Now Featuring Photos! (The Work of my Student Genius)

Privacy laws restrict me from posting photos of my students' faces. Sooooo, I'll settle for telling the story of the Boy with the Vision through pictures of his projects.

First of all, let me note that most children pre-kindergarten are just learning to trace basic shapes, count to twenty, recognize their own names on paper, and experiment with scribbling letter-like forms. Some of them are able to copy what a teacher writes on the board, but recognizable letters and the classic "kid spelling" of things usually comes later, after kindergarten teaches them basic phonics.


That is, unless you have a special 5-year-old with an unbelievable spatial-visual memory. If that were the case, maybe he would have the ability to draw accurate maps of places he has been in town, build block towers which resemble actual buildings, and re-create logos and advertisements from grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and others using the correct font and 3d effects.


What makes it more amazing is the fact that this child has social difficulties and an emotional-behavioral disorder that complicate teaching him things. He doesn't like to have assistance with anything, and any idea which isn't his is a bad idea. But, no one had to teach him how to do any of the following things; it all came from his memory.



For instance:

Now, anyone who lives/has lived in Fort Wayne may recognize this structure without a comparison picture. But for everyone else:

In case you missed it, check out the signage my little guy built in front of the main building. That's right. He went as far as duplicating Science Central's LOGO and taping it to the blocks for maximum accuracy.

Now, here's a formation which has become a permanent shrine in the block corner. Ever since the boy joined our class (just before he turned five), he has been obsessed with "Holiday Fest."
It looks like this:



He told us things like, "You drive THROUGH Holiday Fest." and "It lights up at Christmas." But it wasn't until we noticed the center building looks just like One Summit Square that we figured out Holiday Fest = Downtown Fort Wayne.


Here's the back of the block version:

From back left to front right, National City/PNC Bank, Courthouse, One Summit Square, and Lincoln Tower Bank. (You may have noticed the real Downtown has these buildings in a different order. But when you drive South through the buildings on US24, they appear just as the boy built them.)

Finally, here's a sample of his Logo-writing:

Earlier the same day, as the kids were turning a cardboard box into a "Drive-thru," he reached out the window we had cut in the side and wrote "Burger King" so that it appeared correct to the "cars" that would come. This means he wrote it upsidedown from his vantage point.

I would have taken a picture of the McDonald's or Taco Bell signs he drew (complete with 3d Bell), but he wouldn't cooperate. (sigh) Even with his superpowers, he is still a kid.

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Anyway, all of this to say, my job isn't always difficult. Sometimes I get to pick little brains and let them WOW me with just how incredible they are. With that, I'll sign off by posting a final example of student art I like to call, "Who Needs a Canvas When Miss Amanda Has a Back?"