone had carved a guitar out of wood and made metal strings and pegs, in fact it was actually reasonably in tune. The mother of the child who brought it in told me her DH had spent all weekend in the garage building it (obviously the child had been nowhere near it). When I went into the classroom a few weeks later the more childlike models were at the front of the display and the obviously parent built ones were at the back.

a smidge OTT on the chip pissing front.