Monday, February 16, 2015

Science Invention


In September, the sixth graders were given the assignment to "invent" something.  They were given almost two months to complete the final assignment with a different part of that assignment- invention interviews, invention name, sketch, hypothesis, slide show, etc.)  due each week.  I think Brady took two of those weeks brainstorming ideas.  I was worried he wouldn't be able to come up with something.  We encouraged him to invent something that was of interest to him.  


Of course, he chose something tennis related. :)


He wanted to create a barrier to prevent tennis balls from hitting the fence and rolling back onto the court.  He believed this would help prevent injuries and make cleaning up the balls quicker.





Lots of tennis balls were hit to see how many would stay behind the barrier, 
how far away from the fence should the barrier be placed and how much quicker would it be to clean up all the balls.  It worked.


Push ups are not part of the experiment...but sometimes you just feel the need to do some...










Get it?  Venus fly trap- {Venus is a famous tennis player}...Venus ball trap.... 

I showed Brady how to cut letters and use them as stencils.  He cut the stencils and painted them on.

A simple invention really...but what made it really stand out was his oral presentation.  He asked us to listen to him practice over and over and over.  He was so excited to do his first speech ever in front of his class.  Eric and I laugh because he did not get this public speaking excitement from us that's for sure!  He told us after that first group of presenters went that everyone talked fast, looked at the floor and did not seem excited at all about their project.  



The morning of his presentation Brady begged me to take him to the store to get some fresh breath spray. (We have never bought this before!)   He said when his teacher asked him if he was ready....he would hold up a finger to wait a second, freshen his mouth and then he would say, "now I'm ready!"  He wanted to get everyone's attention and get a laugh.  Oh, that boy of ours....


Brady got an A on his invention and oral presentation. 


Last Tuesday Brady was invited to participate in the Curriculum Fair at the high school.
He presented his invention to a handful of teachers and administrators and even the superintendent.
He answered questions and spoke with such confidence.  We're so proud of him....when you put your best effort into what you're doing....you will always be proud of yourself.



Great job Brady!






6 comments:

yaya said...

That boy is on to great things! What a wonderful idea and congrats on the speaking part. That's one of the biggest fears that people have..speaking in front of others. To be able to get up and present is one thing, but to make it fun and interesting is a talent! Good job Brady!

Cindy said...

I love this, what it does, and the name!! Clever!! How great that he is mature and comfortable enough to take on public speaking and even warm up the crowd!! Hilarious! (Perhaps you should go on Shark Tank!?)

jen said...

This is really cool. There is a process where kids can patent their ideas. Micah did it earlier this year. You should seriously look into it.

Steelers6 said...

This is such a cute post. I loved the invention, the name!!, etc. Great lettering too! It's really grand how he wanted to do the best presentation possible. (breath spray! haha)
Thanks for all the great photos, too Ma.
Did he come up with the name himself?
Well done, Brady!
Chrissy

Jill said...

That is so awesome! Way to go Brady!! :-)
Good to see posts from you again. Have a great week!

Blessings,
Jill

Dan said...

I'm so proud of my grandson for what he has done and also for who he is becoming. He also did not inherit public speaking from grandpa. I never thought about the tennis player Venus but I did thing of Venus fly trap.

 
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