Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Science Kudos

Offspring #2 is a happy clam, or should I say 6th grade pseudo-scientist. Hard to believe just 6 months ago, said lab coat wearer wanna-be was not so keen on the subject. Then came ... drum roll please ... the Middle School Science Fair. And so began her quest to find the perfect project. Only a few criteria were enforced: No experimenting on any living creature (whew, her siblings were in the clear) and no toxic chemicals (whew, no need to call 911 and haz-mat). She decided upon testing phototropism, specifically if certain types of colored light affect phototropism. Learning the outcome of this could improve the plant's life cycle as well as help develop efficient ways to grow food resources. Yeh, yeh, we try to be a green family. Protect the earth and all that.

Ok, we need a second drum roll here .... #2 dd took 1st place in her division at the school fair, thus qualifying to compete at the regional level. The regional level is a seriously big deal around here. The competition is much stiffer, and they had qualified professional individuals judging the materials. The interesting part was that parents, teachers, and anyone other than the exhibiting students and the judges were not allowed into the judging area, which was cavernous. So, my little Einstein put on her dog and pony show without anyone around to lend support ... she knew no one there ... not the kids and certainly not the judges. The exhibits, by the way, were incredible. I've seen the future ... and I think society will be okey-dokey. These kids are smart!

Anyway, offspring #2 gave her presentation, remained poised while she answered tough questions, and walked off with 2nd place and a ji-normous (yes, that word applies here!) trophy! She was outstanding! We are very happy for her!!! The gal who won 1st place did an outstanding job, too. Offspring #2's school wrote up a nice little by-line in their school newsletter.

My budding scientist was homeschooled for about a year and a 1/2 before returning to our old private school. I'm so tempted to pull her out and homeschool her right along with her twin offspring #1; however, she's coming out of her shell and is happy where she's at, so I'll just bide my time. This coming out of the shell is coinciding with her major growth spurts. She's almost as tall as me. Hmm .... I can only hope that my authority will not decrease as her height increases.

Congrats Offspring #2! I'm so proud of your accomplishments!

PS: By the way, said offspring was also appalled that she's referred to as offspring. Can you hear her cry of disbelief? "Offspring? Offspring? You are calling us Offspring on your blog? Mother (with heavy emphasis on the "ther" sound ... kind of drag it out like this: Muh THURRR), I am a human being with a name." My reaction will have to wait for another post!

1 comment:

Marjie said...

Never tell 'em they're offspring!

Big hugs to the young lady. That's just awesome! I remember you telling me when she won in her school; this is terrific!

I figured she'd have passed you height-wise long ago, since I had the impression she's tall, like her twin and her Daddy; I figured you had the petite gene, like the little one.