Happy Mother’s Day!
Wait a second –– don’t documentaries win Oscars and Emmy’s, not Grammy’s?
Yes, but I was referring to a “Grammie” — the recognition and support a grandson receives from his grandmother for his role in a school project, a terrific 
documentary on the devastating 1889 Johnstown Flood.
In truth, the participants (including my 14 year-old son) received tremendous support and encouragement from all of their (proud) families, starting with the Mom’s.
One of the sweetest parts of the competition: the flurry of supportive text messages from classmates immediately after the final results were announced (see next).
Minnesota History Day
The school project by my son and three classmates came this close to winning their category at the state finals last 
weekend, having advanced from the local and regional competitions.
Out of 50 entrants statewide, they finished 7th, good enough for “Honorable Mention” — and lots of kudos from friends and family.
Congrats all around!
That’s the four budding documentary filmmakers, at right (guess which one’s the Kaplan).
P.S.: partly to ensure that the work product is the kids’ (vs. ringers, like relatives in the movie biz), a key part of the competition is fielding judges’ questions about the collaborative process, rewards, challenges, etc.
