School Projects

Djeryd seems to have been doing a mountain of large-scale projects for school lately.  His projects have been so fun and involved I think they are worth a post. 

First off Djeryd spent months researching “Stonewall” Jackson from the Civil War.  All of the kids in his class picked a famous person to study.  They imagined up letters written to their families, report cards they got in school, things they would carry in a purse or briefcase, along with factual elements like a timeline of major events in the famous person’s life.  It was quite an undertaking culminating in a night called “Images of Greatness” where parents and families and friends could wander around the school gym meeting all these famous people and learning a little more about them.

One of the things that impressed me the most in his booklet was this letter he wrote to “Stonewall”.  Maybe it’s because I’m his mother, but it touched my heart that he chose this man for his bravery in the face of death.  A lot of kids picked sports celebrities or other pop culture icons, which is fine, but I love that Djeryd chose a person that he deeply respected for the difficult choices he had to make.  That tells me a lot about what my son sees as important and noteworthy and worth emulating.

The very next week he had to turn in a presentation on the construction methods of pyramids in Egypt.  He had a lot of time to work on and think about this one as well (he had already done a tremendous amount of research).  Somehow things slipped through the cracks and I came home at eight-thirty the night before it was due to find father and son bent over stacks of cardboard cutting out walls.  I am amazed at what they accomplished in just a few short hours.

I did get to make one small contribution – the ropes tied to the bricks.  I try very hard to stay out of his projects because I do too much, and Djeryd tends to stop working whenever I start.  He wanted to make his project out of Legos, of course, but I love what he did with a different medium.  He feels proud of his work and that makes me so happy.  Sean gave up a basketball game to stay home and help Djeryd out, which is a big deal for him.  That meant a lot to me, and to Djeryd.  And that makes me happy, too.  Three cheers for both of them!