He's A Big Thinker

It's science fair season at our house.  Daniel has spent the past two weeks immersed in his project.  He hasn't taken much time for anything else.  But today was the big day.  Daniel received a third place award again. (Our school has multiple awards for each place.)  Being the level headed kid that he is, getting third place does not bother him.  In fact, he is pretty proud of himself.  As for me, I'm totally proud of him.  One of the requirements for our science fair is that the project should solve a real life problem.  As I wandered around looking at the other projects, I could see that each project fit that criteria.  But while the other kids were solving problems like which bread molds faster and how to cool down a can of soda the quickest, Daniel was dealing with how the design of a bridge effects its safety in an earthquake.  The idea of "Go Big or Go Home" is a pretty good description of how he thinks.  He was dealing with radio waves in first grade, after all.  That should have clued me in to how big he thinks.  I've told him that kind of thinking is what changes the world.  If he keeps up the big thinking and the fabulous work ethic, he will be able to do anything he wants.  And I'll be standing in the background cheering him on.

I Think He’s Got It!

It’s science fair time again and although we’ve known about it since October, things got so crazy while everyone was off-track in December that Daniel and I both completely forgot.  By the time I remembered, Daniel only had two and a half weeks to do his entire project and I was in no frame of mind to deal with the stress that happened last year as I tried to help him get it done at crunch time.  So I told him if he wanted to do the science fair, he would have to do it himself.  I wasn’t going to bug him or remind him every day of what he had left to do.  He’s in fourth grade now so I figured it was time for him to step up and take responsibility if he chose to do it.

And to my great satisfaction, he did just that.  He did his entire project by himself with only occasional technical assistance from Kev and all I did was buy the fruits and vegetables he needed, man the camera and give him a couple of suggestions on how to organize his display board.  Everything else was all Daniel.  And he had it completely finished two days before the science fair.  All he had to do the night before was stick everything he needed in his backpack.  So much better than the late nighter we pulled last year!

And he won a third place ribbon again!  I must say that I was very proud that he did so well all on his own.  He already knows what he wants to do next year and it will need to be done in the summer since that is when the ants are active so I think he has begun to understand the value of getting things done before the deadline!

Procrastination Is NOT A Good Life Skill

Daniel has known about the science fair since October. The aforementioned science fair was today. Which of course means that Daniel started his project a week ago and did an amazing amount of the work last night. Since he is only nine, that means that Kev and I also spent last night thinking, eating, and breathing science fair. He was off track the entire month of December and either Kev or I reminded him about the science fair on a near daily basis. Try as we might, we just cannot seem to convince him that things really work out better and are a lot less stressful when they are not left until the last minute. But then again, he seemed totally relaxed as he worked on his project late into the night. I was the one who was a mess. So how old does he have to be before I can just leave him to it and go to bed, only to lay awake hoping he doesn't fail miserably in the morning?

It spite of it all, he did in fact manage to get done. And did a fairly good job as well. Although I expected a school four times the size of the one we came from to have a considerably larger science fair, it was in fact only about half the size of the ones we are used to. There were only 50 or 60 participants in grades 3-6. I'm betting the fifth and/or sixth graders at our last school were required to participate. Anyway, Daniel came away with a third place ribbon for the 3/4 grade division. There were multiple winners for each place, but still I think he did a good job. Especially for having done it all at the last minute.


And Daniel, funny kid that he is, was glad he didn't win first place because then he would have to go on to the district science fair.

Mad Scientist

Today was the Science Fair and like last year, when everything was all over there was ice cream to be had. However, instead of eating in consolation we were feasting in celebration! Daniel was one of the winners in the lower grades! He was so surprised when they called his name that he literally jumped. He learned a lot last year and was able to translate all that knowledge into this year's project. He was so nervous last night that he didn't sleep much, but all the work and nerves paid off.

And like any good mom (at least the ones who are total crybabies), I was so proud I cried.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream

Today I taught my seven year old how ice cream can mend a broken heart.

Three weeks ago Daniel came home from school with the note about the science fair. He told me he had to do the science fair. Not want to. Had to. Kev and I initially tried to discourage him because he had no idea what he was getting in to. And because he's only seven. But he was determined. He worked really hard, with minimal help from us, and learned quite a bit about his topic.

Today was the actual day, so I sent him off to school with all his stuff, hoping he wouldn't be too crushed if he didn't win. Which he didn't. And he was crushed. Nothing I or Grandpa Estes could say seemed to help. Now, I'm not one of those moms who wants to shelter her child from all heartache and disappointment. I would hate to rob him of all that can and must be learned from these things. However, he is barely seven and it was still hard to see him try to deal with the disappointment. So as he sat in the back of the car, tears in his eyes, I suggested Coldstone. When Nathan asked why (Daniel was still too sad to care), I told him that sometimes ice cream just helps us feel better when we are really sad. I know that every emotional eating expert in the world would scorn that statement, but it is still a fact of life.

About halfway through his scoop of chocolate with Reese's Pieces, Daniel's smile came back. By the time we got home he had decided that he was going to do the science fair every year and that next year he will start his project in the summer. After all, he does want to be an astronaut or a scientist when he grows up so he has to do the science fair.