Fourth-grader loves dogs, crafts, making slime & trying new things

West Sedona School fourth-grader Piper Wagner sat down after school in November with a pencil in hand and outlines of hamburgers printed on paper in front of her.

Her teacher, Kelly Cadigan, said it’s a technique fourth graders use to learn essay writing.

“Topic sentence,” Piper said, pointing at the top bun of the hamburger, which had lines to write on printed inside. “It took me a while to think of my topic sentence, because I wasn’t 100% sure what to put down. I have three amazing details and then my closing sentence.”

“She thought about
it, and she took
her time, and then
she decided to do it
— and then she was
all in, and
that was really
incredible to watch.”

Sammy Wagner
Piper Wagner’s father

Each section was titled, next to another piece of the burger, the patty, cheese and the bottom bun. She did this for each one of her paragraphs on her two-page essay for Coconino County’s annual Fourth Grade Water Ethics Essay Contest.

Piper won first place. Her work is displayed in Flagstaff, at the Coconino Center for the Arts, during the Youth Arts Exhibit which runs until Saturday, March 28.

“The reason I thought of Piper when … I found this essay contest was giving her an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone and build the confidence to do it,” Cadigan said.

Wagner said she did it because she wanted to try something new.

Outside School

The fourth-grader doesn’t usually do a lot of sitting down and writing, her mom, Leslie Wagner, said. She’s very creative, artistic and crafty — she’ll make things.

“She’ll take the cardboard rather than the present,” her dad, Sammy Wagner, said with a laugh.

Wagner’s often at home at the table with the cardboard cutter that recently replaced the scissors, gluing pieces together for many of her own personal projects.

“I made a house for the squishies,” Piper said.

Her true artistic passion, she said, is making slime.

“We have so many cups of slime,” Leslie said.

Piper said she likes the texture and the way it looks.

She learned by watching a video online and she said it’s also fun to make.

“I heard that sometimes you don’t need the … baking soda,” she said. “But I use the baking soda, because no matter how much activator I put in, it just doesn’t form slime. So I have to put in baking soda, the glue — whatever kind of glue you can use, clear glue, white glue. There’s metallic glue that I have.”

The Wagners have two dogs at home, a big boxer named Gus and a little Boston Terrier named Ruby.

“I’ll make hats that [Ruby] doesn’t wear,” Piper said. “I tried making her a Lego crown, and she broke it immediately.”

Piper said she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, because she loves animals, particularly dogs.

“I will put lots of hats on them and clothes, and I will be broke because of how much stuff I buy,” she said.

Results

When Cadigan found out Piper won during class, she told Piper she needed to call her parents and give them the news.

“We were so excited,” Leslie said. “We’re screaming and crying. … We were excited to just be part of it, so to be No. 1, it’s like ‘oh my gosh.’ That’s just the cherry on top.”

Piper’s victory does more than just get her name to the top spot and her work displayed, her whole class gets to celebrate. The Willow Bend Environmental Education Center, the organization that runs the contest in conjunction with the Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Council and Watershed Partnership, will give the class $200 to spend on classroom supplies.

“Now, they’re going to come and do a water ethics presentation,” Cadigan said.

Piper had continued to hone her essay-writing ability in Cadigan’s class, having written several more for class assignments and projects.

“She makes being a parent easy,” Leslie said. “She’s so kind hearted and so sweet, always thinking about others. She has been helping Ms. [Karen] Hughes, the school counselor, do kindness classes, teaching in other classrooms. So, we’re so proud of her.”

When her parents were asked how they felt watching their daughter grow, Piper pointed at her father.

“You, stop crying,” she said.

“She’s an amazing kid,” Sammy said, wiping away a tear and smiling. “We’re so proud of her.

“This was absolutely an out-of-her-comfort-zone activity, which I have to say, probably would have been for me in fourth grade, but she thought about it, and she took her time, and then she decided to do it — and then she was all in, and that was really incredible to watch.”