Down with Carbs....

[threadwalker]

TGIF...

Down with Carbs (just cuz)

I feel like homework has eaten my life. N was up to 9:30 almost every night this week doing homework. He has such a hard time waking up after a night that goes that late.

The Science Fair was last night at local grammar school and it was just as much a learning experience for me as it was for my kids.

When several "at homework projects" popped up, I handed "task of science fair" to daddy and did my best to step back and let him do the driving. I am a terrible back-seat driver and when daddy came up with the "unearth a dinosaur from packed sand" kit from whatever toy/discovery store he went to, I was convinced in my heart of hearts that this was not sciency-enough nor was it unlocking the secrets of the universe. It was also messy, noisy and got chunks of sand all over the dining room. So I Googled and Yahoo-searched stuff and practically chomped my tongue in half struggling to NOT step in and take over with something I found on line. I was not entirely successful in maintaining silence because I did/said something to provoke Team Dad-N into (justifiably) telling me to keep my nose out of it. And then, because I didn't read the fine print on the science fair handout about when it was due, we were done 3-4 weeks early, so I've been staring at the assembled dinosaur for weeks, admonishing the kids that it was not a toy until after the science fair and biting my tongue on the desire to nudge Team Dad-N to do something more sciencey since CLEARLY there was time for it. I even had print outs of science projects just in case the kids munched the dinosaur (who was terrorizng the Petshop pets) or daddy had a change of heart about the dino being "it".

For me, that is pure torture. Or a personal growth moment, depending on the perspective.

So there it was last night... drum roll and booming voice ... the Science Fair. Wherein I discover:

1. It turns out it was not mandatory participation for first graders. Only 2 first graders participated.

2. Unearthing a dinosaur was apparently sufficiently sciencey enough for a 7 yr old. His teacher was THRILLED with the project.

3. My 7yr old was over-the-top excited to be involved. He was so proud to be one of the only 1st graders there, he almost missed his afternoon bus because he was showing off his exhibit to school chums. I even got a call from the school to verify that he needed pick-up. And while we were all there for the actual science fair, he was excited to be bumping into friends and "Participating".

4. yay! books! They cleverly had a book fair on the same night. N's teacher told us this week that he is not reading sufficiently challenging material, so got books.

5. Nana and Uncle Jeff went. Nana parked herself near N's exhibit and got very (very!) territorial when kids touched the assembled dino. I laughed... that dino has already terrorized Pet Shop pups and fairies at our place. It's a miracle that it arrived intact.

So my lesson:
1. I need to work on being a more gracious back seat driver and give Daddy more credit for having a handle on this stuff.

2. I'm not sure I would have pushed the Science Fair if I'd realized it was not mandatory; between work, homework and "stuff", extra-curricular stuff is sometimes beyond my ability to deal with. But in hindsight, I'm glad we did it. N was excited to be part of it, the project opened his eyes to what archaeology means, and the experience made him excited by science and discovery. I think he is scheming to do one of those bubbling volcanoes next year... we shall see... I might toss the ball to daddy again and just insist that Volcanoes bubble and spew either in bath-tubs or outside. And E will get to do the science fair when her turn comes around, too.

Comments

[joycebre.livejournal.com]

I've been incredibly disappointed at the 'science fair' entries that we've seen. Most of them have been 'market research' projects - which bottled water tastes better, what brand of paper towels absorbs more water. I walk through, becoming more and more appalled by the minute, and biting my tongue. Then I go home and tell myself that at least they're learning the scientific methods.
No, A's science fair entry wasn't market research. It was actually a very cool theory that he and his dad came up with. They just failed a little on the execution and data collection. But I wasn't part of the project, so I kept my mouth shut there too.

[duchessletitia.livejournal.com]

Kelvin grew mold. We say what types of mold grow from cat spit and human spit. It was very interesting.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I guess Science Fairs have moved earlier (as well as homework ... I don't recall having anything resembling "homework" in primary school, or maybe it was just that I got it all done in the classroom anyway). One of the take-home lessons I learned from doing Science Fairs in Jr. High and High School is that "more sciencey" is all very well, but what gets you to the all-city fair -- and especially what gets your picture in the newspaper -- is having an eye-catching visual display. The year I did a fairly prosaic comparative anatomy of road-kill skeletons display (cleaned up! I swear they were cleaned up completely!) I made the feature photo in the San Diego Union Tribune. The year I attempted to identify natural plant-based garden snail repellants, I didn't even make it to all-city.

Speaking of anatomy ... if you ever know any kids who'd like to try their hands at putting together a real skeleton, I still have an unassembled sheep kicking around in my attic.

[thread-walker.livejournal.com]

yes, homework expectations have jumped tremendously in the last 15 years.

[fighter-chick.livejournal.com]

I have fabulous memories of science fairs from my elementary school days. It was a time when my parents really bonded with me, it was fun to do non-book schoolwork, and (in that fabulous competitive way I have) I enjoyed the fact that I tended to win prizes for my projects. I even got my picture in the local paper once. :-) My parents usually helped me dream up ideas, and they were adamant that I *not* use kits from the stores. (Though I know that kits are the One True Way nowadays where they weren't when I was little.)

As for doing messy stuff outdoors--I *loved* getting to do "outdoor" projects. I built a water turbine, I collected edible weeds, I did experiments with snails. It was great!

My "little cousin" (who is now a sophomore at Davis) did science projects far later than school required. She made it to the International Science Fair and got to travel around the country with her projects. She often spent the bulk of the school year working on her project on the side. It was largely her fascination with those projects that inspired her to major in Biology.

You're doing a great thing by getting N and E into this stuff early. They'll appreciate it later.