Ben Tells His Teacher About Sprout Garden

Monday morning, Ms. Pennington's classroom. There's an owl theme everywhere - owl posters, owl pencil holders, a stuffed owl named Professor Hoot on her desk. Ben raises his hand during morning meeting.

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Ms. Pennington: Yes, Ben?

Ben: I did something with Daddy this weekend. It's a puzzle game.

Ms. Pennington: Oh? Tell us about it.

Ben: It's called Sprout Garden. You have a grid. Like graph paper. And you put down a spring - that's where things come out - and you put down a target where they have to go. Then you build the path.

Ms. Pennington: What kind of path?

Ben: Vines. They're like arrows. You tap them and they rotate. (He demonstrates with his finger on his desk, tapping and turning) Right, down, left, up, right, down, left, up.

Ms. Pennington: And the... sprout? Goes through them?

Ben: Yes. But also there's machines. The gear changes the shape. Circle becomes square becomes triangle becomes star becomes circle again. It loops. (He says this matter-of-factly, like explaining that water is wet)

Ms. Pennington: Like a cycle?

Ben: Yes. Four steps. I figured out it's like a clock but four instead of twelve. And there's a paint machine. Red becomes green becomes blue becomes yellow becomes red. Also four. I tried counting how many times I needed each one.

Ms. Pennington: So if you want a specific shape and color...

Ben: You have to count. Blue triangle means: paint machine two times for blue, gear machine two times for triangle. And you need vines between them. If you don't put vines, they don't connect. I made that mistake the first time.

Ms. Pennington: What happens if you make a mistake?

Ben: The sprout falls off the edge. There's a skull. Then you fix it and try again. (He shrugs) That's just how it works.

Ms. Pennington: (glancing at the owl clock on the wall) That sounds like quite a thinking game.

Ben: When you press Tend - that's what Daddy calls it, tending the garden - you watch it go through. It shows each step. "Circle becomes Square." You can see your plan working. Or not working.

Ms. Pennington: Cause and effect.

Ben: (nods) There's more levels I haven't done yet. I saw a preview - there's things that split the path, and things that make it go in circles. I want to figure those out next.

Ms. Pennington: That sounds like it gets more complex.

Ben: Daddy uses something like this for his work. But his has more pieces. (He shrugs, like this is just an interesting fact)

Ms. Pennington: Did you solve all the levels?

Ben: All ten. Level ten you could only use eight pieces. I used seven. Daddy used eight.

Ms. Pennington: You beat your dad?

Ben: (simply) I'm better at patterns. That's what my brain does.

Ms. Pennington: (smiling at him warmly - she has a soft spot for the literal ones) That's a good thing to know about yourself, Ben.

Ben: Ms. Pennington? Can we do patterns in math today? I want to show the cycle thing. Circle square triangle star circle. It's modular.

Ms. Pennington: Modular?

Ben: When you get to the end, you go back to the beginning. Four mod four is zero. (He looks at her like this is obvious)

Ms. Pennington: (making a mental note) ...I think we can work that in, yes.

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Later, Ms. Pennington writes in her notes: "Ben F. - explained sequential logic, cycles, and modular arithmetic during morning meeting. Vocabulary: state machines, modular. Recommended action: connect with GT coordinator re: math enrichment. Note: he was calm and focused when explaining - good engagement strategy."

She adds a sticky note to her planner: "Email Ben's dad - what IS this garden game?"

Professor Hoot watches from the desk, offering no opinion.

Slots

North

slots: []

South

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East

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West

slots:
- sprout-garden