The fourth graders were ready to learn long division; however, their teachers were hesitant to begin the unit--just as they are every year. In a grade-level meeting with the school's math consultant, the teachers voiced their typical concerns. The math consultant was a university mathematics education professor spending a semester of sabbatical working with teachers to find ways to help elementary-aged students get excited about doing math and about learning to make sense of math through problem-solving activities. This article describes the independent thinking and sense making of fourth graders who were asked to investigate the process of division.