A Day and A year in the life of students at NoDumbDumbs
Kaleeyon, Age Four
My notebook talks.
Not all the time.
Only when I push the round part.
It says, “What happened?”
Then I tell it.
Sometimes I forget what I was saying.
It waits.
Monday
The school.
It was way over there.
We had to walk on the long pretty road.
It had shiny pieces in it.
I stepped on the blue ones.
Mommy said, “Come, Kaleeyon.”
I was coming.
I was just looking.
The water goes all around.
Like a long river but not a big river.
It bends and bends.
I saw the little car.
It has three seats.
It is funny looking.
I said, “That car is too little.”
The lady said it is for children.
Then it went in the water.
I said, “No! No! It is going in!”
But it did not sink.
It swimmed.
I want that one.
I want the front.
In my thing.
My own thing.
It was shut.
The lady said put my hand there.
I pushed it.
It went click-click and opened.
I said, “Do it again.”
She said first put my bag.
I put it in.
The strap stayed out.
The door bumped it.
I pushed it inside.
Then it shut.
My name was on it.
Kaleeyon.
And my little seed picture.
That one is mine.
I got half a banana.
Not a real banana.
A card banana.
I had to find the other banana.
A girl had it.
She said, “Look.”
We put it together.
Her name is Luma.
I said, “Mine is Kaleeyon.”
Then we sat.
I did not know her yet.
Now I know her a little.
Tuesday
She said find A and B and C things.
I got C.
I found corn.
Corn is C.
Cup is C.
And circle.
I found lots.
I said caterpillar too.
It was on the leaf.
I went close.
The field lady said, “Stop, Kaleeyon!”
Very loud.
I stopped.
I did not touch it.
I thought she was mad.
She was not mad.
She said she had to stop me fast because maybe we do not touch that one.
We looked.
It was chewing.
Tiny chewing.
Caterpillar is C.
Careful is C too.
She said that.
Yes.
My C went the wrong way.
Teacher said, “Look again.”
I looked.
Hers was open this way.
Mine was open that way.
I rubbed it off.
I made another one.
It was fat.
I made another one.
That one was good.
Then teacher hid hers.
I still made it.
I remembered.
We cleaned it.
My board had black bits.
I wiped it.
Luma counted the pencils.
One was gone.
It was under there.
I saw it first.
No, Luma saw it.
I picked it up.
We put everything back.
Wednesday
Yes.
We drink at the water place.
No bottle.
The water comes up.
I waited.
The boy was drinking for long.
I wanted him to move.
The lady said ask him.
I said, “Are you done?”
He said, “Wait.”
Then he did one more drink.
Then me.
It was cold.
The cup fell.
Not mine.
It went everywhere.
The boy looked like he might cry.
The food lady said, “It is okay. Clean it.”
I got the cloth.
He wiped too.
The table was wet.
Then not wet.
We ate banana.
I said please.
I forgot thank you.
Then I said it after.
The letters came back.
A B C D E F G H I J.
We sang it.
We clapped.
I was C again.
When teacher said C, I jumped.
I jumped before C one time.
Everybody laughed.
I laughed too.
Then we made C in the air.
Big C.
Then little C on the board.
Mine went right.
Thursday
Sami.
He made B.
But only the stick.
No bumps.
I took his board.
The lady said, “Kaleeyon, give it back.”
I said, “But I know.”
She said I can tell him.
Not do it.
So I said, “Put the bump there. And there.”
His B had one big bump and one baby bump.
He said it is a mommy B.
I laughed.
Then he made another one.
Sami helped me.
My water thing kept falling.
I said I do not need help.
It fell.
Then it fell again.
I said, “Hold this part. Not all of it.”
He held it.
I put the other piece.
Then the water went down.
It did not fall.
I said, “Do not move.”
He said, “I am not moving.”
A bridge.
For the little water.
I wanted blue.
Sami wanted gold.
I said blue is better.
He said no.
The lady said, “Ask his idea.”
I said, “What is your idea?”
