I found that children were discussing how and why we lose our teeth. I started to wonder what was it that children thought when their teeth start falling out. I introduced the idea with some real teeth in a box that came from a young boy that I know. The children were fascinated to see "real" teeth and made these comments
Lisette: "Why are some teeth bigger than the other
ones? The ones I have in the back of my mouth must have
come in later since they are bigger."
Karina:" Did you take those teeth out of the little
boy?"
After looking at the young boy's teeth, I asked the children to show me how we lose our teeth. I was curious to interpret their theories. Here are some comments the children made while drawing
Juan Pablo- "My teeth will fall out when I am 6 years
old. My brother has 2 loose teeth and he is 6."
Patrick- "My teeth came out because they are dead.
The fairy cats take them away when they just fall out of
my mouth. There is a tooth fairy inside a space ship and
they come and pull my teeth out."
Diego- "The Raton takes my teeth out."
Karina- "Someone hits me in the mouth and they fall
out."
Ricardo- "My mom tells me that they need to come out
and she says open your mouth and takes them."
German- "When I was small, I was 4 years old, I fell.
And at night when I turned 5 that is why they fall out."
Pamela: "If you fall like I did when I was 3 then
your teeth become loose and they fall out."
Mario- "I have a loose tooth and I didn't fall".
As you can read there are many ideas about how and where our teeth go. One child said, "Miss, we all have different ideas about teeth." Some children believe in the "Raton" and others believe in the "Tooth Fairy". A few children shared the idea that when you fall your teeth become loose and that is when you loose them. However, one boy pointed out the discrepancy in these children's theory of why their teeth come out. Alex, said, "When I am a teenager, that is when my teeth change because I am old and they need to change. We need bigger teeth."
I decided to include teeth in our Science Center and a magnifying glass so each child can study what a real tooth looks like. I showed teeth from animals as well as a plant with its roots, wondering if a child would make the jump and come to the realisation on his own that our teeth have roots?
While the children were exploring the Science Center I overheard many conversations about sizes of teeth. They were asking questions like why are some teeth bigger? Are dinosaurs the only animals with big teeth? Why do some animals have teeth longer and shorter in their mouths? What do shark teeth look like? This made me think that maybe they would like to study animal teeth.
I wanted to wait and hear more conversations about the children's drawings to see if this could take us in a particular direction. I presented a time together where we could discuss the commonalities of each drawing. There were two varying ideas that we grouped our pictures into, after hearing each child tell their story of how our teeth fall out.
Almost all of the children believed that there was something
you had to do or get done to you in order for your tooth
to become loose and fall out.
David- "I fell and my tooth came out."
Diego- "The Raton hit me in the mouth and it fell
out."
Karina- "I was with a friend and he pushed me and
I fell and my tooth came out."
Andres- "I was running and I fell down and my tooth
came out."
Nora- "I ran into the palm tree and I fell down and
my tooth came out."
Fernanda- "I ran into the trunk of the tree and it
made my tooth come out."
Lisette- "I was running and I bumped into something
and it fell out."
Mary Sue- "I ran into a tree at the park and it made
my tooth come out."
Two children believed that your tooth became loose by
eating something and that it would fall out by pulling
on it.
Juan Pablo- " My tooth comes out on its own. I was
eating a lot of candy and it got stuck in my tooth and
that made it loose. I pulled and it came out."
Alex- "I was eating corn and my tooth got loose."
At this point in the conversation Alex showed the class
that her tooth was loose. We continued the conversation.
Meanwhile, Alex was wiggling her tooth free. She exclaimed, "my
tooth came out, my tooth came out!" We all stopped.
This event had us re-evaluate what makes our teeth come
out. The children recognised after a lengthy discussion
that your tooth can come out not only when you run into
something or someone but by what you eat or even the fact
that it is making room for a new one to come in.
Arantxa-" There is a hole in your mouth after a tooth
comes out because it is making room for another tooth coming
in. Look at Pamela's hole."
Alex- "The hole is in the tooth because that is where
the root is."
Andres- "That is where the blood comes into the tooth."
Alex- "And the roots can get something to eat."
We passed around the tooth to take a closer look at the
new arrival. Not long after, Alex lost her tooth in the
classroom. She was VERY upset. The children understood
her upset and they were all worried about the tooth fairy's
arrival.
Alan- "You know what happens when you lose a tooth?
The tooth fairy won't come."
We came up with the idea to leave a note for the tooth fairy under Alex's pillow. One child asked me, "Miss will you see the tooth fairy here at school at night?" It made me wonder if she thought I lived here!
Upon arrival at school the following day Alex walked in
with a big smile and a dollar bill in her hand. She explained
that the note worked and that the tooth fairy left her
money under her pillow.
Arantxa- "What does she (the tooth fairy) do with
all the teeth?"
Nora- "My brother explained to me that the tooth fairy
takes all the teeth and builds a big house."
Juan Pablo- "No. He make a big necklace with the teeth."
Mario- "The Tooth Fairy gives the teeth to God."
Teacher- "Is the tooth fairy a boy or a girl?"
Children- "Boy Girl." (answers varied)
Alan- "How does the tooth fairy carry all the teeth?"
Fernanda- "In a basket."
Mary Sue- "No. In a bag."
Teacher- "Is the tooth fairy old or young?"
David- "Young."
I noticed that the book we read "Throw Your Teeth on the Roof", which was about each country's idea of what to do with fallen teeth, did not falter the children's understanding of a tooth fairy or raton.
Later that same day we were discussing healthy food and
I read a book called "What People Eat Around the World".
The children were fascinated by the different cuisines.
Ricardo- "Look at the utensils the Japanese people
eat with."
Andres- "I wonder if the Japanese people use different
tooth brushes as well?"
I wanted to see what the Tooth Fairy was to the children. No one has ever seen it to know if it is old or young, what it looks like, or if it is a boy or a girl. So I asked the children to draw it one day. Some children believed it was a ghost, some thought it was an actual alive rat that runs around on the floor. Some children thought it was a butterfly and others even said it was their parents.
In looking at their pictures I decided to search deeper and I wondered what question they would ask the tooth fairy if they could ask anything. What were they curious to learn from the Tooth Fairy? Some children wanted to ask for money, some children wanted to ask if it had wings, or if it is their parents, or how it gives money? How do you carry the teeth? Which car do you drive? How do you open the lock? Do you carry the teeth in a bag? Why do you take the teeth? If the pillow is heavy, how do you pick up the head? Do you carry a bag? Why do you have wings? Are you alive? Are you a girl? Can you bring me 2 pesos? Will you bring me money?
FUTURE IDEAS/THREADS OF INTEREST
Different strands we could take on this project
*animal teeth from previous conversations,
*food and how it can loosen your teeth,
*the tooth fairy/raton exploration,
*the hole in your mouth and your tooth.
I wonder if a field trip to the dentist could answer some questions for us?
I wonder if I put a tooth in coke what the children will think?
I wonder if we grow a plant in the classroom if the analogy of the roots in the plant will transfer over to the roots in our mouths?
I wonder if we make a class book selecting the story from varying countries about what they do with fallen teeth, will they make the connection that the tooth fairy doesn't exist?