As I walked downstairs this morning, I noticed an unusual sight. Ari was rummaging through the hallway closet, where I keep all of our homeschooling supplies (aka: This closet is off-limits unless one asks permission to go in it!). He must’ve heard me coming because he declared, “I need to find a supporter!” before I could even ask him what he was doing.
“What are you looking for?” I didn’t understand what he meant by a supporter. Did he mean a meter stick? Was he looking for base ten blocks to hold something up? Clearly I hadn’t had my coffee yet.
Ari poked his head out of the closet and declared, “I’m looking for a supporter.” He walked back inside of the closet.
“What do you mean by a supporter?” I asked.
Ari didn’t answer. Instead he reappeared by the time I reached the first floor with a map of the United States. “This is my supporter!” he stated as he slammed the closet doors shut and ran to the kitchen.
“That’s called a map,” I called after him. But it didn’t matter. He was off to the kitchen! Once he arrived, I heard him tell Isabelle, “See? I told you Maryland touched Delaware.”
“Oh, you were right,” Isabelle said. (Clearly she wasn’t firing on all cylinders yet. She mastered where all 50 States are and knows all 50 state capitals.)
From there, the kids continued to look at the map of the United States, rather than eating their breakfast, to talk about which states bordered which. I stood there and marveled by how cute it was that Ari knew where to find a map and how it could be used to support what he was saying. Indeed, the map was a “supporter” today!
Raising Literate Humans 
Everyone does need a supporter! Oh Ari. So glad you captured this one!
Totally cracked me up!
He was supporting his argument with evidence! Love it! So cool they both know so much about the US. I’m trying to teach my third graders about the United States now. It’s impressive Isabelle knows all the states and capitals!
That was something I insisted she work on this year since I find it’s often put on the back burner in schools. (I taught it to my kids when I taught fourth grade, but not fifth.) She’s on to learning the countries in North America now!
What a great story to capture before it’s gone (I always wish I wrote down more of what my kids say before I forget)! Ari was spot on with his use of resources for support.
I find that I do the best job of this in March. The rest of the year… they’ve gotta hope they do/say something cute on a Sunday or Monday for it to be written down. 🙂
Oh what a wonderful moment you have preserved! I thought at first that the supporter he needed was someone to keep him out of trouble for being in the closet! I’m so glad the map was the supporter.
Ha! That would’ve been a good guess.
What a lovely read! Great to know that Ari knows how to substantiate his claim with evidence.
Next up, essay writing! 😉
Love this, Stacey! So precious. I, too, enjoy the fun new ways children use words.
Me too! It’s one of the best things about kids of preschool age.
Great way to use your resources, Ari! What a fun moment to capture, Stacey!
I was pretty proud of him.
This is adorable. Kudos to Ari for using the map to support his claim.
If this were an essay, his support would be exquisite!
There’s so much I love about this post. It makes me smile to read about Ari articulating his thoughts with…well, whatever words he happened to have on hand and in his brain. And to his mind, it all makes perfect sense! And, thanks to this story, it does to us as well.
Can I just also say how much I identify with that sibling need to be the one who’s RIGHT? That’s about the most motivating reason a kid could have for conducting research ; )
I never thought about it like that before (probably because I’m an only child). I’ll have to start looking at future investigations/research as evidence of the desire to be right. 🙂