Each afternoon that I walk into Mateo's preschool room to pick him up, I am usually amazed at the fruits of the children's creative efforts that day. Someone will have built a massive and elaborate fortress out of wood blocks with glass pebbles, snakes and wire, someone will have drawn a picture of sage flowers that looks more intricate than what most adults could produce, or there will be a ferris wheel or roller coaster made entirely of wood. These are three and four-year-olds I'm talking about. 

One day I walked in and saw this drawing of Mateo's face on the wall, and I was totally taken aback. Up until very, very recently, Mateo's drawings were mostly furious, multi-colored scribbles. But suddenly there was a face, with eyes, and ears, and hair–his hair! It actually looked a lot like him. His teacher Michele explained how they did it: using an overhead projector, they put a photo of Mateo's face on the wall and he traced over it then painted it. I couldn't wait to take it home, but as it goes, I had to be a little patient. But now it's here, and I love looking at it. I do think it gives a glimpse into how Mateo sees himself and his world–all loose and freeform. And I especially love that he thinks he's got shiny gold sparkles in his hair.