Mrs. Myers
Butterflies and Temperance
This past week we began studying the virtue of temperance as a school. Temperance, the quality of showing self-control, not quitting, and displaying moderation in all things, is a hard one for all of us, let alone young people. But the 4th graders demonstrated it in spades on Tuesday. I gave them 2 different math problems on the board to choose from; one labeled "Medium" and the other "Spicy." The Spicy problem was definitely more challenging (I borrowed the idea from a colleague. Thank you, Mrs. Sytsma!), and the students could choose which one they wanted to try. At first glance, there were some groans and cries of, "These are impossible! I can't do either one!" But slowly, as we talked about them and tried a few ideas, the groans faded away as real thought and problem solving went to work. The students began to see that when they applied themselves, didn't give in to their desire to quit, and showed temperance, they could solve the problems. And they did! I was so proud of all of them.
Our first field trip was a delight for the eyes at the Butterfly Biosphere. God's handiwork was on display in all that we saw. It was a great way to celebrate Charlotte's birthday as well.