He put gold on top.
I put blue under.
It stayed.
We both did it.
Friday
Yes.
Me and Luma were jumping on the round stones.
Ana came.
Luma said we already started.
Ana just stood there.
I said she can say which stone.
She said blue, red, blue, gold.
Then she changed it.
Then changed it again.
I shouted, “Stop changing it!”
She got quiet.
The play lady came.
Ana said we did not do her game.
I said she changed too much.
We did her way one time.
Then my way.
Then Luma’s way.
It was okay again.
I said sorry for shouting.
She said, “Okay.”
Then she shouted later.
Not at me.
At the stone.
The waterwheel.
It goes whomp, whomp, whomp.
Water hits it.
It turns.
The teacher said it helps make power.
I asked if it makes the lights.
She said some lights.
I asked if it can make the whole school go.
She said not by itself.
I want to make one with lots of wheels.
Tiny wheel, big wheel, tiny wheel, big wheel.
All turning.
That will make a lot.
Maybe.
My bag.
My cloth.
A seed packet.
I opened my place with my hand.
Click-click.
My seed packet was on the little shelf.
I nearly left it.
The lady said, “Check again.”
Then I saw it.
I took everything.
I looked inside.
Nothing.
Then I shut it.
My Last Talk for the Week
Voice Notebook: What do you remember?
The water car.
I want to ride it.
The caterpillar.
Do not touch first.
Ask after.
My C.
It goes this way.
Luma.
Sami’s mommy B.
Ana changing the game.
The wheel going whomp.
My hand door.
My seed picture.
The cold water.
The banana.
The bridge.
I know where my bag goes now.
I know where the pencils go.
I know where the wet cloth goes.
I know where I go.
I go on the long road.
Then to my school.
Then inside.
I am coming back.
Keilah, Age Nine
I have reading, writing, mathematics, Physical Education, cooking, and animal care.
I picked Physical Education, cooking, and animal care because I like them.
Cooking is winning.
Reading
I read the same line wrong twice.
The word was “through.”
I know that word.
It just did not look like itself today.
Teacher made me slow down and look at the whole sentence.
Then I got it.
After that she asked why the girl in the story left without telling anybody.
I said because she was mad.
Teacher said, “What in the story makes you think that?”
Teachers always want the proof.
I found the part where the girl slammed the gate.
That is proof.
Writing
I had to turn one of my voice logs into a paragraph.
Talking it is easier.
When I write it, I forget little words.
Then I read it back and it sounds like I am running out of breath.
I put in the full stops.
Teacher said my last sentence was the best one.
I moved it to the beginning.
I did not want to.
It was better there.
Mathematics
Fractions.
We used dry corn.
Teacher asked if six out of twelve and ten out of twenty could both be one-half.
I said yes.
She said, “Show me.”
I made two equal groups.
Then she asked why it was one-half.
I said, “Because it is half.”
She said that did not explain it.
I said it does because I literally said half.
She said, “Explain what half means.”
Oh.
So I said you split the whole thing into two equal groups and take one group.
That was what she wanted.
Yes.
I said two out of six was one-half.
It is not.
It is one-third.
I was looking at the wrong tray.
I tried to erase it before Teacher Mara came over.
She saw me.
She said, “What happened there?”
I said, “Nothing. I fixed it.”
She said I should write why I got it wrong.
I wrote: I counted the two pieces but forgot to look at all six.
I did not forget fractions.
I forgot to look properly.
Physical Education
Physical Education.
Obviously.
We did hurdles.
Not the very tall ones.
But not baby ones either.
The first time I jumped, my back foot hit the hurdle and it went clack and fell over.
I kept running.
Coach said not to turn around in the lane.
I wanted to see if everybody saw.
They did.
Then I got over four without touching them.
The fifth one was not good.
I landed funny but I did not fall.
That counts.
Handstands.
I love handstands.
I can go up fast, but my legs open like scissors sometimes.
Coach said squeeze them together.
I said I was squeezing.
She said squeeze more.
