School Project

I spent this frigid day inside. I think the wind chill was blow zero, honestly I did not check. I needed to catch up on some much needed rest, exercise and real food. This month has been so busy, some days I forget if I actually slept the night before.

Anyway, Little J had a midterm project due and we finished it up this weekend. The entire day I attempted to do my school work, but ultimately ended up engaging in painting, gluing and laughing with the little lady. Her project was to build a community. They are learning about the components that make up a community. The final project and field trip closes their lesson on "what makes a community". The project was given to us in November and due in January. So, yes it's that deep. She first had to do research and a report (which is 3 pages), a video news broadcast and back drop. We had the option to do a Power point, but with my computers on the fritz we decided to do an actual model of her community. We went to Michaels last night and spent an hour in the store while she pushed through each aisle dropping everything she could find in our cart.

We narrowed down her selections to some felt, stickers, paint, a cottage (10 cents, left over from X-mas) and card stock. I told her we would layout our material today and execute her vision. Last week she recorded her news broadcast with a great backdrop she made and was inspired to base her model on the backdrop. She knew what she wanted and I am so proud of her determination and ability to follow instructions.

The cottage was the major task, doing a second coat of paint was something she didn't anticipate, but she stuck it out. In the end she created a beautiful community. I only helped with the folding and touch up paint, she did it all and I wanted to share it with you all. I told her I was going to take a picture and add it to my blog, she was thrilled. She has to add trees, but here is her project finished as of 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night. Oh yeah, the two people in the community are pictures of us.

By the way she is in first grade. I can not say enough about how pleased I am with her school. The program she is in is for gifted children, though they stress academics, they also incorporate creativity and expression in their curriculum. She journals a lot and any words they do not know how to spell, are underlined and explored at a later time, rather than asking someone how to spell it. She is always excited to go to school and that brings comfort and joy in my heart. I was hesitate about placing her in such a program because I didn't want her to be overwhelmed with just studies. However, the more I interact with her school and we engage in the assignments, the more I am impressed. The school has a parent support group for parents of "gifted" children that will occur later this month through the end of the school year. I definitely will be joining them to see what other families experience. So far her education has been one of the best decisions I have made in my role as parent. I am such a proud mama.