In the Communication Center, Ava, Alice and Fiona grabbed 3 pieces of partner drawing paper (11×17), put their chairs together, and started taping and stapling papers together.
Their creation grew and grew and grew, longer and longer, so long they had to move to the floor.
Ava: Look what we’re working on together! It’s the ‘Rapunzel’ movie.
Alice: Yeah, she has long hair.
Fiona: And she gets trapped in a tower.
Teacher Melanie: Can you tell me about your story on each page?
Once upon a time…
There was a girl named Rapunzel. She had very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very long hair.
And then she grew it to make long hair.
The next day she had long hair. In the castle, it grew and it grew and it grew. 
The next day, she had very, very, very long hair. 
And then she saw her mother. And then she grew and grew and grew.
And then she went to the beach with her mother.
And then she gets stuck in the tower.
The End
The Authors
When they finished, they began to clean up.
Ava: I want to show my mom.
Alice: I want to show my mom, too.
Ava: How about I keep it for 5 days, then Alice keeps it for 5 days, then Fiona keeps it for 5 days and we start all over again?
Alice: Good!
Fiona: Yeah, I want to do that!
From development to creation and construction of their idea, Ava, Alice and Fiona had a natural dance in partnership without ownership. And if that wasn’t inspiring and incredibly meaningful enough, there was also an encouraging innate way of strategizing how to share it upon its completion. Collaboration is one of the most powerful natural learning strategies. Nurturing and building upon one another’s drive to be in relationship with each other and the world around them supports connection, communication, flexible thinking, creativity, innovation and imagination. – Teacher Melanie