The First of Many

Ever have one of those days that go better than expected? Where you end up being way better than you thought you were capable of? Hard work pays off and this great day it paid off for our Big Kid.

   He was invited with his Math Club at school to attend a Math Field Day sponsored by the Greater San Diego Math Counsel in our area. 31 schools attended with 4th and 5th graders participating. There were several categories to compete it, but Big Kid's chosen category was called Digit Deal. Here's an example:

Numbers are called one at a time. You can't hold numbers in your head to write down later and you get disqualified for doing so. Kiddo competed against about 25 4th graders and they went 9 rounds.

Parents and teachers of the students aren't allowed in the classroom with them during the competition and so we were waiting on pins and needles in a library. At least we had something to keep the Short Kid happy for a while. When we came out, we eagerly asked him what his total score was. About 109 he says. Some were better scores, but most were over 120. He said he thought he did pretty well, but not winning well.

   At the assembly they played a game where they called up one student from each school to participate. He didn't want to go up in front of all of those people, over 500 in attendance, and so they talked his fellow team mate to go down. They are pretty good friends. His friend did amazingly well and stayed until the second to the last round. Their teachers were so proud I thought they would pop.

   We were stunned at the assembly when his name was called. After they called 5th and 4th place in his category, we were disappointed, thinking he wouldn't place. When they called his name as the 1st place winner, he turned to look back and, with a shocked look on his face, said "Mom, they called my name!" We never did figure out how the scoring went, but we were excited for him and his accomplishments.

   The next night the principal of the school called us at home to congratulate us and to talk to him. The Big Kid was excited about the call and found out that the entire math club would be recognized at an assembly the following day. {Due to child protection issues, I have not posted pictures of other people's children here without permission. Thus, no photos of the entire math club.} They are great kids who work hard on problem solving and math skills. They had dedicated teachers who work with them and are proud of their accomplishments.

   Sometimes things in life are hard, and sometimes they come easy. Sometimes we come out of something not really knowing how well we did, but hoping for the best. I know numbers are easy for my kiddo, almost like magic. I hope this is the first of many winning competitions and that his contributions to the world include overcoming hard things. I hope as he progresses in his math and life skills he will remember that some things are easy for some, and some things are easy for others. The plan is to help each other along the way and do our very best, every single time.