Moving Forward

No one else is sad about not having the Homeschool Science Fair this year--but I am a little nostalgic today. Usually held in late January, the event was open to all homeschoolers at virtually no charge. Everyone had a one-on-one with their judge from the scientific community, listened to a science workshop, and in the end, everyone won a prize. As the main organizer for about 15 years, I help my own four kids do roughly 50 different experiments (the best ones were handed down and repeated during the appropriate grades).
That is a lot of hand-on learning and creating of display boards, and I don't even like science. But it was the only way that I could think of to make sure my own students engaged with science and enjoyed its revelations, discoveries, and complexities. There is no surer glimpse into the orderliness of God than a science fair project. Amazingly, there is also maturity that comes with the process as students face deadlines with projects that might have failed, burned up, spilled over, or fizzled out. Then there are those winners which took my breath away when I didn't expect my kids would do very well. It might sound like I'm braggin a little, but once every 15 years is probably alright for teacher evaluations.

Science Fair 2013

Another year of the Homeschool Science Fair is under our belts. I'm so pleased!
Winger won First Place in the high school division with his dissection of a cow's eye and explanation of the strabismus surgery he had back in 2007.

Polar Bear landed in Fourth Place in the high school division for dissecting a frog and trying to make the legs twitch with salt/sodium ions. Apparently he didn't have fresh enough frog legs.

Dorito took Fifth Place in the high school division by dissected a fetal pig and correctly identifying the 15 major parts of its anatomy.

More Dissections

We love the kits we ordered!

Winger was excited about wielding a scapel on a cow eye. He easily could reproduce the dissection video and label all the parts.

Polar Bear found the frog dissection to be a little tougher. He became more enthusiastic after he got safely through the skin and the tough layer of fat. Now he can pick out the tiny organs!

Dorito is lagging on his fetal pig project because of quizzes this week in College Algebra, College Trig, and College Speech classes.

Everything in Threes

We started biology lab for the homeschool semester today with three sets of porcine lungs and heart. Captain is a great help and was eager to help with dissection, because he remembers taking Human Anatomy class at K-State.
Dorito said, "Turn on a fan!"
Polar Bear said, "Get me a pair of gloves first."
Winger said, "Yuck."

By the end, they thought it was pretty neat.

Robotics Update

Dorito and his team from Hillyard did not do well at the B.E.S.T. Robotics competition this weekend. He was disappointed they couldn't compete in the preliminary trials, as their robot wasn't functioning properly at the last minute. Life with computers is not always under our control. But many good lessons can be learned through bad experiences. And I know Dorito will be glad to free up his Monday afternoons again! His next hurdle is the ACT test and college application deadlines--plus a referee exam that's due.

Engineering Award

For the first time, I helped one of my students progress from the local science fair to enter the MARSEF: Mid-America Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Dorito spent two days this week refining his reports and presentation, with a little help from me and Mr. Sharp at Hilllyard Technical Center. The competition lasted all afternoon, which meant he gave his talk to five of the circulating judges. He was tired but very glad in the end! He won the US Navy Science Award for his Engineering Project (building and calibrating an electronic multimeter). It came with a medal, certificate, and $50 gift card.

Science Fair and Winners

Every year for 13 years, I have organized a Science Fair for homeschoolers. This time we also welcomed 5th and 6th graders from the Catholic school making the room full to its capacity. I make sure everyone has 2 judges (in case one is grumpy or near-sighted) to hopefully give them a fair shake. And I give everyone a prize at the end. Not that I am from the world of "medals for 5th place sports teams," but because I have the philosophy of giving scientific and educational prizes that joyfully spur on the student's excitement. It was an exciting night! Aidon was worried he wouldn't win because he colored outside the lines on his chicken, but he got first place in Kindergarten division. Robert was sad that he was too young to do the Science Fair (age 3). How wonderful that little brothers and sisters are looking forward to entering! It doesn't look like work to them--only fun. But for the mothers (especially of large families) it is extra work and mess.

 Our family started our experiments three weeks early and it was a good thing. The twins wanted to find out if identical and fraternal twins have the same blood type. They pricked their own fingers--only to discover the Anti-A and Anti-B serums were out of date and not working. By the time we ordered and back-ordered, they only had a week to test the 12 people who volunteered. Including tow sets of 2-year-olds. My twins were nervous. But the Williams girls sat on their mother's lap and she covered their eyes (no screaming). The Melton girls sat at the counter with a cookie (no problem). the Lombardino twin boys were of the age they wanted to look! Fun! and Interesting! All the twins had identical blood types (even the fraternal twins who are only siblings)! We found differences in the fraternal twins, such as different eye color, hair color, and ability to roll your tongue. Amazing. (My twins also completed their first research paper and were grateful for Max's recent copy of "National Geographic" on Twins.)
Dorito was proud of the multi-meter he had built in electronics class. So he tested it around our house. First, my broken DVD player needed diagnosed. Then Meggar's lamp for college. He found a failed power supply on one and then an open component on the switch of another. Turns out it only needed the fuse put back in! Just like a professional. The toughest step for Dorito is putting his thoughts into summary form on the display board and into a short presentation for the judges. We struggled as I gave him hints, but wanted him to write it on his own. He was frustrated by my hints, thinking I didn't know anything about AC current, resistors, color bands, etc. (I don't!) One morning, he came down to breakfast in his pajamas to tell me he had the perfect wording for his hypothesis: (wow!) I think I can build a multi-meter that is fully funcational using proper knowledge of electronics. (Perfect, I thought!) Then the judges counted him down on the hypothesis for not having the word "if" and I was crushed for him.

In the end, he was happy with his prize=five free skating passes!
This was also a fun year because Meggar was home from college as a judge (and Hannah, too). She handled the 3rd and 4th grade division beautifully, asking appropriate questions since the other judge was new/quiet. And Captain was in town this year and could take all the photos!

Calligraphy Skills

I have finished writing the names on all 40 certificates for tomorrow's Science Fair. I'm always grateful to have learned calligraphy when I was in 7th grade. It's a fun skill, and I still have my original pen, nibs, and ink bottle. I wish I could remember the older gentleman's name who taught our small group after school. Maybe I am a bit nostalgic for this pretty practice because it involves the hand-written word (a rarity in our times of electronic communication). Once you learn the basic strokes, then it just takes practice and practice to make calligraphy your own. Similar to cursive handwriting, which is no longer taught in many schools because of budget cuts and time pressures. Hmm....

My other preparations for the Science Fair include: contacting 14 volunteer judges, printing 80 judging sheets, collating for clipboards, making homemade brownies for the judges, reminding the speaker to come early to set up, getting the key from church office, picking up 40-some prizes (some donated) for all students, and last but not least -- helping my own three students proofread and practice their speeches. Good Luck Boys!

State Fair

Dorito went to the State Fair today for the B.E.S.T. Robotics workshop (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology).  They didn't take a yellow school bus (!) but he got to know his instructor and teammates better during the 2-hour drive in Hillyard School vans.  The state-wide workshop presented the rules for this year's robot competitions, and supply packets were  given out to each school.  Maybe I'll learn more from Mr. Sharp at the Open House next month... My sons only said a few things, such as how good the lunch buffet was that they included.