The Science Fair
I once read about moms who are called "helicopter moms", because they hover over their children. It's often hard for me to avoid being the "hover mom" because of my personality; I like to be in charge. I am really trying hard to let my kids do more and more on their own. For example, the Science Fair.
I let Bud and Rosie choose their own topics this year, do their own research, and conduct their own experiments. (I did help Rosie with the cooking parts of her experiment and I closely supervised her when she took pictures; I really love my camera.) I am very proud of their projects and proud of myself for taking a huge step back from "hovering".
I bought Coleman a disply board, too, and let him have the time of his life conducting "experiments" on money. (He, of course, also chose his own topic.) He called it "Money Madness" and showed different ways to make different denominations. I let him take it to school and he proudly explained his project to the parents and students who came to the gym to view the science fair projects. The fifth and sixth graders were the only ones to be judged, but Coleman thought he was being judged also. He excitedly told me, "Mom, I just talked to the judge, I think I'm going to win a blue ribbon!" It was the best day of his life so far!
Here is a sample of some of the funny things Rosie wrote for her scientific method. Notice how she added all the stars together at the end of her conclusion. She is so quirky sometimes!
PROCURE: Buy every kind of egg, (besides powered eggs) and examine, open and look inside, cook into scrambled eggs and cupcakes, and taste each egg. Let’s see which egg is the yummiest!
RESULTS= white eggs have 26 stars
cholesterol free eggs have 26
stars
brown eggs have 22 stars
COST= brown eggs are $2.59
white eggs are $1.59
cholesterol free eggs are $2.69
PURPOSE= I want to know which egg is the best in a bunch of things.
CONCLUSION= two eggs tied so my hypothesis 0.5 right, and 0.5 wrong. Even though the eggs tied I think the white eggs are the best. The cholesterol free eggs and white eggs both got 26 stars. Brown eggs have 21 stars. Altogether, the eggs scored a total of 73 stars.
CHOLESTEROL FREE= cholesterol is bad for body, heart, and blood. That’s why cholesterol free is good for your body, heart, and blood.
EGGIE EGGS= eggs have 7% of protein, 8% of vitamin A, 2% of calcium, and 4% of iron. The egg does not have any vitamin C.
