A Writing Lesson

Katie had worked hard on her picture, and wrote her name on along the bottom of the picture. "How do you spell Noah?"

Her teacher started to sound it out for her, "Nnnnnnnah."

Miranda, who was sitting near by, said, "N-O-A-H."

"Whoa," said Katie. "How do you make an A?"

"Its like a triangle with a line across it," Kailyn said.

"Yeah, like this," Miranda drew one on her paper.

Katie drew one on her paper too.

"How do you make an H?"

Miranda started to show her on her paper, but Katie couldn't see it.

"I'll go over there," Miranda volunteered. She sat down next to Katie and showed her how to make the H.

Katie, Miranda, and Kailyn are all developing their literacy skills as they practice spelling words out loud, identifying and writing letters. 

It Opened!

Kailyn has returned to the garden day after day to monitor the progress of the buds on the marigolds. She noticed the buds getting bigger, and little tiny pieces of the yellow petal poking out of the top.
On this day, she was beside herself with excitement! "Look it! It opened!" she said. Two buds had bloomed!
Kailyn is so observant and so tuned into nature! She is so persistent with her observations, too!

The Nothings, a Turtle Story by Kailyn

Once upon a time, there was a kitten, a colorful kitten. There was Robby the king, and Robby was the king and he was in the forrest. And that's end.

Her teacher said, "But Kailyn, what's the problem in the story?"
Kailyn laughed and said, "There's no problem!"

The Science of Gardening

Maggie called her teacher over to the seedlings, saying "Look! They are growing!!" Kailyn eagerly came over to see the changes. "It IS growing!" she said excitedly.
"Let's measure it," the teacher suggested.
"Kailyn got the measuring tape, saying, "I do it."
The teacher held the tape up and Kailyn carefully placed the end at the bottom of the plant. "It's one...two!" she counted the numbers on the tape measure.
After the weekend, Kailyn returned to school and one of the first things she did was check on the plants. "They grew!" This time when she measured, they were 3 inches tall!
Not only is Kailyn keenly observant, but she uses mathematical strategies like measuring to gather more information.

The Dragon Died, a Turtle Story

We have been talking a lot about the elements of stories, and for today's Turtle Story, Kailyn picked from a stack of our "characters" that the class has been developing. She told a beautiful story with characters and a "problem," two important aspects of a good story.

The Dragon Died
By Kailyn

One time there was a guinea pig. He was walking to the kitten and then they saw a dragon. And then the guinea pig starched him and the kitten.
And then the dragon died, and he went “boom!” and the fire spread out. And then someone sprayed fire.
And then the guinea pig was walking so he would be safe. And then the kitten was dancing. And then they saw the magic wand flying in the air, and then they were saying that’s what they were looking for, the magic wand. And then they saw the witch. And the witch said, “I’m a nice witch. Thank you for my magic wand!”
And then Katie comed, the best friend Katie. Katie checked in her mailbox what to do in the dragon and the fire. And then there was more fire! This fire come from the police. The police fired, and then one time she got something out of her mailbox and she put it in the dragon’s mouth so it would be a nice dragon.
The End

Telephone's Ringing!

Matthew threw the long funnel phone down off the climber to Kailyn. She picked it up and put it to her ear.

"You have to say something!" she said.

"Hi kitty!" he said.

She grinned and put it to her mouth. He put his end to his ear.

"Mew, mew, mew," she said.

"I hear you kitty. And I understand you! Come on up here kitty to be friends with puppy!" he invited her. Instead, she ran over to the book area.

Matthew continued talking into the phone, and so Miranda picked it up and they talked for a minute.

Soon Kailyn returned.

"We are going to go to a party!" Matthew said.

"A party? What's a party?" Kailyn asked.

"Its when you put up decorations."

Kailyn went under the climber, dropping the phone.

"The phone is here! The phone is ringing!" Matthew called to her.

"Oh!" Kailyn said. She picked up the phone again.

They had a quick conversation, and then "hung up" the phone.

Kailyn's easy play style makes her a welcome playmate especially for some children who are just learning how to initiate play. She was happy to play out the familiar script of the telephone with Matthew, following his lead, and adding details of her own.

Finding Her Way on Board

A number of Kailyn's friends were working hard to build a ship. When Miranda got up to get another block, Kailyn sat down in her seat. Miranda was upset when she returned, telling Kailyn that she had to move, because that was HER seat. Kailyn sat, unmoving, and began to cry. Her teacher came over and asked her to think of another way to solve the problem, since she would need to give Miranda back her chair. Kailyn cried harder and said, "But there is no seat for me!" Taking Kailyn by the hand, her teacher  asked Kailyn to take a deep breath and think: "If there wasn't another seat, what could she do to solve her problem?"

After a moment, Kailyn's face lit up. "Make my own seat?"

"Yes!" said her teacher, and Kailyn happily went to get the blocks she needed to put the addition on the ship. Sitting down happily, she leaned over to Robby and said, "I could help you read the map."

Kailyn often becomes overwhelmed by conflicts or perceived conflicts with her friends and becomes distraught. She has just started to realize that she can take an active role in resolving some of these problems, and can sometimes do this with support.

