Homework homework homework

All I can say is that if it is this hard now.... what do I have to look forward to? Not much!

So both boys have MAJOR projects due this week. Nic's is actually two projects about The Bull of Minos or Minotaur. Will is studying Blind Lemon Jefferson who is a historic African American Texan who was big in Jazz music in the 1920's. We divided and conquered as parents this weekend, each tagging along with a boy and encouraging them to focus, stay focus and make progress. This is not an easy task for either of us but it was made slightly easier because of the knowledge that we were both doing it. Not like I was off scrapbooking or he was off.... sleeping. (just considering possible hobbies attributed to each of us)

We gathered the boys up around 11 on Saturday and made a plan for the day. It started with a break, showers, food and prep work. Then Will got busy researching and writing and Nic did some work on the computer and made a shopping list. A little later he and I headed out to the dollar store in hopes of finding a $1 male Barbie-type doll. No luck so we headed to Target and found Beach Ken for just $5.94! We also grabbed a t-shirt for Will for Valentine's Day and a couple of hot dogs from the snack-bar.

With Ken in hand and a plan we headed to JoAnn's to look for some furry fabric. Minotaur is half man and half bull so we were going to make him hairy all over. We came up with some fabric and bought as little as we could before making one more stop. Nic and Will both needed new tennis shoes so we ran into the Sports Authority and satisfied one of their needs.

We headed home optimistic and Nic got straight to work. We pulled out some Crayola Model Magic left over from an earlier school project and set out to turn Ken into Minotaur. Well we hit a road-block when we realized that the Model Magic was not a good consistency after being stored and we needed more, fresher medium to work with. We hopped back in the car and headed to Hobby Lobby but not until I printed a couple of coupons, and picked up some brown Model Magic and some sculpting tools. Checking our separately we each saved 40% and spent a little more than $5 to complete the project. Whahoo!

We as a family, spent the rest of the night tweaking our dear Minotaur. Fred printed pictured of bull profiles, I tried to mirror a horn that Nic sculpted then we baked them to harden them. Nic worked on embedding red beads as his eyes and I found a shoe box large enough to accommodate the Bull of Minos Action Figure for safe transport to school. It was a learning experience for all of us and Nic led us through it all with his vision and our support. Good stuff.

Blind Lemon Jefferson was a name never mentioned in this house before. Will had actually chosen another famous AA Texan but had come to a standstill when it was time to draw a picture of the cowboy he had chosen. It seems that my son does not feel that he excels in drawing of cowboys and horses and cattle. I can see the hesitation. The particular historic figure he had chosen wasn't too stimulating a character either. We reassessed how far he was into the project and opted for a new famous Texan to research and share information about.

Who knew that You Tube had recordings of "See That My Grave is Kept Clean" circa 1926?! They do. Will took a listen and was amazed that this guy was considered a pioneer in the Jazz Music scene in Dallas. He wasn't too fond of the songs but the story was intriguing enough so we stuck with it. Will and Fred worked throughout the day writing sentences, designing a movie poster and talking about how to draw a guitar, musical notes and records. Of course Fred had to first explain what a record was.

Among all of that accomplishment Will and Fred also managed to get Will's hair cut and have lunch at one of Will's FAVORITE restaurants since moving to Texas, Dickey's. A little pulled pork sandwich would be good for the project manager and the student!

Well, all in all I'd say we worked really well as a team. Both boys did pretty good getting their projects to a good point considering the time they had spent on them. Will's movie poster is due in Friday and got a little more attention before the BIG game yesterday. He still needs to draw the guitar, musical notes and records but he has his title completed and the informative sentences written.

Minotaur is complete with loin cloth and a sword accessory. Nic spent some time tonight on the product launch presentation that will accompany his action figure and nixed my idea of developing some type of packaging. The shoe box will remain utilitarian for transport and will not market the contents inside. I suppose he may not want to advertise its contents to every student in the hall. Minotaur action figures could be hot items at Middle School.

Once all projects are complete I will post pictures. For now... Have a little to a great jazz musician and try to picture Ken as "Minotaur Man!"