Once There Was a Snowman

Most kids love to scribble and color, but not Keira. She has always had an aversion to it, which makes me more and more nervous the closer she gets to starting kindergarten this fall. She is a perfectionist and since she knows she can't write and color perfectly, she doesn't want to do it at all- especially not on demand. Nonetheless, she would randomly surprise me by writing an occasional letter of the alphabet on my phone or dry erase board or a scribble here or there. She is very creative and has, of her own accord, made alphabet letters out of Q-tips and made a happy face out of jewel stickers on my kitchen counter, but I can't seem to get her to write them on paper. She loves to do other art projects including using scissors, stickers, glue, and paper, but the majority of her coloring projects have been on my couch, walls, and floor.

I have been trying to present her with more artistic opportunities to prepare her for school, without putting any pressure on her to do so. She is the kind of girl who will do things on her own but will put the brakes on the moment she thinks it's your idea and not hers. She has actually started to scribble more than ever before, and any scribble of hers is a work of art to me because at least she is finally using a writing instrument in her own hand to write on paper.

Today, I was cooking dinner and Keira took the unsupervised opportunity to do something she's not supposed to, as usual. She found a purple ink pen and scribbled all over her knee. Then later I asked her why she did it and she said, "Because I wanted a snowman cutie mark." (Cutie marks are the designs on each pony's flank in the My Little Pony cartoon.) I didn't think much of it, until later I was sitting next to her on the couch and realized that her "scribbles" were not scribbles at all, but she had actually drawn a snowman on her knee! She has never drawn anything before in her life, and busts out with a snowman on her kneecap. She went on the explain that the other "scribbles" around the snowman were the road to get to the snow park and piles of snow around the snowman. I was amazed.

I am starting to learn that even if her art projects are done on a surface they don't belong, not to react harshly at first because when I really pay attention to what she's done I realize just how smart she is. She just doesn't want me to know. :)