Something Along Those Lines

The kids have a science fair this month, and we were going to do something pretty hilarious in the Greek line, but after the Multicultural Lunch we attended we all felt a bit Greeked out. My fault, I think, because I've been dragging this unit out for far too long, always seeing a new White Rabbit to dash after: "Ack, we forgot about Pythagorus!" or "We really should read this laboriously long 698 page Roger Lancelyn Green book" not to mention the old "But we haven't finished every bloody single story in Famous Men of Greece!" trail.

So when we sat down to reconsider our contribution to the science fair, I asked the kids if they were okay with our Greek plan, or did they want to explore something else. Max immediately blurted out "Something else!" That was that. While I have been known to flog a dead horse beyond belief when it comes to heated Jeopardy arguments discussions (especially when I am right and Richard is oh-so-wrong), I know enough not to mess with the interest levels of those of us in this house who are hovering on puberty the kids.

"So, what shall we do?" I asked.

"Gardening!" shouted FDPG (who has discovered that shouting trumps almost any voice).

"Butterfly gardening!" said Max.

"Pollinators!" shouted FDPG.

"Clone wars!" said Dominic, hopefully.

"Good ideas," I said.

So we went to the museum.

I like our museum: it's full of cool stuff, helps us clear our heads when there are too many things going on, and I've found a place where we can park for free for 4 hours that is right beside the museum. Free parking! What's not to like about that?

We wandered around a bit, saw some weird exhibits (believe it or not, Mr Museum Curator, but there IS such a thing as too many argilite carvings), rode up and down the very tall escalators a few times (dare I confess that this ranks up there with some of the Marine Biology exhibits for my kids?) and presented our Membership Cards several times just for the heck of it (FDPG finds it incredible that she now has real picture ID - I eventually had to confiscate it from her).

Then we hit the gift shop. Or, rather, I hit the gift shop. Max sat outside at the free movie centre with the twins. The twins hate gift shops. I'm not sure why. It might be because I love museum gift shops. And I like to have a whirl round after each visit in case something new (and educational) has appeared in our absence. Max loves gift shops, although he has taken to hovering so closely over me during these whirl rounds that once or twice I've fallen into him after turning around. (some people are close talkers; Max is a close walker) So I went in but about 3 seconds later all three kids followed me. Apparently someone near them at the free movie centre was sniffing too loud. Or something equally banal. Personally, I think they were worried about missing something.


After escaping the friendly but overly voluble docent, I rifled through the kids book section. And found this. It looked kind of fun. Nice cover. Combined bugs and experiments in a way I figured would work with both Max and the twins (not an easy feat some days). Looked fun as a science fair idea stimulant. So we bought it. And came home to a renewed enthusiasm for the Science Fair. Bugs, bees, butterflies and gardening. We had most of the makings already: homemade plant tags, lots of little, dearly beloved, tenderly nurtured seedlings, bee houses in varying stages of occupation, cold frames, heat mats, a worship of butterflies that borders on the near insane, and a passionate interest in growing and eating things that reside in our back yard. Or something along those lines.

Oh, by the way, remember me mentioning how I can flog a dead horse when it comes to Jeopardy discussions? Last night we were all watching Jeopardy, and when the Final Jeopardy question popped up ("Who wrote 'You're nothing but a pack of cards!'" or something along those lines) FDPG shouted "LEWIS CARROLL WROTE THAT!" (as I said, she has discovered the power of shouting).

And what do you know, but she was right.