Polar bears

As the sun rose today, I awoke to the realization that this was the first night in over a week that I hadn't tossed and turned for the better part of the night.  Then, as I took my first tentative bites of breakfast, I found that my stomach wasn't twisting and turning.  I didn't feel winded walking up the stairs.  Could it be that I've finally kicked this bug that has been plaguing me for the last week?  I hope so! 

And the things we could do today now that I have the energy to send my attention out to others!  It turned out that Jaelyn had most of her formal lesson work done before the school bus had even driven past our house this morning, so we proceeded to do some more research on polar bears for next week's science fair.  We found several websites that had pretty incredible video footage, facts from the mouths of scientists who actually study the bears, and easy-to-understand write-ups about the bears.  The sites we were most impressed with were Polar Bears International and National Geographic for Kids.

Now that we've done a deep dive, Jaelyn and I will be talking about what information she would like to share at the science fair and how she would like to share it.  I've been brainstorming a bit myself, in case we need some inspiration.  Life-size drawings, paw casts made out of clay or modelling clay, and acting out the bear's gait as it crosses ice are all ideas that have crossed my mind so far.  I do intend for Jaelyn to come up with her own ideas and that she will lead carrying them out.  My act of brainstorming is simply to open my own mind to the possibilities that are out there, beyond the pen-and-paper medium that I'm most comfortable with and accustomed to.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this will play out over the days ahead!