My best one was three seconds.
Maybe four.
Samiya said two.
She was not counting properly.
My arms were shaking after.
I told Mom my muscles grew.
She said not that fast.
They should.
I did a lot.
Animal Care Day
A horse and a donkey.
The horse was very big up close.
I know horses are big.
But one horse leg beside you is more big.
We talked to her before we went near the foot.
I said, “Hello. I am going near your foot.”
The guide said she does not know every word, but she knows our voice and where we are.
She moved her ear.
I think she understood some of it.
We helped trim her hooves.
Not by ourselves.
The guide was right there.
First she cleaned the dirt out.
A little stone was inside.
Then she showed us the part you can trim and the part you never cut.
That part has blood and feeling.
I thought the whole bottom was just hard.
I held the smaller tool with the guide helping my hand.
We took off one tiny rough bit.
The horse moved once.
Everybody let go.
The guide said you do not fight a horse for its foot.
Then we waited.
We groomed him.
His name was Pako.
He was dusty.
I brushed too soft first.
The guide said he can feel it, but it is not doing much.
So I brushed stronger.
Not rough.
Just useful.
He liked his neck.
He did not like near his belly.
He looked back at me.
I stopped.
Pako also tried to eat Samiya’s cloth.
She said, “That is school property.”
He did not care.
Cooking Class — My Absolute Favorite
Cooking.
The chocolate class.
Definitely.
Physical Education is very good.
Animal care was very good too.
But chocolate wins.
It just does.
No.
We made it.
Not all the way from picking the cacao because another group did that part.
We had the cacao pieces.
I tried one.
It was bitter.
Very bitter.
I said, “This chocolate is not finished.”
The cooking guide said, “That is why we are here.”
It had rollers inside.
The chocolate kept going around and around.
It made a low rrrrrrrrr sound.
There was a clear cover so we could look.
No hands near the moving part.
The chocolate got shinier.
And smoother.
And it smelled so good.
I asked if it was ready.
No.
I waited.
I asked again.
Still no.
Chocolate takes too long when you can smell it.
Hearts and stars.
I made more hearts because they held more chocolate.
We had to tap the mould so the chocolate went into the star points.
My first star lost one point.
I ate that one because it was already broken.
That was responsible.
The guide said it was convenient.
Maybe both.
I made one heart very smooth and shiny.
I could almost see my face.
Not properly.
Just a brown wiggly face.
Family Learning Day at the Fabrication Workshop
Mom and Dad had learning there today.
It was on the family schedule, so I knew they were coming after writing.
They came for me and we went together.
Other parents had their children too.
Some kids were little.
Some were older than me.
There were safe tables for us near the adult work.
Not inside the big machine line.
Mom said parents are not finished learning just because they are parents.
I know.
But they still act like they know everything sometimes.
Mom was making a strange handle shape.
The first one came out too thick.
Mom said, “That is not what I drew.”
The workshop guide said, “The machine made what you told it to make.”
Mom looked at the screen.
Then she said, “Oh.”
I laughed.
She looked at me.
I stopped.
A little.
Dad was testing how to hold a piece still.
It moved.
The machine stopped.
He changed the holding parts and tried again.
Parents get corrected too.
They just fix it.
I got three scrap shapes and had to make a handle a small child could pull.
My first one was pretty.
It hurt my fingers.
The edge was too skinny.
I made the next one rounder.
Mom tried it.
Dad tried it too, but his hand is big.
I said, “It is not for you.”
He said, “That is fair.”
I think Kaleeyon can hold it.
I still need her to try it.
I want it to open one of the little-kid garden boxes.
Pull, turn, click.
No screen.
Kaleeyon likes click things.
Voice Notebook: What do you like about learning here?
I do my own classes.
Mom and Dad do theirs.
Sometimes we go together.
I do not have to pretend the adult work is boring.
They do not have to pretend children cannot be there.
We just get the safe part and real work we can do.
Cooking is still my favorite.
Especially chocolate.
That is all.
Stop asking now.
and then 
