My son has become very interested in an area of town he calls the broken railroad, a place where about four railroad lines converge near a factory on the northeast side. He directs me there, telling me, ‘turn right, go straight, turn left, turn around,’ etc.
He has recreated this area in a drawing he has done by himself primarily, but also he has directed his dad and me to act as contributors–following his directions on what to draw. He had us add in his school, ten tables for a ‘party,’ and his friends, teachers and caretakers each by name–it has in a way become a cosmos of all the things that matter to him, I think. His storybook characters also appear, such as the piggy princess in the Regis Faller cartoon books that track the adventures of Polo the dog, a rainbow airplane and other items are all meshed into one elaborate schema. Of course, a shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) makes an appearance as well.
He also taught himself how to use Google maps with its street view options, so he can virtually drive down his favorite areas of town. He has figured it out by himself now, and he punches in addresses of his favorite haunts, the most favorite of all: the broken railroad.
