School Stuff-Including EQAO

But why? E wants to know why he needs to learn long division. So I asked them to figure out for me how they would split $524 between four people.

A's solution was to give me $124 and then split $400 between the other four people. Hmm.

E's solution was to use mental math. His thinking goes something like this, they could each have $100 so that's $400...then they could each have $25 for that's another $100...then they could each have $6 for the last $24....add that all up...yup.

We talked about how if the numbers were bigger it might be helpful to use long division.

Also, that it's fine to have a favourite way but you need to have options. 

Here we are after school.

I had purchased these little craft kits to make mosaic animals...sharks, frogs, a turtle.

Here are my boy's finished products. The one on the right is the pet of a cyclops.

And the one on the left is an alien creature. No sweet little animals for my two.

I'm not sure about the expression on this guy.

He seems to make this same face in every picture these days.

EQAO Results- I got the results of E's testing today.

He scored middle of Level3 (B) in Math and Writing and low Level3(B-) in Reading.

Here's why that bothers me. I'm a compulsive achiever when it comes to school. I love the letter A+ when it comes to assignments. So it's hard not to project that on to my kids. Especially since I'm their teacher....if they get an A...then that's like an A for me! (And it's all about me right?)

Here's why I couldn't care less. I know that test scores are an indication only of a person's performance on that test on that day. I also know that the public schools traditionally spend a lot of time in grade three teaching for this test......we did not. I had E do two writing practice tests a couple of weeks earlier and that's it. And finally, the testing was done, in isolation, in four sessions-each at least couple of hours long. That's an unusual situation for E. He did well.