The boys were involved in soccer again last fall, and Caleb participated in the spelling bee again this year. There were other opportunities for field trips, but we didn't participate for various reasons. Then came February!
One of the first events we signed up for back in August was for the association's World's Fair. Each family would choose a country and work on a project to share with everyone at the main event on February 5. Since Billy has been to Greece a few times and has several pictures and other things he's brought back with him, we chose that country. (Countries could only be represented once.) I thought about the project off and on, but never really did much with it. Then it came down to the wire. (I've always been quite the procrastinator...) The week before the fair, I purchased the project board. That Saturday, I put the title on it. Monday, the day before the fair, I got busy deciding what to put on it and getting started. The day of the fair, I spent all morning and a good part of the afternoon finishing up. After Billy got home, we loaded up everything we were going to put on the table and headed out.
The fair was really interesting. Twelve families ended up participating, representing a total of 13 countries. They were chosen for various reasons. Some had served as missionaries in another country. Others had ancestral roots they wanted to share. One family chose Iraq because the husband/father is there right now. All the tables were decorated nicely, and there was all sorts of food to sample. (I thought about taking some, too, but in all my procrastinating, I forgot that detail...) The students were given "passports" to carry with them as they visited the different countries. At each table, they would get a sticker or stamp representing that country. The girl at the table for Japan drew a Japanese symbol in each passport; Billy wrote "Greece" in English and Greek. Several families who didn't make a project for the fair came out to tour it all. I think close to 150 people showed up in all.
Two days later, we went on a field trip to Cici's Pizza. About 40 of us attended. Everyone got to choose which kind of pizza they wanted to make from cheese, Alfredo cheese, pepperoni, ham, or sausage. They took the kids back in groups of five, plus whatever adults needed to supervise them. Caleb, Jacob, and I wanted different kinds of pizza, so I went with their groups, then went back and made my own later.
Caleb made an Alfredo cheese pizza. I didn't realize how simple they are: just Alfredo sauce and cheese. I'm not a fan of Alfredo sauce, but I might break down and buy a jar of it next time we make pizzas so Caleb can help make his own small pizza. (The boys each have a small pizza stone now for making their own pizzas.) 
Jacob made a pepperoni pizza, and I made a ham one.As the pizzas finished baking, they were cut and put on the buffet. Everyone got to eat some of their own pizza and sample some of the others. By the time the regular lunch crowd came in, the buffet was nearly overflowing with all the pizzas we had made (and were still making).
It was a great experience for all the kids to see all the processes to get to the point of making the actual pizzas, to take part in making their own, and to see other customers eating the pizzas they had made. It was pretty fun for all the adults, too!
This morning we went on our third and final field trip of the month. I had signed us up back in September to attend Slim Goodbody's "Bodyology" show. (I remember watching Slim Goodbody on TV way back when I was a kid! For some reason, I want to associate him with being on Captain Kangaroo, but I think it was the other way around - Bob Keeshan made special guest appearances in Slim Goodbody's show. Either way...) We all loved the show! The music was catchy, and he taught the audience a few of the songs. There was a lot of audience participation, both verbal and physical. He also had some of the children come on stage to help him with a few things. One of the girls from our group got to go up when he called for a few children who could do "something amazing" using their bones and muscles. A few kids did cartwheels and bridges (cheater back bends). One boy did a little breakdancing; another one did the worm. But 8-year-old Jade got the biggest applause for her double front handspring. Very impressive!
Apparently the "Bodyology" show comes through here every year or so. We'll have to be sure we go again next year. It'll be pretty much the same thing, but the boys loved it so much, I know they'd love to go back. If you ever get a chance to go with your kids or grandkids, I highly recommend it.
3 comments:
2 things.
(1) now were YOU supposed to make the greece project board or were THE BOYS supposed to do it?! hahaha!
(2) i love the picture of jacob w/ his pepperoni pizza!
Hahaha! It was promoted by the association as a family project. Jacob is preschool and he doesn't even try to color in the lines. Can you imagine what his contribution would have been?!? Caleb helped out some. He looked up information about Greece on Google Earth and in some of his library books. He also wrote the Greek alphabet on some flash cards that we put on the table as a game. Billy and I did the rest.
As a former teacher who cringed when parents did their childrens' work for them, I would not do Caleb's or Jacob's for them. Had Caleb chosen to participate in the science fair, which was not a family project, I would have guided him through it, but he would have done the work himself.
I love that picture of Jacob with his pepperoni pizza, too!
Didn't mean to sound so snarky in that last comment! I forgot to add my smiley face after the second paragraph! Oops! :o)
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