I received a phone call a few days before the deadline from a woman at church who works with Wonder Boy in the children's ministry and whose family belongs to the same homeschool covering as we do - she was calling to encourage Wonder Boy to get a poster entry ready in time for the contest. She said she had felt a leading from the Lord to make the call. The theme for this year's posters was "Our Wonderful Universe". The older kids 4th - 12th grade do real bonafide science projects - K through 3rd grade are encouraged to participate by building a poster. Wonder Boy chose to do his poster about Planet Earth.
We made the obligatory trip to the library and picked out several good looking books which I fully expected to see in the back seat of my car until they were due to be returned. Wonder Boy has never tackled anything of this magnitude and I really didn't expect him to see it through to completion mainly because, well, he is just so busy from one moment to the next - staying on task just isn't his strong suit - I certainly struggle to keep up with him (if you see me and notice the twitch please don't feel awkward - hugs help).
A few hours after we got home I thought I was seeing things - the books had made their way into our living room and Wonder Boy was on the couch completely engulfed in them. He tore his gaze away long enough to notice me in the room with the confused look on my face and within seconds began launching into facts he had learned about Planet Earth - to say I was impressed was an understatement - I had been in the kitchen making dinner and as it was so quiet in the living room I thought he had fallen asleep and went in to check on him ( all Mommy's know silence can be dangerous!!). He then proceeded to tell me about all the cool and super fantastic ideas he had for building his poster - they were good ideas - even cool and super fantastic.
That night I went in to check on him before I went to bed only to find him still awake in the bed with the book light and all his library books spread around him - when I asked him what on earth he was doing he answered very matter of factly "reading about the impact that humans have on the planet". He had me hooked from this point forward and we lived and breathed "The Poster" & Planet Earth for the next few days. We did online research and made a trips to Walmart & Hobby Lobby to get all our supplies. Wonder Boy worked hard and put an effort unlike anything I had ever seen into his poster. The day of fair arrived and we dropped the poster off at the alloted time to be judged - with the results to be announced that night at the science fair open house.
It was an exciting day, a much anticipated evening and what a thrill when they called out Wonder Boy's name as the overall 1st place prize for the K through 3rd grade posters !!! Sometimes they get it and then sometimes - the library books are in the back seat until the due date.......but we love them either way.Thanks Mrs. T for listening to the leading and making the call - I cannot tell you how much good it did this mother's heart to see a little boy who so often struggles with the day to day things have such a sweet victory.
He is exactly who God made him to be and I am humbled that God chose me to be his Mom not just on the days like this but all the rest of them too - he truly is my Wonder Boy - Thank You Lord ;-)
I love you son - big love..........always
Learning as I go,
Leisha
