Pajama Project (cont.)

Today we had the great pleasure of meeting with Lou Lou Baker who is the leader of our "Pajama Project".  Lou Lou's business is designing and selling pajamas, and she has been a great guide for us throughout the project.  Today was the first day that the virtual classroom got to see her, talk to her, and ask a few questions.  

Lou Lou was kind enough to show us how she arranges the images for her pajama designs and how she applies the chosen colors!  These are two important steps for our St. John's pajama design, and it was nice to experience it with her.  

"We're doing pajamas!" - Saul, 3.8 years

“Good morning Lou Lou!” - Saul, 3.8 years
Good morning! How are you? - Lou Lou
“I’m great. I already have my designs, but they’re bigger and I’ll show you them because they are big.” - Saul

“Here’s two designs.” - Saul

Lou Lou explains her process

Do you know what I do? I paint stuff like this leopard and giraffe.. Then I put them in the scanner and play around with them.  These are your designs. - Lou Lou
“Is that my design?” - Saul [when Lou Lou pulled our the sheet of St. John's designs]
That is. I send them to a company in Peru. They take those designs and print them on fabric, and that makes pajamas. - Lou Lou
“Like I do this. You know I sew fabric.” - Saul 
You do? My little boy is learning how to sew at St. John’s. - Lou Lou
“You know, I can sew. I know how to sew at St. John’s too!” - Saul 
Saul and Giacomo, do you remember the video Lou Lou sent of the machine with the big, big fabric? - Elyse
“I remember the machine that was running.” - Giacomo, 4.4 years

So when I get the designs onto the computer, I can move them around. So what we can do is play around with it. Like, where does this one go and should it be smaller? Do you have ideas about where things should go? - Lou Lou

“Lou Lou, there’s so many hexagons. I thought that I should have a hexagon, but I don’t have one. I will find one to have one.” - Saul

 It’s really good to make a design within a shape called a hexagon. Let’s start with your rainbow.  I copy it and bring it over here [to the hexagon]. And if there’s a rainbow here, then there will be a rainbow, here [one in each hexagon]. Now should we add in “the toad”? - Lou Lou
“Yeah!” - Giacomo 
“Toad!” - Saul [laughing]
Giacomo, which one should we add next? - Elyse
“The one with the little ____ are. The one next to the house [tree house from RRB].” - Giacomo
The one that is maybe an animal? - Elyse
The leopard? - Lou Lou
“Yes!” - Giacomo and Saul in unison 
Where should it go [in the hexagon]? Here?- Lou Lou
“Right there.” - Giacomo
“Lou Lou, there’s so much rainbows.” - Saul 
Remember that she has to put each one in the hexagons. - Elyse
That’s how we fill up your pajamas. The patterns repeat. - Lou Lou 
“Lou Lou, there’s so many hexagons. I thought that I should have a hexagon, but I don’t have one. I will find one to have one.” - Saul 
Can you draw one? A hexagon is a bunch of lines. - Lou Lou

Choosing Colors

We've been discussing how the color choice is a collaboration among all of the children at school, but today Lou Lou let us experiment with some colors for our rainbow design!  We also have a few ideas for the 4 pajama colors; though we will remain flexible of course! 

Saul and Giacomo, have we thought more about what the colors of our rainbow should be? - Elyse
“It should be red, yellow, and green.” - Saul 

[Saul was coloring on his designs]
Lou Lou, I have one more question.  How do you add the color? - Elyse
Once we determine the colors, I can put it back to the original colors or go into the program. - Lou Lou 

What I do is select areas. Can you see those dotted lines? The blinking little dashes. - Lou Lou
“I see them!” - Giacomo
That means I have selected an area.  What color should the top part be? It can be any of these colors.  All different shades of blue.  A dark green or neon green.  Any color. - Lou Lou 
Giacomo, do you have a favorite color she can use right now? - Elyse 
“Uh, green.” - Giacomo
Alright, let’s pick a green. Do you like that green? - Lou Lou 
“Yup!” - Giacomo 
Then I go over here to the paint bucket I click on the paint bucket, then click on it [area that was selected and had the blinking dashes]. And if you changed your mind and you wanted it to be blue, we can do that too. - Lou Lou 
[Giacomo inhaled with excitement! Saul was smiling.]

Let’s select a different area.  The bottom one. - Lou Lou 
Saul, do you have a color we can use for the bottom arc? - Elyse
“Pink!” - Saul 
Do you want a light pink or a hot pink? How about this one? Then we select paint bucket, then click on this. - Lou Lou 
 “Yay! Pink. We’re creating a rainbow.” - Saul  
“Now do orange.” - Saul 

​At this point in our conversation, Giacomo began to think about how Rose, his sister, might feel about changing the colors of the original design.  Rose worked with us a few weeks ago to design the rainbow, and Giacomo was so kind to consider her feelings.  Perhaps we can check in with Rose too; after all, as she shared with us, it's her school too! 

“For now let’s just keep it plain because my sister will be really frustrated if the part she made is changed.” - Giacomo
I hear you.  I understand what you’re saying, and we do not want Rose to be frustrated, but Lou Lou can change the colors.  Nothing is permanent. So if we don’t like the orange, it can be yellow.  - Elyse
“Red! The picture has red here, and the rainbow has to be orange and red like my picture.” - Saul 

I want to remind you that we can make color suggestions, but we’re collaborating with everyone at St. John’s.  We all have to agree on four colors. - Elyse 
What are your four favorite colors? - Lou Lou 
“Orange!” - Saul 
“I’m going to draw a few more colors and then you can make them on the screen with a little rainbow.” - Saul 

“If we do all of the colors, I would want to keep it blank because Rose would turn into a tiger because of me.” - Giacomo
Did Rose help make the rainbow? - Lou Lou 
“She would be mad at me..” - Giacomo
 Do you think we could explain the process to Rose and she might understand that colors might change.  I think Rose is very understanding. - Elyse