After School Activities

Tonight was the science fair. The only other time one of the kids participated was Courtney in 2nd grade. This year we knew that Connor would be completing a project. At Tobias, 6th graders are required to submit a project and all others are encouraged. What we didn't know was that Courtney's teacher would be requiring her class to participate. So about a month ago, Connor and Court each picked out projects. Courtney decided to test which liquid would help plants grow the best and Connor wanted to test magnetic fields. Luckily for both we had help.

We didn't know which plant would grow fastest, so Julie called up our friend Rachel who let us know that carrot seeds would be one of the fastest to show growth. Thank you Rachel.

Courtney's hypothesis was right on. Water worked better than milk and apple juice.

Connor wanted to test how different materials would impact a magnetic field.

We had put together a plan to test the magnets power by trying to pull nails being obstructed by different materials. We lucked out again as a friend worked at a testing company and let us borrow a magnetic field tester. We were able to simply put the magnets into different boxes (cardboard, glass, metal, etc) and wave the tester wand over the magnets and download the data into my laptop. Not only did it make the tests smoother and more uniform, but the test software package charted some great graphs that Connor was able to put right on his display board. Connor also did the majority of the display board at school by himself, so in my view, this was by far the best science fair project ever.

And even though the science fair is over, we have to hold onto the display boards for 3 weeks in case either of them have to go to the district fair. Hopefully they will last if needed.

Right after the science fair ended, Connor had his last basketball game. Although he's missed a few games this year with sickness and CHOMP conflicts, he had a good season. He's a tough defender and has really improved working through screens this year. As you can see from the pictures, his team was a little undersized this year, but they still managed to win about half their games.

The kids certainly keep us busy. Between piano, trumpet, basketball, ballet, swing dance, scouts, and activity days, there seems to always be something going. Tomorrow Connor gets his first three merit badges at the court of honor. Like I said, there's always something.