4 Tips for Helping Your Child Master Group Projects

At some point in your child’s education, they will be participating in group projects. This special type of assignment is meant to inspire collaboration and camaraderie among students. However, it doesn’t always work out that way. In many group projects, someone gets sick, someone procrastinates, and someone — often one or two people — ends up doing all the work. If your child needs help getting motivated to work on group projects or needs help getting their classmates involved, here are some tips to set them up for success. 

Understand the Assignment

Make sure the instructions for the group assignment are clear. Take time with your child to review the guidelines set by the teacher to ensure that everyone in the group knows what needs to be done. Encourage your child to review the instructions in depth with their classmates so no one feels left out or in the dark. This is a great way to ensure that each student will be held accountable for their role. 

Create a Schedule Together

Most students start out with good intentions when assigned a group project. They plan to do their part to make the project successful. However, some students have a tendency to procrastinate and, in some cases, forget what needs to be done. Others get frustrated by this behavior and decide to do everything themselves. Helping your child build out a schedule that includes all the tasks at hand will make delegating those tasks easier. 

Encourage Communication

High-achieving students often feel like they need to do everything themselves to get it done right. Therefore, even if they’re great when working individually, they can struggle with group projects. If your child does everything on their own, encourage them to use that energy to delegate tasks. If your child is more of a procrastinator, have them ask the group leader about their deadlines if they’re unclear. The more the group communicates, the more engaged each child will be in the experience. 

Prepare for the Worst

You could also call this preparing for all outcomes. No matter how much planning happens in the initial phase, there’s always a chance of plans falling through. One child could get sick during the project and not be able to complete their part. Everyone could get swamped with other obligations, and deadlines may have to move. Children often get discouraged when things change in the middle of a project. Encourage your child to be flexible and plan ahead. By making contingency plans and collaborating, your child and their classmates can complete just about any project successfully and on time.

Collaboration is the name of the game for students at North Tampa Christian Academy. At our Tampa private school, students thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

4 Science Projects to Try at Home

Some of the best education happens at home. Teaching your child about science doesn’t have to mean buying a microscope kit, choosing a science camp to send your child to or taking trips to the science museum. Try these simple science projects with your child at home to make scientific concepts more relatable. 

Create and Play with Oobleck

Oobleck is a prime example of a non-Newtonian fluid. This means it acts like a liquid when being poured and like a solid when any amount of force is applied. Then, when the force goes away, it turns right back into its liquid form. Oobleck started out as a fictional substance that fell from the sky in the Dr. Seuss book “Bartholomew and the Oobleck.” The real-life version makes for an easy, fun science experiment. 

Here’s how it works:

• Slowly mix 1 cup water with 1.5 - 2 cups of cornstarch together. 

• You may need to add more cornstarch. Do so slowly until you reach the desired consistency, liquid yet solid. Due to the texture, you should mix it with your hands. 

• When you reach the solid/liquid consistency, add food coloring as a finishing touch. 

Try squeezing the Oobleck, making it into a puddle and dragging your fingers through it, or shaking it up in a plastic container. If you have older kids (and aren’t afraid to get a little messy), consider putting more Oobleck into a plastic kiddie pool and having your child run across it. You and your child won’t be able to help participating in this experiment together.  

Put an Egg in a Glass Bottle

Playing with food always makes for fun science experiments. The idea of this experiment is watching an egg peel itself to fit into a container. It will require your help or supervision, as it requires fire. Pick a glass bottle with a small opening, one that’s at least half the diameter of an egg. Birthday candles will make this experiment more visually exciting, but you can use matches if you have them. 

Here’s how it works:

• Start by boiling and peeling an egg. You may want to boil and peel a few just in case something goes wrong. Worst case scenario, you have a snack for later! 

• Next, stick one or three small birthday candles in one end of the egg, pushed in firmly, not deep enough to make the egg fall apart. 

• Light the candles. 

• Place the lit end of the egg/candle into an upside-down bottle, letting a little bit of air in for a few seconds. 

• Then, lower the bottle early, and watch the egg shrink to fit as it falls in. 

