Sunday, November 7, 2010

A totally Kidcentric Day.

We spent the entire day in an university town yesterday. Oh, what a day it was. Missy has been enrolled in a gifted program at the university and went to attend two 3 hour classes. The first was a math class  titled ' Multiplication Strategies to Amaze and Bewilder Your Parents & Teachers'  which was based on the teachings of Bill Handley, Australian Math Educator. The next class was titled 'Forensic Science'. She was was really lucky to get in to that class as it fills up fast and by the time we decided to spend the whole day doing this it was booked. Additionally it was meant for grades 6-8. Missy is '5th grade'. I simply called them and asked if they ever bend the rules on age range and if they would call me if a slot opened up. Well, they just fit her right in!  She had a great day except for the part in forensic science when they burned sheep's wool and other fibers to teach the students how to identify different fibers. Missy is horribly allergic to wool. Even without touching it. For her, just being in the same room is enough and when they burned it she obviously had a reaction. My first question when I saw her face after class was 'What did they have in the room?'  Two benadryl later and several puffs of her inhaler she was better. She clearly enjoyed both classes but was a bit frustrated with the second. She was familiar with a good many of the forensic tools and techniques (don't ask, we are weird) and being the youngest in the class nobody wanted her in their team. So, my (awesome, I might add) girl just walked up to a table with some kids and parked herself there. Missy wasn't taking avoidance for a cue or an answer.  She ended up doing most of the writing while the boys generally clowned around.

All in all, the two classes were a total success.

And what did Bear get to do all day? He had a blast! We spent pretty much most of the 6 hours with him at the local Children's Museum. Bear, IT Man, and I discovered, made a mask, played with the exhibits, made all  sorts of cool stuff and generally wore Bear out.  He even went on a carousel at the mall. Who would have thought that iridescent green horse-mer-dragons make  such great rides. After we picked his sister up from the classes we went back to that mall and goofed around at the Best Buy store until dinner time.  Yes, we are all horribly into anything with buttons. A dinner in our bellies crowned the day. Our discussion on the way home (Bear was asleep by then) was about the possibility of alien life on our planet, dimensions, singularities and wormholes , and other related stuff. Did I mention we are weird?

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