Okay, peeps.
Lots to catch up on!
When we last left off...the household was recovering from January Hot Mess Express-ness, older bro had come to visit, and was word-vomiting the health trials I'm currently experience, and...I was recounting the Wheels Off vibes of my youngest.
All. Important. Things.
But then we launched February with better vibes and have mostly maintained that momentum--despite some major setbacks of: 1) Chicklet flu, and, 2) an ACL tear-scare for Coda girl that's still not completely resolved.
It's always something, right???
Yet, here we are, with only 11 days left in the month, and I'm like: where did it go??????!
Granted, February is a short month, but, still.
Zoom, zoom, zoom!
So zoom-y, in fact, that Valentine's has come and gone and I suppose it's best just to report on those happenings, before they pass us by!
So that's our topic for the day: Our Very Merry (Robotics!) Valentine's Day!
Yep, you read that correctly: I said Robotics!
I believe I've mentioned on this here blog that Little Man is participating in the Robotics Team at school, this year (it's only open to 4th and 5th graders, so this has been his first opportunity), and he's been LOVING. IT.
Perhaps no surprise, considering his interest in building things--LEGOs, Crunch Labs, Hack Packs...you name it. It's best to keep him busy--in body and in mind!
Welp.
Some genius (note a tiny bit of sarcasm, here) decided to host the annual elementary Robotics Competition for the district on actual Valentine's Day of a holiday weekend, no less, and to that I'll just say: I have notes.
And, yet, it turned out to be a really fun day, so while I have notes, I don't have complaints!
Little Man woke that morning (very bright and early, as required, since we had to leave the house at 7:15 a.m., and would be gone until 4 p.m.). He was excited, anxious, and raring to go! And that made my heart SO happy.
Going in blind, not having experienced a Robotics Competition before this, we had no idea what to expect. I just knew that we'd been asked to wear Robotics Spirit t-shirts, make a lot of noise, and show a lot of school pride, so...school pride we showed!
Little Man helped me doodle some adorable robots so I could assemble some posters, and I just love how they turned out!
(And, don't worry: if Little Man looks giant and OLD in the above pic [taken in Chicklet's room], it's because he IS.)
Okay.
So...posters MADE, prep DONE, high spirits READY to cheer...we set off for the competition and experienced such a new and unique event for our whole crew!
First off: I know this might sound like a crazy admission, but I've known for months that Little Man and his team (there are three teams at his school) were making an actual Robot, but I didn't think about the fact that they were making an actual Robot. Ha.
And, yes, I know this sounds ridiculous.
Of course, Little Man kept me apprised of the trials and tribulations along the way, but it was wild to see the finished product with my own eyes!
It was also wild to see his hard work at play, because he was determined to qualify as a "driver" for his particular team (each team of about seven kids only has two drivers)--which required him to study extensively and take six tests!
He was THRILLED the day he learned he would, indeed, get to be a driver, and at the event, I finally learned what that entailed!
So.
It would take me a million years to explain the particulars, and I still don't understand them, if I'm being honest, but...the gist is this:
Each team has 60 seconds over the course of about seven rounds of competition. During that sixty seconds, one driver controls the bot for 30 seconds and then passes it off to the other driver for the remaining 30 seconds. The goal is, essentially, to pick up and stack these pieces on the board--as many and as high as they can get them.
Obviously, different colored pieces count for different points (I'm assuming, based on the varied positioning of them). And they're always facing off with an opposing team that's working on the other side of the Robotics Competition board, which lends to a sense of urgency and...well, competition!
It was wild to see how focused Little Man was, in preparing the Bot and ensuring it was ready for each round.
It was also wild to see how seriously he was taking the competition (which led to a necessary conversation about good sportsmanship...oye).
All the kiddos were so amazing to persevere through round after round (after hour after hour!) of the competition. And BLESS the teacher sponsors who wrangled them the entire day, as parents were only allowed in the arena as spectators.
(I'm sharing the above pic with faces, as the school shared it in a newsletter, as well. Meaning: the kiddos were cleared for photo release).
All in all, it was a wild (and fascinating--and stormy!) day for Little Man and his teammates.
They missed the top -10 cutoff that would have sent them into the playoffs, but I'm so stinking proud of the work they put in! Amidst about 35 (I think) schools, they placed 15th (I think) and that sounds pretty amazing to me!
This has been a HUGE source of entertainment and pride for my boy--and something unique to him, that neither of his siblings participated in. I find such great joy in watching my kiddos bloom within their specific areas of interest, and I love (love) that he is all in, 100% ready to apply and participate again, next year. :)
In other Little Man news...he qualified for the school-wide Spelling Bee (without intending to) a few months ago and spent the last few months attending weekly practices and doing 20 minutes of daily work on a spelling app his teacher recommended.
Obviously, this was NOT a thing he was actively trying for, and therefore, his participation was solely of his own volition. The Bee was originally set to take place in December, but the sponsoring teacher fell ill, so it was delayed until about a week ago.
Little Man was thrilled to have a bit of extra time to practice and avoid the public spectacle of it for a bit longer, but the time did eventually come for him to do his thing!
Not gonna lie: it was wildly stressful as a parent spectator!
It took place in the school library and was broadcast live to the entire school. YIKES. There were only about a dozen participating kiddos after quite a few dropped out due to nerves, so I was impressed with my boy, simply for trying.
We had a funny goal of just not getting out on the first word, first round, and he WILDLY surpassed that!
He was the third runner-up and final 4th grader standing, and though he was disappointed in that and vowed to dominate next year (of course he was; of course he did), I was absolutely delighted.
I'm so amazed when my kiddos are able to do public things that would have sent me fainting in similar circumstances. As they age, I know their ability to withstand these public events might diminish as their nerves increase (or perhaps not), but...the pride is REAL.
I had a gift and an icing-laden cookie cake waiting for him at home (a Bad Bunny one, still leftover from the Super Bowl at the grocery store, ha), and you can better believe we celebrated his efforts--and kept him from spiraling later that night when he was all in his emotions over wishing he'd done even better. Goodness.
As I'm sure you'll recall from my recent Youngest Kid Wheels Off post, I'm often plagued with guilt that I can't better spread my time amongst all three of my kiddos and their interests/activities.
There's only so much of me to go around, and the most pressing matters often have to receive the greatest attention!
But, despite all of that, my son seems to be trucking all strong and steady.
With advanced coursework, an interest in a variety of brain and brawn pursuits, and a generally-upbeat demeanor...he's doing pretty good. :)
Okay...SO much more to share regarding the rest of the best over Valentine's Weekend, but that might have to wait for another day!
For now: Happy Fat Tuesday, peeps! Goodness! How is it already Lent?!
