Today we (Ethan, my 18 month niece, and myself) decided to get out some construction paper & color with MARKERS....I know!!!!! I guess I just didn't think the kids were messy enough after lunch & playing outside. Anyway, as I turned my back on my niece to ask Ethan what color construction paper he wanted, my niece decided to "apply her makeup"......with markers. YIKES! So, luckily, I still had my wet rag from wiping her hands & face at lunch time, so most of it came off of her face. Then, when I was able to give some attention back to Ethan, this is what I saw.......
Alright....let's break it down. The scribble at the top is a horizontal line....not just a scribble. I'm not really sure what the dots at the right are....other than dots. However, the scribble at the left is a CIRCLE!!!! Ethan asked me to "make a smiley face," so I added the eyes, nose and mouth. BUT HE MADE A CIRCLE!!!! No help, no hand-over-hand, no frustration....he just did it!!!!! This may not seem like much, but it is a big step for Ethan. It was less than a year ago that this child could barely sit down to focus on any paperwork task. When I would get out crayons to color....he would line up the crayons or sort them by color. And while those activities made me love him even more, if that is possible, it was very frustrating for us. So, I would use an art easel to promote any kind of drawing. We would use chalk, water paint, finger paint, shaving cream, and paper taped to it. He was only interested in making a mess & had NO desire to draw anything...including scribbles. And today....he just drew a circle....like it was no big deal. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!
AND, a couple of days ago, my sister & I had a "Book Swap Meeting." Our children love books, and we are continually passing books back & forth between our households in order to keep them from getting bored with the same books. During this meeting, we sorted the books into piles.....my pile, her pile, Grandma's pile, and the Goodwill pile. There were several books that had already made the rounds at my house, so I passed on them. One of the books, however, Ethan decided to rescue....and he wants to play with it all the time. He says, "Together? We play together?" Here he is playing "Together" with Daddy.....
We had this book in our possession before, but Ethan never showed any interest in tracing the letters no matter how much encouragement I gave him. He only wanted to look at the pictures. NOW....he wants to draw in it EVERY DAY! I know it is baby steps, but it is AMAZING how quickly Ethan is catching up!
I have said it before, and I will say it again. Ethan would not be where he is at, would not have made the progress he has made, would not be growing leaps & bounds if it wasn't for his amazing support. His teachers, his therapists, his extended family, his church family, and our friends. NO WAY would Ethan be drawing these circles if didn't have loving people in his life OTHER than mom & dad to teach him. We are SO grateful for all of these wonderful people and blessed to have found this path for Ethan so early in his life. So.....once he masters the art of writing his letters.....be looking for his first novel!
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