After reading yesterday’s post (Book Cover Image – What’s Missing?) and looking at the book cover image provided, what say you? Did you guess what the missing link was? Well, if you guessed that the ladder was missing its rungs, ding . . . ding . . . ding — you are correct! The “rungs on the ladder” was the missing link. In looking back at yesterday’s image, it still amazes me that such a detail bypassed the radar of the four adults in the family. And as soon as the youngest member was shown the image for his review and approval, he immediately said, “Where’s the ladder?” Out of the mouth of babes, right?
Here’s the corrected version of the image, which will appear on the actual book cover. I’m glad Little Man caught it, because it would have been difficult to explain to readers how the person at the top of the slide got up there without a ladder.
Needless to say, after Little Man proceeded to enlighten us (adults) to the correction to be made, it dawned on me that his artistic eye needs to be encouraged and developed along with his big sister’s. For years, he’s steadily shown his talent in the visual arts. So, in recognition of another budding artist in the family, I thought it would be fitting to recap some of my written sentiments from a previous post, entitled Begin with the End. This discussion addresses my youngest child’s creative talents.
. . . the two fundamental steps that should be applied when participating in the ongoing child talent development process:
- identify your child’s strengths, natural talents, skills, and interests (at as early an age as possible) and then,
- provide them with opportunities to develop in those areas.
Little Man’s Steps 1 and 2 look something like this:
Step #1 for Little Man: highly creative, innovative, and imaginative; artistic in the visual arts; strong in hands-on techniques; has a dedicated interest in constructing things of all magnitudes; favorite toys to play with are Legos; very determined and persistent; artistic designer…
Here’s Little Man’s latest Lego creation.
Step #2 for Little Man: has free rein to construct and build at will; is constantly creating things with Legos; makes all kinds of visual artistic work like drawings, paintings, and 3-D sculptures of robots; performs DIY projects using recycled, repurposed, and everyday household items; is a worker bee that enjoys activities where he can get his hands involved; will look into future participation in his school’s robotics program.
I think I would like to add a little more to Step #2 (above). I’m going to add that, along with his sister, I do believe Little Man will have plenty of opportunities to showcase his works of art at Degrees of Maternity. He’s been doing a lot of drawing lately, so I have some future free-hand work in store for him. Don’t be surprised if you see it appear on this blog as a regular occurrence. I mean business when it comes to honing my children’s skill sets in their areas of interest. Giving them the opportunity to grow in doing what they love while loving what they do is a win-win proposition for all parties involved.
REMEMBER: . . . “investing in your children now is sure to pay off big dividends for them (and you too) in the future.”
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