'The Girl with the Golden Hair'

That's what five-year-old Olivia calls her picture of a girl sitting and reading outside and then getting up to go get the mail.

Kind of draws you right into the action, doesn't it?

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

My youngest takes over for me today with this quickly scribbled neighborhood scene. I think Picasso would feel right at home here.

My 4-year-old's drawing and her video explanation

Our 4-year-old has been having some fun with a cheap whiteboard my wife picked up at a garage sale. Here is her latest creation, followed by a video of her explaining just what it is we're looking at...

Santa Claus is coming to town

My four-year-old drew this Christmas scene.

Dad's Day Off: A four-year-old's dream house

You know, with the mutant apple trees, snake-like birds, and car-sized butterflies, I'm beginning to think we should have built a little further away from the nuclear power plant.

Art lesson with a four-year-old

Our daughter's assignment was to draw our calico cat. She copied me as I walked her through each part with a rough sketch on the master whiteboard. It was her idea to add red apples and a patchy blue sky.

Dad's Day Off: North Shore adventure

We spent some time along Lake Superior's North Shore over the weekend. Our four-year-old loved gathering rocks and splashing in the chilly, crystal-clear water. She drew this picture of her experience and wanted me to share it with you...

Dad's Day Off - June 27, 2012

Three-year-old Olivia filling in again. Not sure what this is. I know there's an ocean in there somewhere. I think that's her gimmick. She hides an ocean in just about all of her drawings.

This one is signed, too. I must say her penmanship is certainly improving.

"Daddy made me stay up late to do this!"

Dad's Day Off - April 11, 2012

Three-year-old Olivia fills in again. This picture started out as, according to the artist, "a circle with green and blue" and ended up being a picture of the beach. (The blue is water, in case you couldn't figure that out.) She even signed her name!

Dad's Day Off - March 14, 2012

The three-year-old no longer seems interested in helping Dad with his blog. She quickly scrawled this out, and then declared, "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

She didn't even bother putting the cap back on the marker.

Dad's Day Off: ?????

When I decide to take the day off, I expect my kids to step up and deliver. Well, my three-year-old decided she just wasn't in the drawing mood. She couldn't even tell me what this was supposed to be.

I apologize for her laziness. She and I will definitely be having a little chat about her attitude.

Building a better mouse trap

As a homeschooling dad, it's my job to challenge my kids. I challenged them yesterday to design and build a working mouse trap. My son sketched out this rough design...

Impaling those filthy, disease-carrying rodents on spring-loaded toothpicks. I think it has potential. What do you think?

Dad's Day Off - November 18, 2011

My three-year-old daughter filling in. This is somewhat less abstract than her last one. The trees are quite clear, and I can almost make out our two dogs.

(Click here for the labeled version.)

Dad's Day Off - October 17, 2011

My son, Philippe, confiscated the whiteboard to create this ocean scene...

A family portrait (Dad's Day Off - September 5, 2011)

It's a holiday, so I'm taking the day off. My daughter, Patrice, is stepping in with a portrait of our family.

L to R: Dawn, Lee, Olivia, Philippe, Patrice

In case you were wondering, those are volcanoes on the legs of Philippe's pants. When I asked why, she said she wanted something that boys would like, since they like "rough stuff." Might there be a future fashion designer in the family?

Oh, and for the record, I have never owned or worn rainbow-colored capris in my life. Really.

Dad's Day Off - August 26, 2011

I decided to take Friday off, so I turned the markers and whiteboard over to my three-year-old daughter. I have no idea what this is called, but I was told by the artist herself that it contains a train, some fish, Daddy, a set of footprints, two submarines, and a flamingo. It also contains the letters Y, A, O, and G. See if you can find them!

(Click here to see the labeled version.)