Art, and the art of letter writing

Letter writing: the one positive aspect of family living far away. Jonathan enjoys sending some of his artwork away to his aunts and uncles, and sometimes they write back! Which of course means that he needs to write back. I love that he's learning this, even in our email (and blog!) saturated culture.

In the latest note from Aunt Jenny, she included step by step instructions for drawing a cat in a window. Jonathan drew his cat according to her directions, and then decided to turn the paper over and draw the same cat, from the other side of the window. It was fun to see his thought process as he decided how best to do that. There are whiskers and a nose on the other side of the picture!

When we first started writing letters, it took a lot of prompting and suggestions to help Jonathan craft what he wanted to say. This time he dictated the entire letter without assistance. I was very proud! Here's the text, because it is hard to read in the letter and because I want it for posterity (because, of course, the letter has been sent away!)

Dear Aunt Jenny,
You're welcome for the fun bird's nest picture. I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you for teaching me how to draw the kitty cat.
We love you, dear Aunt Jenny.
Love, Jonathan