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Science Fair Project Tips: Part Two – Planning the Project
Once you have picked out a science fair project to do with your child, you need to figure out a game plan to follow for it. You may not need a huge planning board to do this, but you will need to know a rough estimate as to what you need to do and when you need to do it. Here are some tips that should help you plan an effective schedule for completing your child’s science fair project.
Consider the Duration
You need to figure out how long the science fair project is logically going to take. That way you can plan your schedule around the duration of the project. If you got a science fair project idea from the web, you should see an estimate for time somewhere on the project. If not, you may just need to think about the project details to determine how long it will take. You can compare that time to the due date of the project to figure out when you need to start.
Factor in the Presentation
When you start assessing the time it takes to do a science fair project, you also need to think about how long it will take to put together the display board. This will probably take a day or two on its own, so don’t assume your child can put it off until the morning of the science fair. If that is the case, he or she is probably going to have a terrible looking board when the project due date comes. Just make sure that you allot a decent amount of extra time to make up for any un-expectancies that come up. You will inevitably come across a few of them along the way.
Think about Shipping Time
If you have to order supplies online for your child’s science fair project, you need to consider the amount of time it is going to take for those supplies to come in the mail. You can usually expect shipping to be at least three to five business days, but that could be up to ten business days, depending on the company you order through. You need to keep in mind shipping times so you can make the best plan possible. Then all you have to do is execute the plan with your child.
For more science fair project tips, check out some of the other posts from this week:
Science Fair Project Tips: Part One – Picking the Project
Science fair time is right around the corner, so it may be time for you to start planning yours out with your child. Over the course of the next week, we will go over this process step by step so you can create the best looking project possible. Creating a science fair project is about more than buying a presentation board online and slapping some charts on it. If you want to help your kid get more than a C on his or her project, you need to give it some pizazz. Here are some tips to help your child pick the perfect project from the start.
Affordability vs. Awesomeness
As a parent, you are going to try to get your child to do the cheapest project possible because that will save you money in the end. That gives you more money to spend on printing supplies and other items you may need around the house. Doing a cheap project doesn’t mean you have to do a crappy one though. There are plenty of projects that are cool and affordable at the same time. Test the voltage of household fruits and vegetables or do a test on fuel economy. There are tons of projects to look up without having to spend a ton of money.
Speed vs. Science
Most children want to put their science fair projects off until the weekend before they are due, but that may not make for a good presentation. There are some great projects that can be done in less than 24 hours, but there are others that take weeks to complete. Try to plan with your kid ahead of time to get the best possible project for his or her needs. Speed shouldn’t matter because the results are the only things that count.
Where to Find Project Ideas
The internet holds a plethora of science project ideas, so just take a look around. If you can’t find anything that you and your child like, you may want to consider doing something that you are familiar with. For instance, you could work with your child to determine the amount of water that an average person drinks in a day. All you would have to do is have each member of the family record his or her water intake for a day. Projects like this are all around you. You just have to make an effort to find them.
Check out the rest of the posts for this week for more helpful science fair project tips:
Give the Pencil Sharpener Some Personality
Do you have one of those old rotary pencil sharpeners in your home or office? If so, you may be tired of having it look like a functioning antique. Why not take the time to give that pencil sharpener a little personality? There are tons of ways to do this, and you may not need anything more than a simple set of office supplies to complete the project. Here is a look at some fun ways to dress up an old pencil sharpener.
Graffiti Pencil Sharpeners
You can use some cans of spray paint to make your pencil sharpener look like it has been the victim of a crazy graffiti raid. This only works in some cases though. 
Otherwise you may just make your sharpener look like it got vandalized. Try to use some bright colors, and just get creative with it. You never know what it will look like until you give it a try.
Pencil Covered Pencil Sharpeners
You could glue pencils around the pencil sharpener if you want to make a blatant statement as to what it should be used for. Get a pack of number two pencils and use a small saw to cut them to the size of your sharpener shaft. It may be cool to cut some with the erasers in the length and others with a sharpened pencil end in the length. Whenever you have enough pencils to go around, you can use some hot glue to put them on the shaft. Then all you have to do is reinstall it to make sure it still works.
Sharpie Pencil Sharpeners
Sharpies are fun to work with, and they can be used on just about any material – including metal. You can use a set of Sharpies to decorate your pencil sharpener with graphic shapes cool words related to your business or lifestyle. If you don’t like what you do, you can always paint over it. Just make sure you don’t get high on the markers along the way.
If you envision your pencil sharpener for what it can be rather than what it is now, you should be able to come up with a craft project to give it a little pizzazz. You just need to make sure to think outside the box and let your creative juices run wild.
Fun Fingerpaint Projects for Kids
Kids love to fingerpaint because it gives them a chance to express themselves and get messy at the same time. If you have a set of fingerpaint and some free time, you can have a lot of fun creating special projects with your child in the near future. You just need a few ideas to get you started. Listed below are a few fingerpaint projects for kids that you do could do without having to spend a ton of money along the way. You and your child could be bonding with one another in no time.
Fingerpaint the Furniture
Do you have an old chair or stool in your house that you don’t really need anymore? If so, you may want to use that piece of furniture as the canvas for your fingerpaint projects. Sand down the outer coat of the furniture if it has a sealant on it, just so the paint will sti
ck better when you put it on. You could decorate a cabinet for your printing supplies or you could decorate the bed your child sleeps on every night. That is up to you. Just think of a fun project and get the paint ready for application. If you want to seal in the work afterward, just slap on a clear coat of paint for protection.
Fingerpaint the Walls
If you don’t mind child art all over your kid’s walls, you could allow him or her to paint the walls in his or her room. You could also do this to the play room if you have one in your house. Sometimes a handprint wall can turn into a true statement piece for a house, as long as you have a little control over it. Put some drop cloths down before you let the kid do any painting to protect the floors from an unavoidable mess. Then you can let the child go nuts. If you don’t want something quite as permanent, you could also have the kid paint art for the walls. That is up to you.
Fingerpaint the Clothes
You can buy some cheap T-shirts and pants for your child to fingerpaint, and then he or she will have something fun and personal to show his or her classmates. You can use fabric markers to write words on the clothing as well, just to keep the project as personal as possible. If you let yourself get a little creative, you should have no trouble having fun fingerpainting with your kid.
Make Your Own College Starter Kit: Part Five – The School Supplies
The most important thing to buy for a future college student is a set of schoo supplies he or she can use for class in the near future. Books alone can cost an arm and a leg in college, but your kid won’t have to spend a ton of money if you buy the school supplies for him or her. Here are some of the most important supplies you can invest in for a college starter kit.
- Graphing calculator: A graphic calculator is a must have for any college math class. This device can be fairly expensive if you buy it new, but you can get a used one for next to nothing if you look at the right time. Try to catch ads after the end of a semester, and you can snag something that someone else doesn’t need anymore.
- Three ring binders: Try to get your kid a set of binders to use for his or her classes. That will keep all of the notes and papers from the classes in one location.
- Laptop cooling pad: If your child plans to work on a laptop for school, get him or her a cooling pad to put on his or her lap. That will prop up the computer and prevent it from overheating.
- Index cards: Index cards are great for studying and taking down quick notes. Get a huge stack for your son or daughter to use in class.
- Highlighters: College students highlight everything, so you need to get your son or daughter a ton of highlighters to use in his or her classes.
- Paper: Your kid will need everything from printer paper to notebook paper, so just plan to stock up on paper when you send your child off to college.
This concludes our discussion of how to make your own college starter kit. Hopefully the tips this week have been enough to help you get your kid off on the right foot. Here are the previous posts from the week, in case you missed the discussion: