Geography

Yesterday was the day my boys had been waiting for! It was the Geography Bee at our homeschool co-op. There were 14 kiddos signed up for the Bee, and in the end, Sidge finished 4th and Isaac finished 2nd. Since it was for grades 3-8 and my boys were the two youngest at second grade, I truly believe they did the very best they could! (Sidge actually did not take the Geography class so he was extra-challenged.) Here is the only quick picture I snapped right before the Bee started:

I'm constantly learning as a mother. Here is what I learned today. I can be more nervous watching my two second graders compete in a small Geography Bee than I can be playing in a state championship basketball game in high school. My stomach was in knots.

In the end, we got exactly what we hoped to out of the Bee. It is so important that I remember what the big picture is all about. Years from now, winning the Bee isn't what will help them in life. But I believe the following things will stay with them for a lifetime:

1. Deciding to participate in something and following through!
2. Meeting new people who are like you and not like you and treating them with kindness and love!
3. Overcoming nerves and understanding what adrenaline is!
4. Respecting the judges and administrators and being appreciative of people's hard work!
5. Committing to an activity and studying and preparing for it successfully!
6. Being honest and showing noble character!
7. Having fun while practicing and preparing and participating in the activity!
8. Learning to be a gracious loser and a respectful winner!

These are the things we got out of the Bee, and while I was nervous as all get-out (and so were the boys!) it was a wonderful event. Sidge took his elimination question really hard because he is so sensitive, but he still went up and thanked Ms. Kymberly and did not argue with the decision. And by the time Isaac had been eliminated, he and the winner had gone back and forth so many times with no one missing a question, that part of me thinks he was relieved for a decision to have been made. 

Anyways, I also wanted to quickly flash back to Isaac's first "board" that he presented for school. This was also for the Geography class. He did his report on the state of Florida. We shared Key Lime tarts and gatorade with the people who checked out the boards too. He had so much fun working on this project: