Well…
…it’s not beautiful, and she certainly won’t get the best grade in the class, BUT, much more importantly (to Hubby & me, anyhow):
a) She did all the actual work HERSELF.
b) She (mostly) had fun doing it.
c) She (hopefully) learned a lesson about communicating change in plans to us and not waiting till the last minute.
d) She’s proud of what she did.
So, all that being said, BEHOLD the wonder that is Thing One’s relief map of California:
Thing Two, Miss Crafty Girly, was really into it, had suggestions for Thing One (good ones!), ran off to draw her own map of California, etc., so we know that when it’s her turn in three years, hers will be better. And that’s OK b/c crafts and creativity are her “thing”; they’re not Thing One’s. We tried to make it fun for her (“Pretend you’re God creating California, making the mountains and valleys and rivers.”) and get her to think it through (“OK. Look at the instructions. What do you think you should do next?”), then stand back instead of micro-managing or taking it on ourselves like the mom I spoke to who talked about “our” relief map. Uh…NO. I already did fourth grade, thank you. I already DID a relief map of California (but mine was made from sawdust and didn’t have stuff labelled on it, just the relief map). It’s HER assignment, so SHE needs to do the work….
So, now we have a few months to prepare emotionally for….the California mission model in the spring. Oy.
Good for you! We bought a mission from Michael’s when Steven was in 4th grade. It is a much more rewarding feeling when you actually do the work yourself. I’m very proud of T1, the map looks great!!!