WEST CHESTER TWP. — A special concrete stepping stone is waiting placement in the Lakota Early Childhood Center's Outdoor Education Lab.

        Inscribed in the stone is the name Kailash, complete with smiley face and tile pieces in blue, purple and green. The stone was made by Kailash's sister, 10-year-old Pallavi Karunakaran, who wanted to make sure others remembered the 4-year-old boy who was in Sharon Byrnes' pre-school class before his death last September of a viral illness.

        This week, Kailash's classmates joined Pallavi's Adena Elementary School fifth-grade classmates to work on Kailash's memorial. The project will add a bird courtyard — complete with feeding boxes and bird houses — and stepping stones, to the LECC's lab.

        “We wanted to do something to memorialize Kailash,” Ms. Byrnes said. “It had to be significant to the children, something lasting.”

        Employees from the district's service center built and installed a wood wall, about 10 feet wide and nearly 7 feet high, with spaces to peek through to watch the birds. The fifth-graders made the stepping stones in Tammy Strong's art class. The LECC's Parent Teacher Organization is helping to pay for birdseed and the birdhouses.

        “I still miss him. Sometimes I have to be alone,” said Pallavi, pausing a moment from her work. “This is a good memorial. It's by his school. Other kids can watch the birds. It's going to be fun for them and fun for us.”

        Karen Fuch's students spent Tuesday helping the pre-schoolers paint the poles from which the feeders will hang. Karpagam Karunakaran, Kailash and Pallavi's mother, watched from a distance.

        “I appreciate this,” Mrs. Karunakaran said quietly.

        Nearby, Derek Dietz helped 5-year-old Dakota Lambing, as Dakota's father watched.

        “I don't think Dakota realized what happened (to Kailash),” Mr. Lambing said. “This is nice. Any time you can involve paint and kids — it's a good thing.”

        Derek, 11, said he enjoys working with the younger children, even though his shirt had a few drops of paint on it.

        A dedication for the bird courtyard will be set next month, when the work is finished.

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