Personality Through Artwork

I will probably sound sappy by saying this, but I just love seeing how Addy expresses herself through her artwork.  She gets so focused, and brings out her "Addy face" (the intense, muscles-clenched, mouth open, shake), and comes up with some amazing stuff.  

Rainbows have always been a thing for her.  Singing along with Rachel Coleman or the Cat in the Hat's Rainbow songs, she's just had a fascination for this display of colors.  And so they're a frequent component of her projects. Here's a rainbow with clouds.

And another rainbow.

This is a project she did at school, but the title that she asked her teachers to write on it couldn't be more Addy!

Maps,  maps, and more maps...we draw lots of maps.  This particular one is a treasure map that she then turned into a game.  We each had to take turns following the path, stopping at each "spot" marked by a pink circle, and make it to the treasure at the end. "Don't get lost in the twists and turns, Mommy!"  Then we had to each sign our names to show we completed it.

And books.  At our first parent teacher conference, Ms. Cheryl commented on some things we already knew about Addy - that she loves looking at books, and that she loves to write.  And then Ms. Cheryl set a goal for Addy.  She wanted to see her being able to journal by the end of the year.  And so at the writing center, she made paper books and was hoping Addy would be intrigued.  For nearly two weeks, Addy came home everyday with a new book she had illustrated and "written" (she asks her teachers to write the words for her to go along with the pictures.  There's always a picture on every page, and what amazes us is that quite frequently, there are actual stories with characters or adventures throughout the pages.  Here are just a few - "Babies Climb", "The Adventures of In the Rain" and "Columbus to the Zoo."

And last but not least...I have to admit that selfishly, one afternoon, I was trying to get some work done.  So I said to Addy, I've got a challenge for you.  Addy's been writing her own name for a little while now, thanks again to preschool, so I said, "Addy, do you think you can write all your ABC's?"  I could hear her singing each letter "A,B, C...pause...A, B, C, D....pause...A, B, C, D, E....pause, and so on...."And then she brought me this -

 It's rough, but if you look, you can find every letter on the page.  I was stunned.  I gave Addy a little congratulatory surprise, and she made me document that on the bottom of the page "Afterward, Addy ate chocolate."