Last spring, we participated in the first annual Sound Winds Kite Festival at Hammonasset State Park. The festival was sponsored by Middlesex Hospital and the East Haddam based company, Go Fly a Kite. We learned about the festival at a follow-up session of the PIMMS Integrated Mathematics and Science Fellowship Program for Teachers in Grades 1–5. Festival planners developed an educational resource book to help teachers integrate kites into their curricula. It included the origin and the history of kites, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry about kites, famous people connected with kites, and vocabulary associated with kite flying.
   We worked together to integrate kites throughout the second and third grade curriculum. Applications of mathematics included identification of the angles of a sled kite, estimation, measurement of length, perimeter, and area, and finding lines of symmetry. Each activity motivated the students to learn more about kite flying.
   After completing these activities at school, students were ready to participate in the Kite Festival at Hammonasset. Approximately 100 Israel Putnam students, family members, and friends attended the event. Students were invited to fly their homemade sled kites during the student exhibition. During the day, the students had the opportunity to watch and discuss kite flying with the experienced kite flyers. Other interesting exhibits included a kite hospital, kite workshop, and demonstration field.
   After seeing the excitement generated by the festival and the learning experiences of the children, we decided to share our experiences with our colleagues in the PIMMS Fellowship program. Our presentation focused on the integration of kites throughout the curriculum and ways in which the kite activities can appeal to the multiple intelligences of students. Participants built a sled kite and made one cell for a tetrahedron kite.
   Next year, we plan to extend this kite experience to the upper grades. Each grade will construct a different type of kite that can be used to conduct science experiments to study lift, drag, and gravity. Fifth grade students will be paired with high school students to build 4 and 8 cell tetrahedron kites. Teachers will extend the applications of geometry to include finding volume and surface area of the large tetrahedron kite by using just one cell from the tetrahedron. We will also work with fellow teachers who are interested in kite activities as a valuable learning tool. We found that kite flying is an interesting and enriching learning experience for all and a meaningful way to address different areas of the curriculum.
   For information on the Saturday May 20, 2000 Sound Winds Kite Festival or for a copy of the resource book, contact Laura Martino at Middlesex Hospital, 860-344-6200.

   As a child, I found mathematics and science classes completely disconcerting. I marveled at the way my brother and sister could think and analyze, but my love was literature. In college, I reluctantly fulfilled the mathematics and science requirements needed to obtain my elementary teaching certification. I thought I didn’t need to learn all that stuff; all I really needed to do was teach reading. Wow, was I in for a surprise!
   The pre-schoolers, kindergartners, and first and second graders whom I have taught over the years have demonstrated a natural curiosity and fascination for science. They reacted most positively and performed best when they were actively involved in learning.
   It didn’t take me long to realize that if I capitalized on this excitement in their areas of interest, I could hook them into learning and they would enjoy it. However, in order to meet the challenge of maintaining that interest, I needed to overcome my fears and unknowns about mathematics and science. To do that, I needed help and support. That is when I found PIMMS.
   When I began the PIMMS Integrated Mathematics and Science Fellowship Program for Teachers in Grades 1–5, I was in awe of the knowledge, expertise, dedication, and commitment of the directors, instructors, and other PIMMS Fellows. At first, I felt that I was out of my element because my background in mathematics and science was not as broad as others. However, everyone was there to learn, and we all wanted what was best for our students. We were all willing to share, interact, take risks, and try new things. We gave each other the strength and lifted each other up; PIMMS gave us the encouragement and support needed to attempt new ventures.
   I began with my own classes. I taught the required curriculum through an inquiry-based approach and used hands-on learning while integrating mathematics, science, and literature. I provided my students with strategies and techniques that would enable them to think for themselves, and I witnessed them learning in new ways right before my eyes. Teaching had never been so rewarding and so much fun.
   PIMMS had made a difference in me and I wanted my colleagues and all teachers to experience this discovery. I share what I learned at PIMMS with teachers in my school, in my district, and throughout the state. I am a member of the district science curriculum committee. I was nominated as Teacher of the Year, a 1996 recipient of a Connecticut Celebration of Excellence Award, and a 1999 finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Elementary Science Teaching.
   I’ve come a long way since my days of being intimidated by and indifferent to mathematics and science. I now advocate them as the core of teaching. I thank my involvement with PIMMS as being the single and most effective influence on my transformation as a teacher.