The Magna Doodle Lament

Don't get me wrong. I love the Magna Doodle. Love. We have two large Magna Doodles. One medium Dora Magna Doodle and at least 3 small ones. I'm a huge fan of no-mess artistry. Especially when you consider that "mess artistry" around here amounts to permanent marker on my dry-clean only couch. Also there's a waste-issue. Gone unchecked, my children will draw their way through a ream of paper in about a week.

When your children are as prolific as mine are, you have to turn to something more Green. Enter the Magna Doodle. We love you.


Miles has really started being creative in his drawing. We're not sure how often (if ever) that he has something in mind before he starts his drawings. We feel like he's more "interpreting" what the Magna Doodle wants to draw. He'll make a shape accidentally. Just random free-form drawing. And notice that it looks like something. And so, he'll make it into that something. Often it's monsters or ghosts. He will draw it some very dainty eyes, and then ever so gently, draw on the mouth. And it's as if he has no control over the "MagnaPen" and if the line for the mouth happens to dip down just a bit he's suddenly morose. "Oh! It's a sad ghost." And the converse is true. It can just as easily be a happy ghost, which in turn makes him happy.



Watching Miles draw is more fun than if you yourself were drawing. And his drawings are hilarious. But here is my lament.

If you had actual paper drawings you could save them forever if you so chose. Not so with the Magna Doodle. So, I've taken to photographing some of my favorites, for posterity's sake. But, it's just not the same. I feel a scrapbook page coming on.

Betcha can't guess what this is?