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Reflections from kindergartners

   As you wind up a project, you always wonder what the kids retain from the experience.  Below is a conversation in Ms. Chapman's Kindergarten class on February 18, 2002, almost two months after we had our "energy feast" the week before Christmas. 

Teacher: "We have learned a lot this year about the sun.  In the library, Ms. MacKinnon did a project about the sun.  We are going to have a conversation about what we know about the sun."
Nell: "The sun gives us food and vegetables.  It gives us the plants.  Everything grows.  When it gets winter, all the stuff gets brown and we have to wait until summer so the plants can grow back into what they were."
Chance: "The sun gives us energy and food."
Teacher: "How?"
Chance: "The sun makes the plants grow, then we pick it and it's good.  The sun wakes up people that are sleeping."
Nia: "The sun makes the plants grow so the plants won't die.  If they die, we can't pick vegetables in the garden.  If we don't have the sun, the sun can't wake us up.  The plants won't grow."
Miles: "The sun is important.  It doesn't just grow food, it grows flowers and trees and plants.  It grows the grass.  It helps the butterflies get where they need to go.  The sun makes the butterflies get more energy."
Malik: "The sun makes you get out of the bed.  It helps the flowers.  You gotta walk."
Owen: "When it goes down at night the earth goes all around the sun.  When the sun whispers really quiet,  it doesn't want to wake up everybody in the world."
Adam: "It makes us get food.  It makes plants grow for us.  It does a lot of stuff for us.  It does stuff we like.  We like to play with other people in the sun.  It makes us warm and a little bit hot.  Some times the sun doesn't come up some days.  When it's day time, some times it rains and the sun doesn't come out."
Sierra: "The sun makes us feel happy.  We get to play and learn things.  The sun is really important to us.  It gives us energy and important ideas.  You can think about the sun and think what's important.  You can help people when it's daytime and go to school."
Oshe: "The sun is really important to us.  It helps us grow.  It gives us lots of heat so we don't feel cold.  It helps mountains grow.  It dries the mountains up.  The sun warms up the rivers.  It warms the grass so the grass won't be wet.  It gives us a lot of power to do things.  Power to do exercise and not to be mean.  It helps you when you are lost.  The stars point which way.  It helps you to know west to east.  You know which way to travel.  It even helps you know south and north."
Elizabeth: "It makes flowers grow and lots of things grow."
Camilla: "Makes plants and trees grow.  If they never grow they'll die."
Siobhan: "The sun helps butterflies get their energy.  Flowers grow by being hot, by shining its light."
Samantha: "I love light  because it's good.  It helps other things in nature.  Light and bright make a poem together.  The sun light makes it, day after day, it comes out.  The sun can be different colors.  Sometimes it's red, yellow, orange."
Elizabeth: "And pink because it's the sunrise."
Tijani: "We need to have the sun.  It's helpful.  It helps grow plants and corn.  It helps everything.  People need to warm up.  If there is not sun everybody would be freezing."
Siobhan: "We shouldn't look right at the sun.  Your eyes could get hot and sunny.  The sun is nice.  I still like the winter a lot.  If there wasn't any sun it would always be dark and always night time.  We would all be asleep."
Nathan: "Without the sun we wouldn't be alive.  The sun makes food grow.  Food makes us grow.  Without the sun we would always be snoring our head off."
Camilla: "If people were having no sun all the people and plants and flowers will die.  The sun would be on time forever.  The sun always comes up when it's day.  It doesn't come when it's night.  The sun keeps waking up.  It will stay forever.  If it doesn't people will start to get so tired.  You'll see all the colors if the sun is burning hot.  If you ever touch the sun, you'll burn yourself.  You have to touch the sun if you are made out of light."
Samantha: "If the sun wasn't here nobody could live here, not even the planets.  The sun also helps things grow.  The sun is like a star.  People think the sun is a star but it's not like a wishing star, it doesn't move.  It helps our food grow."
Siobhan: "The sun helps the seasons because it changes to hot and cold.  The winter is cold with the sun.  The sun is always out for day time.  When it's day time the sun makes it bright but when the sun is not out it's night time and the moon is out.  The sun is free because it is a star of light.  I like cold better.  The sun can sometimes make us sweaty like when my dad goes for a run."
Keith: "The sun shines in your eyes."
Mikaela: "The sun is a star.  It's the only sun.  The sun is near the planets."
Nathan: "The sun shines on everyone.  Without the sun, it would  always be dark.  We would always be sleeping."
Elizabeth: "The sun is a big star.  We need it because it helps things grow and be healthy.  The sun is supposed to be the biggest up in the air.  It's really big.  It's the biggest star.  The sun helps things grow.  The rain comes down and  when the sun comes up the plants grow.  The sun helps things grow.  Everything is so pretty on the earth.  That's why we need the flowers to be beautiful."
Tijani: "You need to have the sun.  You need to have light.  Light helps you see where you are going.  You cant' see a black hole if you are driving."

 

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