Kaylea Is Our Star!

This morning on the way to school Kaylea and I were having our normal little chit chat. It was about everything and nothing all at the same time. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she asks, "Mom, why is Pluto not a planet, anymore?"

Well, to be quite honest, I haven't kept up-to-date on the latest news in the astrological society, so I incorrectly told her I told her, "I think the scientist discovered that Pluto is really a star instead of a planet." Frankly, I don't feel quite so bad for being confused on this one, though. Especially after Googling it and finding that scientists can't even agree on what Pluto is. Anyway, because I hadn't had my cup of coffee yet AND I'm still feeling the effects of all of the flu medications, I told her she should go to the library and check out a book and we could see the difference between a star and a planet. (hmm...good research opportunity for her and little thinking for me). Well, Kaylea replied in one of her normal little quippy tones, "Mom, I don't need to look that up. I know the difference between a planet and a star. A planet is ROUND and a star is POINTY."

Now, I know I shouldn't laugh at my child, but this one about made me bust a gutt. I told her that a drawing of a star looked quite different than a "real" star. She was insistent that I was wrong. She even got a piece of paper out and drew me several stars just to show that she knew what one looked like. So, in an effort to get her to think this one through (yes, we have to do this a lot) I asked her, "well, if the stars in space have 5 points, like you are drawing, then why do they just look like little round lights in the sky?" I could tell by the proud smile on her face that she didn't think she needed to think this one through and she already had an answer for that question. She replied, "Because the stars are so far away in space you can't see there points from Earth." DOINK!

So, yes my friends, in your world the stars look like this:

But, in Kaylea's world they will always look like this:

Tah Dah!!! We Proudly Present Kaylea's Science Fair Project

Well, folks, here it is. Bub and I are so proud of Kaylea. She has worked really hard on her project. We hope you like it!

Science Fair Project - Update

I know many of you are probably wondering what ever happened with the Science Fair project. Well, Kaylea has remained dedicated to finishing the project and has been working diligently on it. So far, she has completed the research phase; written the report; made the graph; and now she is working on her board. I am hoping that I will be able to post the final project this weekend. Stay tuned........

Daughter Of The Year Goes To Kaylea!!!!

....and Mom of the Year (in the lousy category) goes to me. In case any of you out there have ever doubted the fablousness of my daughter, just sit back and read this.

As you are aware, from reading the Science Fair post, yesterday we began working on the experiment phase of Kaylea's project. Kaylea was very excited about making an entry in the Science Fair. The entry was not a requirement for the 3rd graders and she was excited because she was going to be one of only a few children in her grade that were participating.

As I mentioned before, the material for the Science Fair was sent home several months ago (I believe the beginning of October). I looked over the requirements and dates at that time and then filed (ha) the paper on the top of my computer desk where all of the things that need to be dealt with go. Pretty much since the day the paper came home, Kaylea has been pestering me to get started on the project. I just didn't see any need to start that early since the Science Fair wasn't until February (so I thought). I wanted her to wait so that the research would be fresh in her mind (and also because I have a BAD habit of procrastinating).

Today, I dug to the bottom of the paper pile on the desk because I needed to know the dimension requirements for the display boards. I thought it would be neat to take Kaylea to the store and let her pick out all of the "pretties" for her board. Well, imagine my shock and sickness when I discovered that her school Science Fair in TOMORROW! YES, it is tomorrow! The date in February that I had ingrained in my head is the date of the county-wide Science Fair. Boy o boy, did I screw up!!!!!!!! Now I only had to figure out a way tell my daughter without causing too much therapy in the future.

As I drove to school this afternoon, I rehearsed the impending conversation with her in my head. I have to admit I was very nervous about telling her. Not because she would know that I am not perfect (I have proven that many times over) but because I hate to think that I am causing her any type of sadness, disappointment or grief. The last thing on earth I want to do is let down my little girl, and in my opinion I had let her down in a big way!

When I picked her up I told her that I had something to tell her and she was probably going to be mad at me, AND THAT WAS O.K. Then, I told her I was really sorry for the mistake I had made. Finally, I told her that she was not going to be able to participate in the Science Fair because I had not written down the correct date.

