Persistence

This is a story about a project Muffin Man was assigned for Social Studies.

He had to create a time-line of events leading up to the Revolutionary War that:

1. Must include at least 2 sentences about each event.
2. Must include the date(s) of the event
3. Must be clearly placed in order of events.
4. Must be incorporated in a picture, collage, or diorama using a Revolutionary Theme.
5. Must be neatly done
6. Must show thought (can not look like it was done at the last minute)

Muffin Man had a month in which to do this project. He selected his events and planned what he wanted to incorporate into his illustration before we went to Puerto Rico, and got his teacher to sign off on those things...and then he forgot all about it until the Friday before the Monday that it was due.

When I picked him up from after school that day, he was SOBBING. "I'll never be able to get it done! I'll get an F!!

"No you won't. You have all weekend to work on it. I guarantee that you are not the only kid in your class who forgot about it and left it to the last minute. Daddy and I will help you with it. And if you work hard on it, I know that you won't get an F. You may not get an A, but you are smart, creative, and resourceful. You can do a good job."

His original idea had been to hand-draw a battle scene, with the time-line in clouds of smoke from cannons. I suggested that, instead of hand-drawing, he do a collage. He took that idea, and ran with it. He typed up the events in the time line. Mr. Spock helped find appropriate pictures on the internet. I helped cut out. Muffin Man did the layout (and we took this picture so that we could remember the placement), and we all helped glue. It took most of the weekend, but he got it done.

The Clouds of the Revolutionary War

His teacher gave him a 100.