This experiment shows how liquid, solids and gasses work together to cause pressure as they react to one another. 

Homemade Lava Lamp

Some of the most fun home science experiments are done with items you can find in your kitchen. The homemade lava lamp experiment also uses an ingredient that most people have in their medicine cabinets: Alka-Seltzer. 

Here’s how it works:

• Grab a clean transparent PET water bottle or clear cup, vegetable oil, water, Alka-Seltzer and food coloring. You’ll also want a funnel to make it easier to pour in all the ingredients. 

• Start by filling the water bottle halfway with water and adding in a few drops of food coloring. 

• Fill the rest of the water bottle with cooking oil, giving the contents a little bit of time to settle and separate. 

• Next comes the Alka-Seltzer tablet. If you’re using a bottle, break the tablet into quarters before dropping it in if needed to make it fit. If you’re using a cup, drop the tablet in whole.

Then, watch the colored water swirl through the oil, creating a lava lamp effect! The Alka-Seltzer turned this basic water-and-oil project into a fascinating look into perpetual motion. This helps demonstrate what it looks like when multiple chemical reactions are happening at once. 

Sugar Water Density Rainbow

Creating a rainbow with sugar, water and food coloring will require a little bit of patience, but the end result will be worth it for an older child or teen. This experiment will show how different amounts of sugar and food coloring create different densities, allowing what looks like colorful water to be layered. 

How it works:

• For this experiment, you will need sugar, water, food coloring, five glasses, a tablespoon and a pipette or syringe. 

• Start by filling the first four glasses with water, leaving the fifth one empty. 

• Add two to three drops of red food coloring to one glass, yellow to another, green to the third and blue to the fourth glass. 

• Add one tablespoon of sugar to the yellow, two to the green, and three to the blue. 

• Stir the solutions in each glass until the sugar dissolves. 

• Fill ¼ of the empty cup with the blue solution using the syringe or pipette. 

• Then, fill with ¼ of the green, ¼ of the yellow and ¼ of the red. Do this slowly to ensure that the colors don’t mix. 

Then, voila! You have a liquid rainbow! This is because each of the liquids has a different density, which allows them to sit on top of each other as long as the experiment is done carefully. 

Our school encourages project-based learning in the classroom and at home. At North Tampa Christian Academy, a Tampa private school, students thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

How to Help Your Child Focus on School Work

Children, especially naturally gifted children, often struggle to focus. Whether they’re trying to pay attention to a teacher in the middle of a droning lecture or attempting to stay on task with homework assignments, the struggle can be overwhelming. This can be due to many factors. The most common reasons are unrealistic expectations of how difficult a task will be and concern about letting their parents or teachers down. Here’s how you can help your child get focused and get back on track. 

Take a Moment to Prepare

Preparation looks different for everyone. Some students read through pages of highlighted notes before diving into the task at hand. Others take a few deep breaths to get in the right mindset. It may even mean setting a timer or starting a timed playlist that leaves time for breaks. Once you find a preparation method that works, stick to it. Fitting preparation into the routine will establish a clear line between homework time and relaxation time. 

Break it into Chunks

When it feels like everything is going on all at once, focusing can be difficult. People of all ages struggle with this. The first step is dividing the work into manageable chunks. This means doing one thing at a time. Assignments need to be done one problem at a time, one question at a time or one paragraph at a time. The more your child can focus on what’s right in front of them, the more likely they will be to succeed and get through it with ease.

Remove Distractions

It’s not just multitasking on assignments that slows students down. Your child also needs to avoid trying to multitask between homework and outside activities. They should complete their homework in a space that’s free of distractions. The best case scenario is a dedicated homework space where the TV and other distracting devices are turned off or simply not in the room. Not having distractions present is the easiest way to avoid losing focus.

Schedule Breaks

As much as we may like to think otherwise, we’re simply not wired to hunker down and focus on work for hours at a time. This is especially true for children, who need movement and play to thrive. Once every hour or so, encourage your child to get up and step away from their homework. Each break can be anything from a snack break to a walk around the block. They just need a few minutes to reset, recharge and get right back to it.

