posted March 01, 2001 11:34 AM
Coloring in the Lines: A Tale of Two Childrenby Linda Shidler-Lattz and Nancy Ratcliff
"Young Children," January 1998, page 68
Matt's story
After a brief introduction to the teacher on the first day of kindergarten, Matt ran from learning center to learning center excitedly describing to his mother all the materials he saw. "Look at all the blocks I can build with! And over here are magnets and a fish tank and all kinds of neat stuff. Look down here, there are tapes to listen to and books! And look, Mom, I can paint pictures, too." Matt certainly appeared ready for kindergarten.
When all the children had arrived, the teacher called the class to circle time. Matt reluctantly joined the other children on the floor. "When do we get to play?" he asked. The teacher explained that the centers were used only after the children had completed their work. If the children were good listeners and hard workers, they could play in the centers after their work was finished.
Matt wiggled and squirmed during the lesson, which was all about the color red. Matt already knew his colors and had difficulty listening. When the lesson was concluded, the teacher gave the children a ditto sheet with a large apple on it. She instructed them to color the apple red, the stem brown, and the leaves green. As the children began coloring, the teacher reminded them to be sure to "stay in the lines."
Matt labored over this task. This was the first time he had colored a preformed shape. His fine motor skills were not yet well developed, and he held his crayon rather clumsily. Although he tried, he could not prevent the crayon from staying outside the lines. As the children finished their coloring, they showed the teacher their red apples, complete with brown stems and green leaves. Matt listened to the teacher tell the children what good colorers they were. He watched as she placed a sticker on other children's papers. When his turn came, Matt proudly showed her his red apple with the brown stem and green leaves.
The teacher told Matt that it was a good try, but he would have to work on coloring inside the lines. She put no sticker on Matt's paper. Instead she stamped Try Harder on his work.
Matt frowned. He had tried hard, working on his apple for a long time. Well, at least now he could play at a learning center. But once again Matt was disappointed. As he began taking blocks from the cabinet, the teacher announced it was time to clean up and prepare for another lesson. This scene was replayed on a daily basis. Matt's coloring improved, but his enthusiasm for exploring, experimenting, and learning gradually disappeared.
Brooke's story
"Mommy, I don't want to go to kindergarten. Can I go to the red room?" Brooke had spent the last two years exploring, inventing, and experimenting in the red room. What would kindergarten be like?
On Brooke's first peek into the classroom, there were no assigned seats or behavior charts. She looked around and saw learning centers, prediction charts, books on tape--just like in the red room. There was also an easel and an entire area devoted to art, complete with boxes, paper towel rolls, and a collection of things for collages. As Brooke turned she saw her new teacher waiting to welcome her to a room where she would be encouraged to explore, invent, and experiment.
Brooke loved kindergarten. She awoke each morning full of plans for the day ahead. Her favorite area soon became the art center.
On Wednesday she made a car. In the woodworking area she constructed the chassis; in the art area she painted the body and added headlights, taillights, and people in the windows. On Friday she designed an airplane, painting it blue, yellow, and pink (mixing the red and white to make pink).
One afternoon, Brooke's grandmother came to visit. "Come color with me," urged Grandma Ann. Brooke and Grandma found the crayons and settled at a table. "I've got a surprise for you," said Grandma, reaching into her bag and pulling out a coloring book. She carefully tore two pages from the book handing one to Brooke. Brooke accepted the page and began to color.
"Remember to stay in the lines," chided Grandma Ann. Looking up from her page, Brooke stated simply, "You don't have to stay in the lines. You can make anything you want--it's your picture."
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Consider the circle, measure it please,
All its three hundred and sixty degrees.
Wasn't that fun, and haven't you found
You can do it again, the other way 'round?
Now that we know how many degrees,
Must be accounted for nice as you please
Here come astrologers, what do they say?
Divide the degrees in precisely this way.
Take thirty degrees for each of the signs
It makes a nice wheel divided by lines.
Chris Angelino
Lindaland
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posted March 01, 2001 11:34 AM
posted March 01, 2001 01:12 PM
posted March 01, 2001 06:42 PM
That was beautiful. Thank you Randall 
posted April 08, 2002 05:11 AM