You know, she just looked at me and said, "It's o.k. Mom. Parents make mistakes sometimes, too." Can you believe it? Wow, what a kid! I know she is great but let's face it she is NINE. Most of the time, her little universe has her in the middle with everyone else orbiting around her. But today, she was so mature. She wasn't disappointed, at least she didn't show it if she was. She was so understanding and accepting and even gave me a hug and told me not to worry about it.

I'm sure some of you probably think I made way too big a deal about this and maybe I did. I just know that it makes me sick to think of letting her down in any way.

Bub and I discussed the situation and pondered our options at this point. We both think it is important for Kaylea to finish her project. She needs to be able to have the satisfaction of completing the project that she has been looking forward to. Also, it won't hurt her to learn the steps involved in conducting an experiment and completing a Science Fair project. So, we put our heads together (Daddy, Kaylea and Me) and decided that when she is finished Kaylea can enter her project into the first ever Curiously Kaylea Cyber Science Fair. Yes, our little Blog will be having its own Science Fair. I will post lots of pictures of her project along with the results of our test when everything is complete. Of course, we are going to need some judges for our Cyber Science Fair. If you would like to be one of our judges, just leave a little comment when you see her finished project on the Blog. She will be anxiously awaiting your feedback.

The Science Fair Project

A few months ago Kaylea jumped into the car after school and was bubbling with excitement. She says, "Guess what Mom? I signed up to do a Science Fair Project. We don't have to do one, but I really want to because I love Science. And we get extra credit for it!"

Well, I was immediately taken back to 8th grade when I had to do a Science Fair Project and my Mom did the whole thing for me. You see, I was not exactly a star student in Science and had no interest in doing any kind of project that would be on display for the entire school to view. So I picked a topic that had something to do with hair follicles, or something like that (I'm sure Mom could tell you in more detail the subject) and my Mom "helped" me. Actually, she did the whole thing. She wrote the report (but I typed it, I think), she supplied the pictures, and she even did my board. I remember it was real pretty and I was very proud of it (her).

Though I had never been a real Science whiz, I was kind of excited about Kaylea's project. I thought it would be a lot of fun and a good opportunity for Kaylea and me to work together. When we got home, I read the material that was sent home from school and had to chuckle. It clearly said that the project is to be completed by the child or it will be disqualified. First of all, she is nine; she has no idea what a Science Fair project is let alone what type of topic to choose. Second, I wouldn't be doing it for her I will just be helping her with it. Well, that afternoon I began Googling "science fair projects for children." After I had compiled a list of about ten to fifteen different projects I let her choose which one she wanted to do. Well, she chose to find out which brand of soap would dissolve the quickest in water.

The Science Fair is next month so we are going to begin today. I have already formulated our plan of attack on the experiment. We are going to start with four bars of soap (different brands but equal weight). Each day we are going to let the bars soak in a container of water for 20 minutes and then weigh them. She will be recording the weights each day for two weeks. In the end she will make a chart to show how much each bar dissolved each day. Sounds easy enough and she should be able to do this without too much help from me (ya think?)

I was telling Auntie M about the project and all of my ideas for decorating the board. "I was thinking she could get a blue board and cover it with bubble stickers and put a rubber ducky on the table and......." Then Auntie abruptly stopped me and said, "Jen, don't be one of THOSE moms. Make sure it is Kaylea's project and not yours. It needs to be her work, no matter how bad it may look."

Well, this got me thinking. Maybe I am trying to finally do my Science Fair Project from 8th grade. Just like my Mom was trying to finally do the project she never completed. Wow, what a revelation. OK, the cycle will stop with me! I will let Kaylea do her project her way! I will only offer assistance when asked or needed! I will make Kaylea be responsible for this assignment!

But, I just have a few questions. Do you think it would be over the top if Kaylea had a strobe light on her table? Or how about a boom box playing Splish Splash? Or how about if she wore her robe and shower cap to the Science Fair? OOPs, there I go again, sorry!

No, really, I will let her do it herself ;)