Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday.

It’s that time of year when the tri-fold poster boards are flying off the shelves and there’s a fresh run on glue sticks, construction paper and all sorts of odd supplies. Yes, it’s science fair time. You know your child isn’t a baby any more when the teachers send home the notice that your child will be expected to conduct a research experiment and write a report on the findings. Kids will be trying to figure out how to get plants to grow, what solutions are best at cleaning pennies and what paper towels are most absorbent.

This spring marks the first science fair for my 9-year-old, but having already gone through several of these with my older son, I’ve realized the supply most required for these projects is a great amount of patience. There will inevitably be the frayed nerves, temper tantrums and tears. And of course when the projects are presented, parents will gossip over which children did the work themselves and which had too much assistance from grown-ups. I know some parents hate the science fairs, but I always found them an interesting detraction from the usual homework of reading logs and math work sheets. Getting the kids to buy into the assignment is another matter, however.

My son has been working just a few days and we’ve already had arguments over his not wanting to read the books he took out of the library for his report. But I hope when he finally gets to do the experiment—knocking over models in simulated earthquakes-- he’ll get more enthusiastic about his project.

Are you in the midst of science fair season? How is it going at your house?