Each year, parents
(and school districts) are seeking ways to save money; for parents, everything
associated with educating their child continues to increase in cost and for
school districts, there is a requirement to impact more with ever-restrained
resources.
When parents visit
us fall, winter, spring and summer to obtain materials for school projects,
they are often stunned as to prices and price increases from year-to-year. Many of the products have a petroleum base at
some point in the production process, and/or wood, and/or metal…. and
petroleum, wood, and metal, as commodities, have only increased.
The items that
most parents/students purchase for projects include: Metal sheets, tubes, rods;
Wood sheets, blocks, dowels; Paints; Clay; Adhesives; Brushes; Scenery Supplies
(landscaping, structures, figures), Tools (knives, saws, carving); Sketch
books, drawing paper; Mat/Foam boards; Drafting supplies; Writing Implements
(pencils, markers).
During the last
five years, the most frequent projects seem to be Long House, Log Cabin, Pyramid,
Tee-Pee, Military Scene, Indian Scene, and Volcano amongst others.
Two
suggestions. First, consider scheduling lesson
plans so materials from one project may be re-used for another project. Wood from a Long House could be used for a Log
Cabin, Tee-Pee or Pyramid; the key is to schedule the projects so that there is
a progression of material-flow- wood to wood, metal to metal, etc. If the parents have a list at the beginning of
a semester, then they can purchase all of the required items at one time,
negating the need for multiple trips- and the use of time and fuel and,
probably, finding that prices have increased once again. Second, there have been occasions when parents
share that there are too few days for which to complete a project
assignment. With many parents (or single
parents with visitation challenges) having two jobs, volunteer commitments, transportation
challengers, family obligation/emergency, a project assigned on Friday and due
on Monday is not as generous in time as a weekend may imply. Permitting at least one week from assignment
to completion would be beneficial and result in projects that will more soundly
reflect the efforts of the student, rather than the time-forced efforts of the
parent(s).
[Downloadable PDF]
