Project Fair 2016, part one

Our homeschool group has an annual event, Project Fair, where the kids in the group get to show a part of what they’ve been learning.  It’s part science fair, part talent show, part art display.

The weeks leading up to Project Fair can be a little intense as the kids try to pull together their projects, and this year was no different.  Except this year we added in a lot of other busy running, as the Middles had just finished competing in the State Robotics competition the week before, we had an ugly stomach virus hit our home with 5 out of 7 down for days at a time which meant extra loads of laundry and trying to find food that was healthy and nourishing and easy to digest as recovery began, and a health crisis with our oldest granddaughter kept us glued to the phone and internet for updates and news.   So this year’s projects from our home were a little less polished than usual, and we all adopted “Finished is better than Perfect” for our motto.

But these projects! Can I just tell you how honored I am to be the Mama of my children?  Gracious! The creativity they have astounds me.

Zach (our oldest at home) has been working with clay for a little while now. His project was going to be all about the little clay critters he makes.  And they’re all pretty amazing. I keep trying to coach him into opening an Etsy shop, but we haven’t quite gotten there yet.  And then, just a week before Project Fair, he opened a box of clay I found at the thrift store.  So different from the Polymer clay he had been using, this allowed him to sculpt and form and shape.  And these creations began to emerge from his hands. And each one got better and more detailed.    I don’t know yet what will become of his ability to form things from a lump of clay, but I do so enjoy watching him do it.

Maddie (our oldest daughter at home) has been doing a lot of sketching this year.  She grew from calling herself someone who can’t draw into someone who recognizes her abilities and has watched them grow with practice and experiments.  Since she’s been exploring different styles of drawing, she decided to base her project on Art Styles.  She selected various artists with different styles and pulled some of their “signature” look into her own drawings.  The Tim Burton style Snow White Queen is her favorite.   She had never worked with most of the mediums she used for her project, so this was a big stretch for her in so many ways. Her confidence and creative style really grew through this project

Emma decided about a month ago that she wanted her project to be a Little Fairy House in the Forest.  We didn’t really know exactly what she had in mind, but one night she grabbed the popsicle sticks and some glue and started building her house.  As she built it and then painted it, her concept grew and changed and instead of creating only a popsicle house, she created an entire vignette, complete with gathered moss and lichen and fairy lights to finish it off (some assistance was given by my husband to make it all come together as she imagined).   She was absolutely thrilled with her Little Fairy House.

Silas, as the youngest, has had a few years of experience with Project Fair. His first year was all about Cars and Guys.  Last year his project was called, Glue, and yes, if you imagine a three-year-old with a project called Glue, you’ll have a bit of an idea of what it looked like.  This year he wanted to bring his favorite toy – Magnetix – and show people how be builds with them.  Well, Silas, being four, was rather timid on project fair day, so he never did show anyone how he builds.  He did sit in front of me and make faces for a bit, so I do at least have one picture of him.  He told me he’ll do a project next year.

And that brings us to Sophie. Well, goodness. This has already been a much longer post than I thought it would be, so come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you about Sophie’s project.