Amazed with the talents of my children

So, Monkey battles with ADHD, we have been looking for things that help her cope. We have discovered many things, such as planners and lists all help her. However, she would still get extremely wound up and struggle with de-stressing. We knew that she loved to color and doodle, so we decided to let her get a drawing pad and just doodle while listening. It was a long battle of picking our battles because she cannot stand still when we are correcting her, but finding out she listens and comprehends while doodling is something else.

I should start by saying that I have known for a LONG time that Monkey is a Liberal Arts child. She has always enjoyed music and art way more than math and science. That is not to say that she does not enjoy doing the STEM classes, because she is most definitely a geek. However, she is EXTREMELY talented in the arts. Her balance is unbelievable. She can pick up an instrument and just play. I should not have been surprised when I saw her latest creations! She has taken doodling to another level. I think it is time to start looking at music and art lessons. It is when she feels most at ease and I can visibly watch her calm down.

Here are just a few of the pieces she has drawn simply watching YouTube tutorials!

She even colored one in for me to use on my profile photo on Facebook!

However, YouTube tutorials are only one part of what she does. She also doodles during downtime at school. Here is something she drew on the fly at school:

So ... I am creating a list of things I should consider purchasing for my budding artist. I have drawing pads, watercolor pencils, and drawing pencils (that allow shading and blending). I know that she is REALLY into drawing logos and other branding items. However, I would love to see her take lessons in many mediums and see if there are other things she enjoys.

In addition to art and music, Monkey has discovered the love of Debate this year. It took her a while to find a partner she works well with, but she did ... and she placed. She took 5th for her personal work and her team took 3rd.