Jonathan's 1st Class at the Studio

We took Jonathan to an art lesson this morning... The first thing he said to me when we picked him up was, "Can I come back here, please?" They let him choose his color of mat and they put it in a special bag for him. He wants to come back every week and eventually cover his whole wall with his artwork.

He explained the whole class to us: the teacher had them practice drawing different kinds of shapes; then they used those shapes to draw the rabbit and other parts of the picture; then they outlined some of the lines with black marker, and erased away some of the of other lines; then they used color to fill it in. He was really interested in the idea of putting simple shapes together to draw.

He loves to spend lots of time creating and doing projects (this was the same child that refused to particpate in art projects and preschool and Sunday school) and whenever I looked in on him during the class he was totally focused and intent on his work. I love helping the kids find activities that bring them both focus and joy. For Jonathan, it has been swimming, horseback, and art. Anna, gymnastics. It makes me so happy to see their faces when they are intent on learning something new, and the satisfaction they feel when they learn that they can do it.

Jonathan has always had this focused energy about him... even when he was a baby. I wonder how he will use it throughout his life. He is calm and methodical when he is playing or creating or learning. I can't wait to see all the exciting things that lay ahead for him. He is such a gift to us everyday. Even when he acts skunky. :)