Picture perfect

I finally have some time from the weekend madness for myself. Love the quiet evening, with just the sound of the water trickling down the landscaped stream outside the house.

I bought Kai a set of colour markers about a year back, but it's only recently that his drawings^ are starting to mean something. And so it was timely that the September 2008 issue of Parents wrote about how your toddler's drawings are "a window into his growth and development".

Between the age of 24 to 30 months, art now has a name. Toddlers in this age group can describe what he's scribbled, and he's more likely to name his artwork. According to the expert that the magazine interview, this is a very big deal, as the child understands that what he has drawn stands for a real object.

He calls this "circles". (Note the big green swirl.)

The magazine also recommends that parents resist the impulse to label their child's drawing (i.e. "Is that a car?") or even ask what it is. Instead, focus on the colours and shapes that you see (i.e. "Why did you use blue?").

He absolutely thrilled me with this painting^. He started off with the purple dots, and said "rain". I think it was because I pointed out how the rain looked as it landed on the glass ceiling of the museum this morning! ("Look at the circles and dots," I said.)

Then he did more circles thereafter.

This two masterpieces are now available for viewing in the artist's room.