Fourth grade is the year public school kids learn about the California Missions. Ezra is no exception, and he was assigned Mission San Gabriel. We visited the mission when we were in SoCal over the holidays and I was hopeful the project would go well, or at least he would take an interest in it, which initially seemed to be the case.
His teacher made a schedule so that each piece of the puzzle (essay, map, drawing, etc.) had a due date early enough that there was plenty of time for edits, redos and putting it all together. Unfortunately, every single step of this project became more painful than the last. There were tears, angry scribbles and some door slamming before every due date. It was all so unpleasant that I realized when it was all done that I hadn’t taken any pictures of any part of the process. I think the project came at a particularly tough time for Ezra as the transition back to school after Christmas break was difficult for various reasons.
He finally did rally though, and over the last weekend before it was due we all pitched in and his poster turned out quite good. He had some creative ideas and seemed to be genuinely taking an interest which was really nice to see.
Here he is with his poster and cardboard rendering at school. This is his new pose for every picture.
The day after the projects were due, all of the fourth graders celebrated with food and dancing at Fiesta Day. Here are a few pictures from the dance. Ezra is on the right of the first photo. He’s wearing a borrowed sombrero.
I was pleased to hear that he had a good time with the dancing! (I was also thankful that another parent took pictures I could download from the class’s website!)