Four-year-old John Kaykay is a serious and quiet boy—“my
thoughtful one,” his dad calls him. When the official greeters
at the front door of the McClure early-childhood center in Tulsa
welcome him with their clipboards and electric cheer—“Good
morning, John! How are you today?”—he just slowly nods his small
chin in their direction. When he gets to Christie Housley’s
large, sunny classroom, he focuses intensely on signing in,
writing the four letters of his name with a crayon as his dad
crouches behind him. When he’s asked the question of the day—“Do
you like music?”—he pauses for a minute before putting his
magnetic nameplate in the “no” section. John’s third day of pre-
kindergarten will be filled with more questions. Since yesterday
was the 20th and tomorrow is the 22nd, what day is today? Can he
pick out the card with the number 21 written on it? If the
colors go pink, blue, pink, blue, what comes next in the
pattern? How many of his friends are in school today? Can he
think of a word that rhymes with dog?