The wisdom of Solomon

On the last day of school, Thursday, I gave the kids so much stuff to take home. Extra workbooks, homeworks and class work that had been left over, spirals and folders from their desk, etc.

I also had a couple of science project boards that had not been claimed yet. The week prior, I had let the kids get with their science project partners and ask them to take a couple of minutes to come to a decision amongst themselves as to who would take home their project boards. For the most part, the kids were able to come to amicable decisions, and one person from each group took their board home.

But on Thursday, I still had 2 boards from my afternoon class, where the group could not decide on who would get it.

So I told these kids that I would cut the boards in half, and that way each of them would get half of the project. They didn't seem too excited about that, but I told them that was going to be the only fair way to decide this.

I pulled out the first board and put the open scissors on either side of the top, preparing to cut. I asked one last time, "Are you sure about this?"

One of the girls lined, "NO! I want to take it home!" And of course, her partner responded, "I want to take it home!"

So I started to cut right down the middle. (And let me tell you, cutting a science board with a pair of third grade safety scissors is freaking hard!!) I could hear a few gasps of horror as I cut. When I finally presented a half to each of the partners, they didn't seem real pleased.

When I pulled out the other board, one of the girls immediately shrieked, "SHE CAN HAVE IT!!!!"

Ah yes, Old Testament practicality...