Proud Child, Prouder Parent

This image is of a magnet that's for sale through The Little Gym. I like the message, though tonight I decided  that I'm the Prouder one.

My first grader son is bright and fun and loving but he can also be forgetful, lazy and unfocused. So when he proudly announced a few weeks ago that he wanted to do his school's science fair, I was trying to smile on the outside while quietly grimacing on the inside. I grew up despising the science fair. It was like some teacher's cruel joke on parents to test how much patience they really had. I was an abominable science fair participant. I vividly remember waiting until 2 nights before and then crying my eyes out because of the stress.  Now hindsight is 20/20 of course and thinking back on it, I believe my parents had it worse because I was a temperamental time bomb and my older brother who just totally lacked focus would also procrastinate until the day before. Then the day would arrive and all the kids would be carrying their display boards and contraptions and moldy pieces of bread and my mom would breathe a sigh of relief. One more year down. So that's my experience with science fairs. Not the most positive memory.

So, we're coming full circle and my firstborn son is sort of a science fan. He knew the project that he wanted to do and I'll be honest with you, I think he's going to be smarter than me in a few short years. So he says, "Let's do an experiment on how color affects heat absorption. Okay?"  Ummmm.....(short pause)....."Good idea buddy. Or we could do something with yeast and do some baking in the kitchen to test stuff?" (I threw out this idea since I personally love to bake) I got a no-go for launch on that one.

Well, long story short, we scheduled several days that we would work on the project and display board together. In 15-30 minute increments so as not to overdue a good thing. And you know what? It wasn't stressful for me or him and I enjoyed it. There, I said it. I enjoyed the science fair.

The expo was today at his school. He was one of 6 first graders who did a project. The other 5 kids are all close friends of his and kids that I appreciate for their friendliness and manners. He sat with his buddies during the presentation portion. I sat 2 rows back. Proud parent.

But you know who's going to give me difficulty about science fair? His younger brother Isaac. I guarantee it because the kids' just like me. Should be fun in a few years.