Braggin' about 4th Grade Fun!

This has been a very fun and interesting year for Britten in school.  He has a fabulous teacher who has really helped him deepen his love of learning.  I have had the opportunity to spend sometime in his class volunteering and I love to watch and listen to all the kids.  Britten's class is very boy heavy.  Lots of sports loving boys.  I hear all about which team won what game, and who went skiing and snowboarding.  Who is on who's basketball team and who scored more points.  It doesn't hurt that their teacher is a huge baseball fan and he facilitates a lot of competition among the class.  I must admit though, the girls in the class do hold their own.

This year, Britten has learned to do powerpoint presentations by the plenty.  He has become pretty proficient in animation and decoration when it comes to those slides.  He has researched and presented to the class info on the combustion engine, the evolution of trains, early Utah governor Simon Bamberger, and The father of Modern Genetics- Gregor Mendel.  He can recite and sing all the counties in the state and he even has Kameron singing along.  He has mad typing skills and is working at a 7th grade level in math and reading way beyond where he should be.  (Ya, even I cannot do the math that he is).  My little boy is growing up and learning so much so fast, I can hardly keep up with him.

This past couple of weeks, Britten had the chance to do his first Science project for the school Science fair.  The 4th graders had the option to do it, while the 5th and 6th graders were required to do it.  After much deliberation, he and Jason decided on trying to grow crystals.  I say Jason, because I do not do science any better then I do math...it is all kind of fuzzy to me.  I volunteered to help decorate the display board, so I guess it was a team effort.  Thanks to the crystal growing kit Britten received for Christmas from his grandma and grandpa Sheriff, he and Jason had a great plan to work from.  After mixing solutions, watching them grow, and watching them freeze, his hypothesis was correct.  "Crystals grow better at a warmer temperature."

We went to the Science fair and saw all the experiements the kids did.  They were so creative and fun.  Everything from which position will make you go faster on a waterslide to what solution will peel an egg shell best.  We got to Britten's board and there displayed was a 3rd place ribbon.  He was pretty excited, and Jason and I were pretty proud.   The photos below are some of the crystals he grew, and him sitting in front of his award winning experiment. 

Now we just have to get through a large graphing art project, poetry memorization, and the infamous county report!!  Everything you could ever want to know about Utah County.

This brings us to half way through the 4th grade school year.  Where has the time gone??  I am not ready for this year to be so close to finished.  I still have so much to re-learn and Britten has so much to teach me.  If he only knew how much I learned from him everyday.  He is becoming a very smart, talented, independent, and very loving person.  Everyday is something new.  I am thankful everyday that I have the opportunity to be his mom, even on the days when I he gives me grief, and Jason gray hairs.
                       I LOVE MY BRITTEN!!