Oak Tree in an Acorn: QUEST Fair

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

QUEST Fair

Olivia is participating in a pull-out program at school called "QUEST" which is an acronym for Quality Utilization and Enrichment of Student Talents. For their culminating project, the Kinder - 5th grade Quest students held a fair displaying a product of their research topic, much like a science fair. The Kinder students researched an insect of their choice and Olivia chose "the mosquito"; everyone's favorite bug! I asked her why she chose the ever-popular mosquito, and she said it was because they spread disease, and she is interested in diseases caused by insects. They made their models from what their Quest teacher calls, "Clean Trash" (non-food related recyclable materials) and designed and painted them. Then, they researched facts about their insects, and were available to answer questions at the fair. Olivia loved answering questions about the mosquito! She told me afterwards, "That was fun, Mom! I really like answering questions and talking about insects." During the fair, though, I could tell she was a bit nervous because she pulled the mosquito's eyes off. Luckily, her teacher had a hot glue gun, so Livy and I did a quick, little "insect surgery".

Eve also wanted to be part of the act. She was telling everyone how to plant seeds to make flowers grow and how a turtle hides in its shell and when it is not scared, "it just cracks out". (her words) It looks like Eve will be ready for her Kindergarten Quest fair too.

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Why the title, "Oak Tree in an Acorn"?

Well, really it's all about perspective when raising the girls. It helps me to think about the grand scheme of parenting and remember that what we do now affects how our little acorns will grow. Like an oak tree, we want them to be strong in their words and deeds, be able to withstand life's storms, set and reach their goals, and be people that others can lean on and trust.

We have an oak tree planted in our yard that came from an acorn my dad planted in a pot. This acorn came from a huge oak tree that was planted in the backyard of my dad's childhood home. My dad's father also planted this tree from an acorn he found on his hunting lease in the early 1960's. Our tree is thus a family heirloom, a "family tree".

It was the year of Olivia's birth when we planted our little sapling. It looked so very sad that winter with no leaves; it was, basically, like a stick rooted in the ground. Five years later, though, it stands 9 feet tall, and we continue to nurture it and watch it grow. We hope one year it will produce acorns of its own, and we can continue to pass on this family heirloom. We hope to remember it's example of how each acorn has the potential to be an oak tree, and how our acorns, Olivia and Genevieve, will one day, with help from God, become mighty oak trees themselves.