The holiday season has passed and now I'm into the first new season of the year: science fair season.
I did have a wonderful Christmas and a warm, lovely New Year. I got my last present in the mail yesterday - a stuffed, two-headed calf from our dear friends in Boise. My kids were delighted.
Now, however, my kitchen is a temporary lab - testing the effect of varied glycerin levels on the longevity of bubbles. I think that after at least a dozen of these projects I am finally getting better at the selection and procrastination part of the project.
My daughter's entrepreneurial spirit popped up when she was mixing her varied solutions and trying one out with her homemade, ineffectual, wire wand.
"We should market this stuff!" she exclaimed. I hated to burst her bubble but I explained that she was a little behind the curve on that idea.
Right now we are currently having a "delay in the lab" due to the lack of a normal bubble wand. Ironically, despite the perhaps gallon of homemade bubble solution on my kitchen counter, I'm going to have to go buy some bubbles for the wand. Figures.
I love bubbles - the perfect introduction to the ephemeral nature of beauty. I remember my 2 year old son drinking a couple of big chugs before he registered that they didn't taste good and his wide eyes when he burped a bubble. They had an ill effect on him over then next day.
Big Changes
7 years ago
9 comments:
Ack! E has left that behind but J has 3 years worth and his procrastination gene is very dominate.
I was just saying to him this past week it would be a good time to think about possible sf project ideas but his eyes were glazed over as he was playing "World of Warcraft". I should pick better times to discuss important thoughts with him, huh?
Good luck on the bubble "solution".
burped a bubble!
hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahha
Your dad, Mr Science Fair, would say that this is the most wonderful time of the year.
Thank G-d after all these years I only have one to supervise. E has been working on her own the last couple of years... of course it doesn't stop all the whining and gnashing of teeth. (And it doesn't help that she is less than fond of her biology teacher.)
D's project was due before Xmas break, which was a relief. I have a feeling he will need help well into middle school.
We just finished ours.. what a organizational nightmare. Next time we are going to study the procrastination habits of teenagers. Should be an interesting study, completed 15 minutes before it is due most likely. :-) Good luck with the new bubble wand!
My only sf project was in third grade growing plants from seeds. I overwatered them, three times a day, and I went to the fair with ten cups of dirt. Not a good memory.
I'm guilty of it too, but I love the way we parents have taken ownership of the dreaded science fair project. I'm considering forming a parents advocacy group that will lead a boycott of parents time and money for science fair projects. I don't think the current structure of these fairs actually accomplishes anything except to identify the percentage of a kid's work that a parent is willing to do. And don't get me started on homework!
ah, homework. I know how you feel, Dan. I especially love that the new principal at our high school requires ALL teachers to give homework every night. I recognize that high schoolers have to prepare, but sometimes it's just busy work. (PS - the teachers don't like it either.)
With respect to the money and time parents are in for on the science projects, E found the answer to a relatively painless and inexpensive project by going for psychological projects.
She likes understanding how people act under certain circumstances so she opted for projects like (can't remember the project names) how well males and females remember details from a secretly staged instance and similar ideas.
She took first 2 times and I think 2nd one time.
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