Sounds like you are doing fine. It is a struggle and I get that you want to support not push. Sounds like that is exactly what you are doing and gently raising the issues like length so that you DD can consider that and deal with it. Well done to her for wanting to discuss it with the teacher. Learning is a dialogue!
As she works through more projects you can talk about how research and presenting is a bit like an iceberg....what people end up seeing is but a fraction of the work that is put in. The trick is to ultimately have an image of the final product in your head as you research so that you can focus better and avoid too many wandering a away from what is relevant as you research. Mind you, that can be the absolute fun part and is where we learn a lot. It's just learning to balance and she is starting early. By the time workload is an issue later on in school she will have a good idea of how to juggle everything.
How great is it that you or DD is loving school and learning such wonderful skills so young. Well done to you both.
Love this post, and totally agree!
Project-based learning has been great for our kids, and is probably one of the reasons their placement in regular public school has worked well for them. With the right kid, it can be a fantastic way to get the depth and challenge that gifted kids crave. Agree totally with the comments that if this type of learning is a consistent feature of your school, your DD will learn with time, good teachers, and gentle direction how to manage the volume and expectations; in a good program, these skills become well-developed. Your DD is just at the very beginning.
Sure sounds like she is off to a great start!
Ps- my DD14 is still benefitting from this style of education. Her global history class this year has consisted mainly of preparing for and attending a large model UN conference. The class chose three countries to represent, and kids chose not only which country, but also which subcommittees they wanted to sit on. They did voluminous amounts of research, prepared speeches and had to speak extemporaneously, wrote and voted on resolutions, policy documents, nation briefs, learned protocol, etc. A great experience, and during the whole project, they were expected to learn the traditional global history curriculum primarily at home as homework/independent learning. Ideal, for the right student.
