I see...

The other day Will pulled my glasses off my face and put them on his own. He squinted as he tried to make sense of the altered images now focusing on his own retinas. I couldn't help but wonder if they were helping him. We've already learned his big sister has some visual deficiencies.. so logic would dictate William certainly might as well. But then I got to thinking about how on earth could we ever determine which prescription would be the best ones to correct his vision. It wouldn't be possible to get him to respond to the typical barrage of questions the optometrist would throw at him.. so how indeed?

It occurred to me that he could do it all on his own. He's so capable in so many ways other than verbal communication and it doesn't take him long to pick up on the idea behind a new task. I thought perhaps we could just put him in front of a table with various lenses on it and he'd try them all out, selecting the proper ones.. then properly use the provided tools to assemble them into the frame.. put them on and then walk out the door as if nothing even remotely unusual had just transpired.

Now to find an optometrist willing to give a four year old his tray of lenses to play with.. hmmmm.......

A New Interest

A couple of years ago we got this great little log cabin building set as a gift for Will and, although he enjoyed immensely watching any of the rest of us put it together, he had not yet ventured into actually assembling the cabin himself. We hadn't had it down off the top shelf in quite a while and so when he pulled me to the shelf yesterday and said "log" I thought that was sufficient to reward him with the toy. We set up a spot in the middle of the living room floor where we could work with it. It's cute.. just a little cabin with one door and a window.. and after assembled he will often put various figures in there.. you know.. because they fit. I think our school bus driver from this toy has been in there a lot.. and I'm certain fireman Elmo has also had his share of incarceration play time in the camp. Occasionally various cows and a giraffe will tend watch in the yard outside..

It's really just a 3D puzzle.. and a bit more complex than the jigsaw puzzles he's been so good at doing all on his own for years now. But there is a bit of thinking ahead involved in putting it together. Regardless, he's attached himself to this old toy in a big way and is having a blast putting it together.. and then tearing it down.. and then starting all over again.

Oh.. and I've definitely noticed a reduction in his verbal stims over the last couple of days.. lots going on in that brain of his right now..

Where Am I?

Will was recently exposed to the wonder of maps at preschool. He's always had access to various types of maps.. from a simple laminated place mat to the big USA floor puzzle that he got for his birthday a couple of years ago. But somehow this exposure at school brought this interest to life and it's all he cares about now. If he's not putting together the puzzle.. or carrying the place mat around the yard.. he's eyeing more complex maps in the various books he has at his disposal. It's amazing. How many 4 year olds know all their state capitols? How many can point out all the states on a map when asked? Will has magnificent powers of memory.. perhaps this will be one of his splinter skills and he'll wind up as a cartographer. I cherish the times we can play this game.. he brings me his USA map place mat and we begin.. Where's Vermont? He points right to it.. doesn't have to think for even a second. Where's Sacramento? This goes on for an hour. He knows them all.. how many 40 year olds know all their state capitols? I'd venture to guess not that many. And here this little 4 year old boy, this amazing little creature who surprises me daily, knows them all.

Quick study

I always thought of myself as a quick study.. I could watch somebody do something just once and that was it.. I could do it too. When it came to the kids, though, it was a different story, even with the simplest things. But just this morning I grabbed a cup and flipped it over and drew a perfect circle using it. He had it down. He knew he had to put pressure on the lightweight plastic cup to keep it from slipping away. He knew not to apply too much pressure on the pencil or risk it pushing the cup away. He drew a perfect circle. I was so proud of him and, more importantly, he was proud of himself. =)

Drawing

My father-in-law mentioned it one day. Does my son have any savant abilities? You mean, besides reading at a 3rd grade level at the age of 4? Well.. I guess not.. or at least we don't know YET. So today I'm helping my daughter prepare her valentines for her kindergarten classmates and I thought I'd cut out a few hearts for him to play with and color. Here I thought they might help to keep him busy. But instead he took the remainder of the paper and drew the most amazing school bus. So maybe he does =)