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.