Numbers as Drawings

Kailyn came over to where a group of children was playing the Number Matching Lotto game with a teacher. She quickly picked up the rules of the games, and started identifying the number cards when they came up. First she drew a zero card, a very tricky card. "It's an O," she said. "O is zero."
Her next card was a seven. She counted the objects on the card, correctly stating the total as seven. "Its seven!" she declared.
In that proofs are the essense of math, her teacher asked, "How do you know?"
Kailyn traced a seven in the air, explaining, "Because a seven looks like this!"
She continued playing until she filled her card, and beamed when her friends sang her the BINGO song.
Kailyn has developed several important math concepts. She knows that one object corresponds to one number, is recognizing several numbers, and is even able to write some numbers when shown an example!

Kailyn Looking for Spring

A few weeks ago, with great hope in our hearts, the Turtles began to search for signs of Spring - but no one as wholeheartedly as Kailyn. She has an awareness of and interest in the natural world that makes every walk outside with her an adventure. Kailyn notices the tiniest changes in the trees and plants around us, and has a curiosity that compels her to question the how's and why's of her environment. Since we have begun to learn about buds and seeds, Kailyn has found new growth everywhere, and has collected an impressive number of seeds and seed pods. On this day, she found some buds with seeds that had blown down from a nearby tree and excitedly brought them over to examine with her teacher. She carried them with her the entire time we were outside, because she wanted us to bring them inside to look at with the magnifying glass. 

I Want to Draw this Kitty

Yesterday, Kailyn chose this photo to represent the "Colorful Kitten" character that she had proposed for the book we are working on. This morning, she asked me where the picture was, and then spent a long time just looking at it. Eventually, she came over and told me, "I want to draw this kitty, will you help me?" I told her I'd help her with my words, and we began to talk about what shapes she saw. With some assurance that we saw the same things, Kailyn made this beautiful drawing - using her "artistic license" to chose colors for the stripes. Kailyn has grown progressively more confident in her abilities and takes a great deal of pride in the art she produces. The kitten she  immediately hung up on the classroom wall.

Turtle Stories

"One day the Treasure Box was gone! One day the teachers were looking for the Treasure Box. One day everything was walking. And papers don't walk, and they were walking! The Treasure Box was not walking. He was at the window and noone grabbed it. The teachers said, 'Its cold outside and we can't go outside because it is cold!' The Treasure Box was walking and then it was flying in the clouds and it was on top of the cloud. And then something bumped it! And the teacher said, 'Where's our Treasure Box?' Now what happened to the Treasure Box? The Treasure Box was far away. They couldn't find it far away. And then I found it! It was at the beach! It was resting with a pillow. And then it talked. It was alive! We can't put stuff in it. We can't put anything in it. We only can put paper, not toys.
"Someone cut the Treasure Box. Someone cut the Trueasure Box in half and we can't have it anymore. And then he saw a piece of paper and everything was still working and it was squishing everybody. And then a piano was just standing there. And then everything squished and squished everybody. We didn't have room for our classroom and it just stayed squished. And then it exploded. Bukka bukka boom boom!"

Turtle Story

One day there was a unicorn and then he have a castle too like the little turtles. The unicorn named Kailyn and he was playing a puzzle and he had to go to the bathroom. And then he was painting a picture of a flamingo. And then he painted a picture of a squirrel, then I didn't know how to so someone helped me. So that's how you make a squirrel.

Kailyn - The Dancer!

On this day, the girls were excited to try out one of their holiday gifts - Kinect. It keeps the family active on dreary indoor days... This is Kailyn trying it for the first time. They love to dance, and this one just makes you smile.

Kailyn - The Dancer! from Crissy Caceres on Vimeo.

Pattern Block Designs

Kailyn has been exploring the new magnetic pattern blocks, and has been making different animals. On this day, she began with the grey diamonds, and built around them. "I make a bird," Kailyn said, "with his feathers spread down."

"Kailyn, what shapes are you using to make your bird?" her teacher asked.
"I'm making feather shapes. Its like a feather or a diamond," Kailyn explained.
 Kailyn's artistic talents were stretched in a new direction with this new medium, and she used her strong representational skills to create new forms out of the shapes.

Puzzle Master

Kailyn works with focus and determination on puzzles. Recognizing her persistence with the simple puzzles we had out in the classroom, the teachers brought in some more intricate puzzles. Kailyn immediately set to work on the Madeline puzzle, slowly working it. The first day, she worked with a group of children and a teacher to complete it. The next day she got it out on her own and worked the entire puzzle, staying focused for more than 20 minutes as she put it together.
Working puzzles develops problem-solving, fine motor control and hand-eye coordination as Kailyn manipulates the pieces to find the fit. Even more remarkable, however, is Kailyn's perstisence in this difficult task!

I Want to Write My Name

Kailyn has been working hard to master writing her name. Some of the letters she has memorized and today she got as far as the "L" with verbal help. For the "Y" and "N", she asked to see the letters and, with a quick glance, was able to produce them on her artwork.
Kailyn is demonstrating a great deal of focus and determination in learning to write her letters, and takes great pride in her accomplishments.

A Savannah Christmas

Kailyn and Katie have recently been enjoying each other's friendship, and today they found each other in the sand box, exploring the new animals.
"Let's go Christmas caroling!" Katie declared, holding up one elephant.
Kailyn held the giraffe, "Yess!" she said.
They began to sing, Kailyn following Katie's lead, "Deck the halls with bows of holly, fa-la-la-la-laa, la-la-la-la."
Through their play together, both Kailyn and Katie are deepening their play skills, and sustaining play scripts for longer and developing friendship.