What I Learned from the Hubble

Seamus needed to do a project this week for his science class. He needed to do a short report, model, poster board etc. Yesterday I tried to help him. Fail. Big fat fail. We argued and the result was a model of the Hubble telescope that did not meet the scope or scale of what Seamus had in mind. I told him we needed a break and could work on it the next day.

After school today, he closed the door to the spare bedroom and emerged an hour later with this model.

Much better. On every level. He's proud and happy - largely because it is a creation of his own two hands and creative brain.

I have to remind myself to get out of the way sometimes. I'm a parent not an operator of a remote control. We have to consciously decide when it's necessary to intervene and when it's ok to let a child take those important steps on their own.

A first science project, a project in fact about the amazing opportunity we've been given to see things once thought impossible with our own eyes.

Thank you, Mr. Hubble.