(harder version) 

"Red, Yellow, Orange and Brown,
Leaves are falling all over town!"

said Gina as she raked up a big pile of leaves. "I learned that poem in kindergarten."

"I have a better one," laughed her cousin, Barney.

"Raking leaves is very hard
And most of the leaves fell in this backyard!"
 

"That's a good one, Barney," I said. "I love having lots of trees in my yard, but it is a big job raking them up in the fall. Thanks for offering to help."

"Who could resist your offer to make taffy apples and hot cider!" said Danny, stopping to rest. (Offering food is a great way to get Danny to do anything!)
 

"And don't forget that I promised to pay you each a dime a minute for your help."

"OK," laughed Danny starting to rake again. "I can take a hint!"

After the job was done and the snacks were eaten, I reached for my purse.

"Let's see. How much do I owe each of you?"
 

"We all started at 9 o'clock" said Gina.

"I stopped at 9:30" offered Danny, "But Gina worked ten more minutes."

"I raked until 10 o'clock," said Barney. " I wanted to finish the job."

"And so you did!" I laughed.

If I paid each child what they had earned, and I paid each child with exactly 14 coins, what coins did they each get?

Can you figure out what coins I gave my niece and my nephews for their help? (You might want to try some of Barney, Danny and Gina's strategies. See "Learn How This Site Works" on the Aunty Math Welcome Page)

http://www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org/aunty/index.html
 

Where will you start? What do you already know that could help you solve the problem? How will you check your answer to be sure you are correct? Is there more than one correct solution?

Love,
Aunty Math