Origami Master

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Yesterday was the last day of fourth grade for my daughter. I really enjoy reading through the masses of schoolwork they send home at the end of the school year, the stories and creative writing assignments always bring a smile to my face. I save a few good ones to look back at one day when she's grown and off to college.

My brilliant child has Asperger's Syndrome. As a result, one of her quirks is that her fingers must always be busy. She took to origami several years ago, and found it to be an excellent way to keep her little fingers busy. Her teachers have all gone mad with taking paper away from her in class. But they all had the same thing to say; No matter how much she appears to not be paying attention in class and seems to be completely focused on the paper in her fingers, if called upon, she knows the answer and is following along in class better than most other students. She doesn't find eye contact as a necessary part of learning. Finally, her teacher this year has just given up on trying to stop her from folding paper all day. She agrees that in her own way, it helps her learn better. It still drives the teacher nuts because post-it notes are part of the state provided school supplies, and my kiddo uses more than anyone else. They also must go through her desk every other week or so to remove the many swans, frogs, and boats that burst from her desk. When they cleaned out the desk at the end of school, the teacher sent home a large ziplock full of the origami in her desk. This is a cherished pile of her creations that was pulled out of her desk, and now adorns my kitchen table.

When not origami-ing, she can be found sculpting little creatures out of clay, or wax. She found a wonderful medium in the red wax that comes on BabyBel cheese. I sent them to school in her lunch, and she would come home with an impeccable red sculpture, highly detailed and about the size of a quarter. I had thought they were made from the red clay she had, and only learned their true makeup when I was told we needed more cheese in order for her to make more sculpture. It turns out the kids at school had found her mini creations so cool, she began taking orders. I told her that she should sell them on ebay if they are that popular. She wasn't having it, a true artist, she only sculpts for the love of it.