Mom's science fair project

James' stormy mood one day was mirrored in the window as he watched it rain.

Samuel

Name: Mom
Teacher: Life
Period: All day


Science Project Planning Worksheet
(Please fill out all areas. Use your best work!)

What will be the title of your project? Do changes in the weather affect children's behavior?

What is your hypothesis? YES! -- and not for the better

How will you test your hypothesis (what is your procedure)? I will watch my children, classifying their behavior into three general categories: good, bad and ugly. After establishing a baseline for each child, I will make (mental) notes on episodes in which the children seem more antsy, argumentative, boisterous, bouncy, catty, cry-babyish, demanding, energetic, etc., than normal. (I may add more alphabetized adjectives later.) I will compare the occurrence of these episodes to weather records to see if there is an associated change in barometric pressure. Of particular interest will be if weather changes affect the children equally.

What materials will you use? The newspaper weather report and five interesting subjects that I can observe around-the-clock the ENTIRE summer.

What are you controls? I wish I had some. Oh, you mean scientific controls. I should study my neighbor's exceptionally sweet boys, too. In my own family I will strive for complete order in this house, where nutritious meals are served on a set schedule, and the proper amount of sleep is obtained each and every night. No one will get sick. That way these factors won't skew the results. As extra controls, my children will obey the first time when asked, and they will not tease or get into each other's things. Our days will be filled with wholesome, engaging activities. With such bliss, any aberrant behavior surely must be blamed on the weather, right?

Hoo-boy, this might be hard to pull off.

Alternate idea for science project: What brand of cereal, when combined with milk, makes the strongest glue on the dining table?

Good luck!