Homeschool Academic Fair (Yet Another Success!)

Years ago, we started doing twice-a-year academic fairs with our original homeschool group. We’ve carried that tradition on in our “new” homeschool group as well.

What’s an academic fair you ask?

Well, it’s like a science fair, but the children’s projects don’t have to be science-related. They can be related to ANYTHING the child is interested in at the time.

Some of the projects we saw today were:

Tornadoes

Hurricanes

Elephants

Moths and Butterflies

Stop Motion Videos

and

Ancient Egypt

Becca has participated in several academic fairs… We were there as “guests” (or observers) today. But her past projects included:

Build-A-Bear

American Girl Dolls

Loch Ness Monster

Crocheting

and

Wolf Totems

What’s great about the academic fairs is that the child can pick whatever subject they’d like. They can do a display board, have photos, use computers and have “demonstration” items (or even samples). Then each child sits at their display and tells about their project as others come around. These projects help children do research, use their presentation skills and embrace their creativity.

And each child gets recognition for their participation.

The best part about it (and the main difference between an academic fair and a science fair) is that, 1. There are no “winners and losers,” 2. There is NO pressure (and no set guidelines), and 3. (And most importantly, in my book), the KIDS do the projects. NOT the parents!

The children learn by having fun. And in my book, that’s what homeschooling is all about.