Tyler, Darcy, Peyton and I were all out the door at 7:25--7:25!!--this morning, laden with two tri-fold cardboard displays and a duffel bag full of assorted paraphernalia related to the great state of Nevada. And that was on top of the backpacks so heavy my kids are bound to have scoliosis by the time they're 13, and lunchboxes that often come home still half-full because lunch is so rushed. But enough whining.
Tyler and Darcy got their boards assembled and put in place with plenty of time to spare, so we spent some time perusing the other entries. As always,, I was impressed by the ingenuity and creativity of a gaggle of 10- to 12-year-olds, and thankful for the umpteenth time that those days are behind me. It's also always interesting to see the varied appearances of the entries--from the crudely constructed boards that smack of no parental involvement (and trust me, that's a GOOD thing) to the designs that were clearly envisioned and then realized by an adult masquerading as a student. Whatever.
I have to say, I couldn't have been prouder of Darcy's board, crooked captions and all. I loved it because it was ALL Darcy. She came up with the idea, she did all the research, she decided on the layout and she saw it through to completion. Just about the only thing I did was make a trip to CVS to get photos printed for her. Result: Superior ribbon, baby!
I only just discovered after the competition that students are requested to stay away from certain topics, among them volcanoes and planets. Did I mention that Darcy's project was titled, "Why on Earth?" Fortunately, her project was not a study of the solar system, which is what the judges want the contestants to avoid. Rather, Darcy did a study of the planets to show why Earth is the only planet that is able to sustain human life. After she made her presentation she told me about the questions the judges asked her, and it was clear that they saw the project for what it was and awarded her accordingly! (Even if--or perhaps because--some of her pictures were crooked!)
I am equally proud of Tyler, though he required a bit more parental oversight. His layout was a bit more polished (thanks to me--LOL); because his board was white, I gave him the idea to mat his photos on cardstock in various earthy colors--sage green, ochre, butternut squash, chocolate--to add a splash of color. He elected to do an experiment this year, something I normally shudder at, but because he chose to test whether or not Green Bags really work ("As seen on TV!"), I knew he could easily complete the project. And for me, the reward was finding that he actually learned something along the way! When he wrote his report and prepared his hypothesis, I discovered that he actually did not believe the Green Bags would do what they claimed to do (keep foods fresher up to ten times longer, slow down the ripening process, etc.). So it was fun to watch him check on his test groups and see with his very own eyes that there is at least one product out there that's not guilty of false advertising! He's very disenchanted with a lot of the advertising he sees on TV.
Since his experiment worked so well I knew he wouldn't have much trouble putting his board together, and it really did look nice when he was finished. But nothing, NOTHING could have prepared me for the news that not only did Tyler also receive a pretty blue Superior ribbon, but he also got SECOND PLACE! Y'all! Isn't that exciting?! I asked him how he felt when he heard the news and he said, "I was quite shocked, actually." You and me both, kid!
Well, this entry is already so long that I'll either have to save my tale of the Math Olympics and Peyton's state report for another day . . . or I could just sum it up like this:
Peyton's little voice is so tiny that I doubt anyone listening to her oral report heard half of what she said, but she was a bona fide hit because she demonstrated how a card shuffler works--and yes, there were a few cracks about this preacher's kid who had poker cards and chips, dice and a card shuffler (representing gambling, obviously) and champagne glasses (the ones Randy and I used to toast with something other than champagne at our wedding, representing the 150 weddings a day that take place in Vegas). What kind of a Christian family are we??!
As for Darce, we were in Dallas at Lighthouse Academy for five hours in order for her to take a one-hour test--hence the title of this post! We sat in a crowded room from noon until 5:00. Just think about that for a minute . . . five hours. That's a long time no matter how you slice it. As you know, I am the Gamer Nazi . . . but that SO works to my advantage in situations such as these! I brought a Gameboy and a sack lunch for Sawyer and not once did he complain about being bored. Not that he ever complains about boredom to begin with--he's a pretty content kid. The Gameboy was a surprise--he actually thought the only thing he was going to have to play with was a little Happy Meal toy that a friend snagged for him the other day. I asked him if he wanted to bring his Batman toy with him and he said, "Yeah, 'cause it's awesome!"
Anyway, when it was all said and done Darcy had scored an Excellent ribbon--and in case you're wondering, there was no disappointment on her part this time! In her category (5th grade Computation) I didn't count how many kids competed but for the sake of argument let's say there were about 45. Of those 45, two received a "Superior" score. And about 15 merited a "Good" ribbon. So yeah, "Excellent" was just fine with her!
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1 comment:
Congratulations to All!!!
MM
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