Savannah's 1st Science Fair Project

This past weekend was Savannah’s first Science Fair Project.  It was not required by her teacher or school, but it was open for families to participate.  Upon Matt’s suggestion of making a volcano erupt, we worked together as a family to make this first-time project. 

Savannah, Madalyn, and Matt worked with the clay to make the mountain, river, and lakes.  I pulled some facts from the Internet for Savannah to study and write.  One night, after dinner, we tried several different recipes until we had the perfect volcanic eruption. 

On the day of the Science Fair, the girls enjoyed seeing a tornado, petting a rabbit, and learning about the solar system.  However, Savannah enjoyed entertaining the crowd with her volcano the most. 

As kids happened by, she and Matt would encourage others to participate in mixing in the special recipe and watching the reaction as it erupted over and over again.  

The project, and Savannah, were real crowd pleasers.  And the crowd grew bigger and bigger.

Most important of all, Savannah had fun learning what a volcano is, the difference between lava and magma, and about Earth’s tallest volcano (Mauna Loa in Hawaii).

Bragging Rights

Okay, since this is my blog and I can write whatever I want, I feel the need to brag.  This one will be on Savannah.  A few weeks ago my little 5 year old had joined me one morning at work because she was ill and could not go to school.  I had to bring her in for a few minutes to take care of some things and gather what I needed to work from home.  I set her up with scrap paper, pencils, crayons, and highlighters.  Below are the results from that day.

No, I don't understand why this says The Cat and the Mom when all you see is a cat.  But that's the beauty and humor in a 5 yr old's artwork.  I just love it.

And here is a note that she wrote that day and stuck in a binder that I use.  Imagine my surprise the next time I opened it and found this piece of love greeting me.  I laugh every time I read "Size 5" at the bottom.

"I luv my mom.  My mom is nis.  Savannah 5 yrs uld. Siz 5."

These are random pieces of art that she drew one day on her own, again on little note pads around the house, that we later found.  I grouped them together to save space below.

"Fish, Dab, Bubbfli, bog, cofy, pirit bot"

Translation: Fish, Dad, Butterfly, Dog, Coffee, Pirate Boat

And probably my all-time favorite (and it's even on Daddy's paper):

In addition, I have received rave reviews from both of Savannah's teachers about her writing skills.  So I will be sharing some of her writing journals as well.  Stay tuned.

Who Knew?

 Periodically, particularly after Christmas-time, I try to clean out the toys.  Throw away the ones that are broken or have pieces missing, or sell/donate the ones that just don’t seem to get played with.  However, I find this extremely challenging.  Why do I get so attached?  I suppose it’s because many items hold a treasured memory of playing with the girls or sometimes it’s the memory of who gave it to them or the holiday in which it was given.  Why have I turned into a sappy mush ball?  It’s the same way with their clothes.  It saddens me each time I have to put away the ones that are too small and replace with bigger ones.  And yes, I said, “put them away”.  I save them instead of getting rid of them.  For Savannah’s outgrown stitches, my excuse is that I’m saving them for Madalyn.  So why do I store Madalyn’s outgrown clothes, much of which has been handed down already?  I don’t know. I can often look at an outfit and recall the age they were when they wore it and associate a memory with an event in which they wore it.  It might not even be one of my favorite outfits, but there’s a memory tied to it.  Isn’t that what pictures are for?  Yes, I suppose.  And I have lots of those too.  Yet I still hang on.

When did I turn into this sappy creature that tears up at the thought of my 5 year old going to a Daddy/Daughter dance, or after dropping the kids off at childcare (still, years later), or at night when I stop the world for 5 minutes and watch them sleep?  Or at hearing about a devastating story of complete strangers and their struggles with losing loved ones?  A couple of weeks ago I was watching American Idol and they ended that night with a young man that was competing who was engaged to this beautiful young lady for 2 yrs… and then there was a car accident.  She is alive, but she’s now in a wheel chair, can not hardly speak, and has a lot of brain damage.  I came to bed crying that night, with my dear husband looking at me like I was crazy.  "You're not pregnant are you" was his response to the weird emotions I was showing for complete strangers.  And again after hearing of the Cole Family in Spring Arbor and the loss of Chad’s wife and newborn Baby Miranda.  If you haven’t read the story yet, you need to.  But be warned: it will break your heart.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2011/02/i-94_west_near_dearing_road_cl.html

http://sadandchara.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-heart-is-broken.html

Those of you that know me well know that I used to be a person of very little emotion and a person that hardly ever shed a tear.  So what happened to that person?  These cute, little, sticky-handed, snot-nosed, germ-carrying, love-boasting, leg-hugging, no-neck monsters happened. 

These beautiful creatures made me realize instantly how precious life is and how fast it goes by.  They have humbled me into a completely different person.

I knew they would change the world around me.  I had no idea they would change who I am.