Those of us with kids, or know people with kids, or ever go to a craft store this time of year, know about Science Night. Happens every year. Elementary school kids buy up all the display boards and craft paint in town for their project. As I write this, I feel like I want to complain about this annual event. But I can't. I love it and have every year since Noah's first fair, 5 years ago.
This year's project involved a full on report with references and everything. I didn't have too much to do with that. It was mostly an in-class thing. But, after asking his teacher FACE TO FACE if it was okay, to which she assured me it was, I was thrilled I could type it all up for him. You see, this was not a typing project, but a science report. Super cool. I'm a little
controlling when it comes to our computers. I realize I shouldn't be, but I can't help it. These children of mine get near a computer and Control Alt Delete just HAPPENS. suddenly - BOOM. reboot. I'm not a fan of rebooting. It's right up there with plunging the toilet. sometimes necessary, but NEVER fun.
I did, however, revil in the idea of working on 'the board'. Noah and I brainstormed for a couple evenings before heading out to Michael's for all the necessities. Fifty Five dollars later (okay 75, but I bought a couple things for me) We came home with everything we need (and then some) to make this:
The Pinyon Pine Tree. A tree that, unknown to either of us, grows in (among other places)
Northern parts of Arizona. The coolest thing Noah learned about was the relationship between the tree and the Pinyon jay.
A small blue bird that depends on the pine tree for survival. The cool part, the tree depends on the bird just as much. Kinda like the Hippo and those little birds that cleans their backs. Or Pretty Woman. One needs the other.
We found a cute bird stamp (for 6 bucks that I will never use again. Anyone want/need a bird stamp? it's yours!) that worked perfectly. He was adamant about only making one bird. He was over me asking, "are you sure you don't want to add more than one bird???" Poor kid, has a mommy who so often forgets this is not her project!
the needles were fun. I cut them out a thousand slits in paper for him one evening while hanging with my gf (thanks for the company Lolly) Then, together, the stems got colored, trimmed and attached to the board. We rolled little strips of paper to form Pine Cones, which we both loved.
And Noah's favorite, and brain child, THE ROCKS! This is crucial for him because his tree requires rocky soil to grow. I've never seen him so excited to get a project going, all due to these rocks. I (still) suck with pictures, so you can't tell that the dark grey rock is rounded and projects quite a bit from the board. It, along with the needles, provide a huge 3D effect that Noah had to have (yah, like I didn't)
Working with Noah on a Project like this is so much fun. I love the brainstorming, storyboarding, problem solving, construction, editing, and final completion. We work well together and most of the time he knows just how to tell me to STEP ON BACK mom, this is my project. When I flip, and he doesn't know what to say it, I can see that I've lost it and am generally able to reel it back in. In the end, we have a great memory, he has a cool project, and he learned a boat load about the subject of his project, and the process of telling people about it. I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm thinking that's pretty much what it's all about.
Science night is tomorrow night so you know where I'll be, RIGHT? Hanging out with hundreds of other projects wondering why no one else's comes even remotely close to being as cool as Noah's. DUH!
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