Living to the Full in Fourth Grade!

The twins were able to serve as Safteys at the same time this year!  About the time they were over it, it was time for the next group to keep the kindergartners safe!  (Grace is shorter than Juliet, but this picture definitely exaggerates the situation!)

Grace got in all of her recommendations super quick, so that she could be VIP early in the year!  She was actually the first one, but Billy and I were in Germany when I got the email from their teacher, and I didn't want to stick my mom with yet another responsibility, so I said we'd wait.  

I helped her make up her word search, so that she could just copy it, but decided to use the one that I made.  I sent an answer key to the teacher, just in case I misspelled something! 

Her poster turned out really cute, and very Grace!

We went to family reading night, but Billy and Emily both had other engagements, so they didn't come.  Alice was on her own schedule, so we didn't see much of her, but she was under strict orders not to leave the building.

Everyone had a fun time, and Grace and Juliet both won an invisible ink pen from the raffle the next day!

One day, when I was working as the para in Grace and Juliet's classroom, we went for a nature walk!  I was the caboose of the group and took some cute pictures.  I won't post the ones of the class here, but I did see some cool moss!

Grace and Juliet were assigned the assignment from he)) last week.  It is the first 'last' that I've not been sad to see go!

It's an estimation/multiplication page that has five single digit numbers and five triple digit numbers, and you are expected to match them to meet the criteria.  Some aren't so bad (make the lowest product) but others are just cruel, find a number with only digits of 2 and 9 and there are 6 options!

Alice was so frustrated when she had it 5 years ago, and we did our best, but after an hour or so I had her turn it in unfinished.  With William, I was able to help better, but we still did not finish!  Finally, on my third iteration, I found a system that helped them without giving them the answer!

They had to make an attempt on their own first.  If they did not find the correct answer, I would give them one of the numbers from the answer.  If they were still unable to find the second number, I would give it to them, and they would calculate the product.

Since the practice was supposed to be multiplication, I didn't feel bad about this method in the least and finally had children* finish the assignment!!!!

As a child, I personally would have just solved every combination (by the time you do the page, you've pretty much done that anyhow) so that I could easily match the answer to the problem.  The issue was, I couldn't convince mine to solve the 25ish combinations at the onset.

But it's all fine now, it is over, and I never have to help with this particular assignment ever again!

later days

 *Emily was homeschooled for fourth grade and never had this particular assignment, though I fully expect that she would have finished it.