Science Fair Post-Mortem

Jada turned in her science fair presentation board yesterday.  The science fair is an interesting window into kid interests, parenting philosophies, and relational dynamics.  Here's a dissection of what we learned from this year's fun:

(1) Jada needs to be pushed.  We were extremely laissez-faire last year, and largely so again this year.  But Jada got the message that a good science fair experience means pushing yourself.  Because what is the scientific discovery process but a constant cycle of not being satisfied with what you've learned so far?  So Amy and I popped in periodically to press Jada on "why do you think that," "what else could explain that," and "shouldn't you say more here."


(2) Jada is on top of things.  In light of our largely hands-off approach, plus the huge increase in non-school responsibilities from last year to this year, I came away feeling very impressed with how Jada handled everything.  Sure, she may have procrastinated a hair, but largely she kept on pace on a very large assignment, and she squeezed out another major assignment (a 3-page report on Ebola) concurrently.  And did I mention that she has school violin, all-city violin, soccer, choir, gymnastics, and gymnastics team in the mix too?  Not to mention doting on Asher and tending to 101 chores we pile on her and Aaron around the house.

(3) Stock up on presentation boards.  The actual board, which literally holds everything together, was for me a comedy of errors.  I thought I had pre-ordered one from school and so had put it out of my head.  Jada forgot to remind me that she didn't have one until three days before the due date.  I went to one store only to find out they didn't have any, ordered online for in-store pick-up from a second store only to hear back that they were sold out, and then in a panic did a rush shipping order through Amazon only to realize upon receipt of the board that I ordered the wrong size.  (To add insult to injury, Jada trots the teeny version out constantly to tease me about it being obviously too small for a science fair.)

All in all, there was some stress and some gross bread mold, but also a lot of laughter and two proud parents.  Attagirl, Jada!