School Projects - Good for Both of Us

The Kid had to do a project on a famous American. He chose Thomas Edison for five reasons: (1) he has a book about Thomas which he loves and has memorized, (2) Thomas was an inventor which makes him an automatic hero for The Kid, (3) his middle name is Alva - for some reason The Kid thinks that is hilarious, (4) he quit school when he was seven, which also makes him a hero, then he set up a science lab in his basement, and (5) he’s white. (The Kid is in the minority in a huge way in his class at school and he’s ending February just a little tired of famous black Americans. He says, “It’s time for these kids to know that there are famous white people, too.”)

Well, the teacher in me wants to work these projects my way and the creator-inventor in him has waaaaaay different thoughts in mind. I want him to write sentences; he wants to paint on poster board. I want to tape a filament on cardboard; he wants a whole electrical station set-up. I want him to print the sentences on tablet paper; he wants to use the computer. So we compromised. He gets to type and we don’t build an electric station. I cringed as he taped down the pictures of Edison’s inventions. I think they need to be straight and in some kind of order. He thinks that overlapping and hanging off the board is great. I fought for neatly lined up pictures, even trying to tape down a couple when he wasn’t looking. Finally he said, “This is my project. Let me do it my way.” It took everything within me to just hand him pieces of tape and let him do it his way. When he got finished taping the last picture on the poster board, he said, “Look at this. Now you can clap.”

You already know that while I was handing him tape, God was teaching me. Sometimes it is right and good and needful for me to direct the steps of The Kid, but it is equally important for me to let him spread his wings while still in the safety of the nest. Sometimes I must insist that he obey and do things the way I say, but some things are really not that big a deal. Sometimes I must set aside what I like and let him figure things out for himself. Sometimes being a “hands-on” mom means sitting on my hands while speaking words of affirmation and encouragement.

By the way, I did clap. But I have to confess that after he went to bed I made just a few slight adjustments on the board.....