Talk to Your Child

When it feels like your child refuses to focus on the task at hand, it can be frustrating. You may feel like they’re intentionally not paying attention or staying focused. However, there may be a deeper underlying issue. Maybe they don’t understand the assignment and are too embarrassed to speak up. They might be struggling because they’re tired or stressed. There are many reasons why people find it difficult to focus, and all possible reasons should be considered.

At North Tampa Christian Academy, a Tampa private school, students thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

Making Math More Fun (and Less Intimidating)

Once in a while, you will find a child who loves numbers and problem solving. However, most children don’t have this innate ability. One study shows that an average of 33% of 15-year-old students feel helpless when trying to solve math problems. From the moments when they’re nervously standing at the board to solve a problem to when they’re at home losing focus while staring at numbers, this anxiety can be intense. Here’s why that is and how you can help your child if this is a problem for them. 

Understanding Math Anxiety

Students deal with math anxiety for many reasons, the main one being that they struggle to get back up to speed if they miss one concept. Math builds on itself, more so than any other subject. Losing track creates low self-confidence for students and makes math intimidating to the point where children dread having to do it or learn about it.

Practicing Math Skills

Before making math fun you need to make it feel attainable. As the old saying goes, “practice makes progress.” Practice math at home with your child to make sure they fully understand what they’re learning. Provide positive reinforcement when your child tackles a new concept and encouragement when they’re still figuring it out. If they fall behind, see if you can help, or find a tutor who can help them catch up. Put a positive interaction no matter the path, however. Anxieties stem from consistent negative interactions around math. 

Making it Real and Relatable

The main question that comes up for children who dislike math is “How will I use this in real life?” One way to make math fun is by showing children how it applies to real life. Go to the store together, and ask your child to estimate discounts or taxes on different products. Bring math into the kitchen by making your child’s favorite baked goods with their help. This is a great way to explore fractions! You can even do a scavenger hunt outdoors and for different geometrical shapes in nature. 

Transforming Problems into Games

Nothing is as fun as playing games! Play math games together with flash cards, board games and other visual aids. If you’re both sports fans, talk to your child about sports in terms of scores, fractions and more. If your child is more into video games, make the connection there, encouraging your child to play math-focused games, as well as games like Minecraft that subtly help them work on their math and engineering skills.

At North Tampa Christian Academy, we focus on project-based learning to make every subject relatable — even math. Our Tampa private school encourages students to thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

Academic Benefits of Faith-Based Education

Faith-based education helps students thrive in many ways. They go to school in a positive environment surrounded by adults who care. This helps them on a spiritual level because they spend their days focused on faith. Mentally and emotionally, children at Christian schools have an easier time feeling supported and supporting others. This type of education also leads to academic success. Here’s how:

Smaller Class Sizes

Being in a small class benefits teachers and students alike. Teachers are empowered to teach without the distractions of a large classroom. Students who may end up lost in the shuffle in a public school setting feel like they can ask questions when needed. Having a low student-teacher ratio allows students to receive more individualized attention, which also gives them space to build relationships with other students and their teachers.

Relationship with Teachers

At Christian schools, teachers dedicate class time to discussing faith. This allows children of faith to feel more connected with their teachers and to speak with them on a deeper level. Many students at Christian schools consider relationships with their teachers to be an important part of their educational experience. This makes it so students are more likely to ask their teachers for support if they’re struggling and get back on track. 

Positive Role Models

Every teacher at a Christian school is committed to helping students feel like they are beloved children of God. Christian school students often have several positive role models at school, from teachers and faculty to faith-focused staff like ministry directors. With so many people to look up to, it’s easier for students to feel motivated to achieve their academic goals. 

Hopeful Environment

For some students, doing their best academically is a major source of stress. Pressure from parents, teachers and themselves can become unbearable. Christian schools create a hopeful environment for students, which helps them focus on their goals. Faith-based activities throughout the day keep children hopeful about their future, which makes the stressful things that come up easier to handle. With less outside stress, academic challenges become easier to handle.

At North Tampa Christian Academy, a Tampa private school, students thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.