Last night, Raegan and I decided to draw pictures together. She started drawing this beautiful picture, so I grabbed my digital recorder and asked her to tell me about her drawing. The following is the transcription of the conversation we had about what she had already drawn and what she continued to draw while I was recording. (Side note: Raegan was unaware of the fact that I was recording her. She would have acted differently if she had known).


Me: Ok, tell me all about your drawing ...

Raegan: First they start out like this (points to caterpillar)


Raegan: Then comes winter, then they … when its nigh-night time in the winter, they build a … all around them, a big cacoon, then they end up like THIS!!!! A butterfly!!!

Me: It's beautiful Raegan!

Raegan: I made it!!! And look at all these leaves that the caterpillar ate! (Points to the leaves with bite marks on them).

Raegan: What if I draw another bug on here? Like a worm!!! What color are worms? Hmmmm….which color should I use?

Me: What do you think? Have you seen any worms outside?

Raegan: I think they’re brown like this (picks up the brown colored pencils and draws the outline of a worm next to the butterfly. Then she colors him in with different colors.)

Me: Well that looks like a worm to me.

Raegan: See! Look! There’s his little mouth.

Me: Why only a mouth?

Raegan: Cause worms don't have EYES or NOSES!!! Just little mouths!! I have a bigger smile than that worm. See look how big my smile is? (Cheesing as big as she possible can) (Giggles a bunch). I’m a nut! HAHAHA! That cracks me up!! I’m a nut!!!

Me: You are a nut!

Raegan: You’re a nut too, mommy!

Me: Yeah, we’re both nuts.

Raegan: Yeah, but Daddy’s a dork! Cause he always calls me a dork. (whispers) but guess what? I’M NOT A DORK!!! I’m a butterfly!!! See!!! (Raegan runs around the room flapping her arms like a butterfly).

Me: So why is your worm like three different colors? I thought he was gonna be brown?

Raegan: Cause he's getting new skin!

Me: Oh, neat!! Thats really cool, Raegan. I love your drawing! Do you want to put your name on the back of it?

Raegan: Hold on! It's not done yet. I have to make a sun, you know?


Me: Of course! What would they do without sunshine?!?

Raegan: They would FREEEEEZE!!! If it was snowing outside they would really freeze!

Me: Where would they go if it was snowing outside?

Raegan: They would go HOME!!!

Me: Go home?

Raegan: Yeah, like us! We're home!

Me: But it's not snowing outside right now.

Raegan: Yeah.

Me: So what do animals do in the wintertime?

Raegan: Um, they just go to sleep like this (puts her head down and pretends to snore). And um, after the winter they just come out.

Me: Cool. Where did you learn that?

Raegan: Um, from Spongebob.

Raegan: Look! It's almost done! Now I just have to make grass and flowers!! (Draws the grass). Sometimes caterpillars go in the grass! Oh, Oh, Oh!! Guess what?!?

Me: What?

Raegan: Before today, we saw, uh ... uh ... four ... uh .. ummm ... climbing things today. They were straight and they were looking right at us!!! And the cimbing mantis, he stuck his tongue out at us, and I called him Big Face!

Me: What were they?

Raegan: Climbing mantisis.

Me: Climbing mantids, huh? I don't think I've ever heard of a climbing mantis. What color were they?

Raegan: Um, one was brown and two were green.

Me: Wow. Well thats only three.

Raegan: Well, we saw one on the other tree, too. That makes four.

Me: Oh, what color was he?

Raegan. Hmm. I don't remember. Well, I'll draw one for you ...

Me: Ok!

Raegan: (grabs a green crayon and begins to draw). Here's his tongue. And he's mad. And here's his straight body.

Me: Neat! Did he have arms and legs?

Raegan: Yeah. And pointy things sticking out of his arms. Look, he's hanging from a branch!


Me: Cool!

Raegan: See, thats what he looked like!

Me: And this is a climbing mantis?

Raegan: Yeah.

Me: Do you think it might be a praying mantis?

Raegan: Oh yeah. (Whispers). It's a praying mantis.

Me: Ok, a praying mantis.

Raegan: Have you seen one of these before?

Me: Yeah!

Raegan: They're really cool.

Me: I wasn't sure what you were talking about before you drew it, but now I definitely know what you are talking about. That's a praying mantis.

Raegan: Yeah, and look at his tongue. He's sticking his tongue out at us like this (sticks her tongue out at me and giggles).

Raegan: Hmmm.... now I need to draw the flowers.




Me: Wow! Those are some pretty flowers. Have you ever seen flowers like that outside?

Raegan: No.

Me: (surprised) You haven't?!!!?? I've seen flowers like that before (I point to the red one). And like that (I point to the blue one).

Raegan: (points to the green one) But you haven't found green flowers!?!

Me: Yeah I have.

Raegan: Where?

Me: Sometimes they're just green before they bud.

Raegan: (giggles) Bud?! What's bud?!?!

Me: I mean when they are just buds.

Raegan: You just said bud again!

Me: I know. Bud.

Raegan: (Very serious sounding) Why did you say bud?

Me: Do you know what a bud is?

Raegan: No.

Me: Well, its like this of a flower (clasp my hands together and Raegan clasps her hands together too). And then when the sun shines down on the flower ....

Raegan: Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!

Me: What? What happens?

Raegan: (opens her hands up wide).

Me: Yeah! Then the pretty part comes out. All the colors show then!

Raegan: Wow!!

Me: So maybe that green one is just one that hasn't opened up yet!

Raegan: Yeah!!! Uh, huh!!

Raegan: (Grabs the blue, red, and purple colored pencil and drags them all around her whole picture). It's a rainbow!! IT'S ALL DONE!!

Me: It's beautiful Raegan! I love it.

Raegan: Mmmmm. I love you, mommy!

Me: I love you, too, Raegan!

Labels: Raegan