A Note to Our Wonderful Parents:
A Role For YOU To Play
No matter what anyone tells you, your child will only be completely successful if they have your support in completing this project -- there are no exceptions to this fact. However, the Science faculty asks that you understand what we consider the definition of "completely successful"! The undertaking of a Science Fair project from conception to completion is a monumental task at any age, and, although personal expectations will vary from student to student, EVERYONE wants to end up with a project that can hold its own against the project to its right and to its left on the actual day of the fair (and no one knows in advance what or who that will be!). Afterall, students do have to stand there for 2+ hours and answer multiple (sometimes a multitude of) questions from more than one judge in their chosen field!! The most important thing for you as a parent to remember is that the work MUST be theirs -- judges will be able to spot when such is not the case and the students will feel let down when they can't answer the questions regarding that part of the project that mom finished while they were at the basketball game! So, CHOOSE YOUR ROLE WISELY . . . . .
The top three roles* a parent can play are
cheerleader, mentor and
coach. The age of your students, the rules of the competition and amount of time that you want to invest will help you decide which role, or roles, you take on.
CHEERLEADER
No matter what type of project your child wants to enter, one of the best roles that you can play is the cheerleader. Cheerleading for your child will help to keep them motivated and it will help to encourage them to do their best. However, like with any job that you take on, this one has responsibilities and rules that you will need to follow.
The first rule of thumb for being a cheerleader for your young scientist is to keep things under control. Focus on positive ways to encourage your child and cheer them on to victory. Avoid saying derogatory things about the other contestants and encourage your kids to avoid saying derogatory things about the other contestants and about themselves. This is a great time to lead by example in how to be a good sport.
The next responsibility that you can take on as a cheerleader for the science fair, is to keep tabs on your kids' competition. Since they will be stuck with their projects during most of the science event, you can walk around and take general notes about other projects. Take special notes on projects that are similar to your child's project. After the winner has been announced you can also view the winning projects and take pictures of and take notes on these projects. You can later use these notes to help develop next year's project.
Another duty that you can take on as a cheerleader is to become your child's or their team's support staff. This position requires that you get them drinks and snacks as needed through the many hours they will be working on their project. You will also need to help get them and their project to and from the science fair event.
MENTOR
The second role that you can play when your child, or children, enter a science fair is the role of the mentor. A mentor is a person who provides the young scientist with a little guidance during the development and execution of their project. A mentor is not a team member or a coach. They simply are there to lend advice and make suggestions on where the student or team can find information and resources.
If this is a role that you are interested in playing, then the first thing that you need to do is learn the science fair's rules related to getting outside help. Most science fairs will allow parents to help young students, elementary age, with hazardous materials and secretarial tasks. They generally do not allow parents to assist with the design of the project, its general execution or with writing the report. If you are unsure about how much help you can offer as a mentor to your student, then talk with the your child's teacher or the faculty member in charge of the science fair .
If the competition that your child wants to enter does allow parents to provide guidance to the student, then you need to learn how to be a good guide. Since the purpose of a science fair is to develop the critical thinking and analysis skills of the student, you don't want to be "too helpful." Instead, you can guide your student by asking them questions, helping them search the Internet for resources or taking them to the public library to find resources. You can also review their report and notes and help them to identify problem areas. You don't want to take over the project or design it for your child, however, you can answer questions that they have about their topic or about the general steps for completing the scientific method.
COACH
While science fairs typically do not allow parents to "coach" their kids, some science competitions do allow an adult coach to help guide the team to victory. If you are interested in becoming a coach for a science competition team then there are several things that you need to know. To start with, you need to understand if you qualify as a coach. Some science competitions allow parents to coach their kid's teams, however, others do not allow parents as coaches, even if you are their home school teacher. Before you submit your entry application or coach's application, make sure you qualify to be a coach for that competition.
The next thing that you need to know about being a coach for a science competition is what help you are allowed to offer. Each science competition is going to have its own rules about what type of help is allowed. Generally, coaches are allowed to help with the organization and scheduling of tasks, they are allowed to guide students to find resources and information and they are allowed to help students to pinpoint problems and weaknesses with their project's design. In competitions where the project is constructed at the competition site instead of before hand, coaches will be responsible for running teams through mock projects and brainstorming sessions. At the actual fair, however, a coach cannot provide much help and teams will be on their own.
As a coach your job is to prepare your team to do their best at the competition. This means that you will need to help them train for the competition, help them to understand the rules for the competition and help them to understand what the judges will be looking for. This is the most time consuming roles that parents can take on when their kids want to enter a science competition. Keep this in mind before you commit to being a coach.
*"Roles" and their explanations excerpted from "The Role of Parents in Science Fairs and Competitions" at
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