Taking Martha to the second of her three kitas, we had to walk by an intriguing storefront gallery that advertised drawing classes for kids. Sabine decided to call one day. From the beginning, Martha seemed to like the classes. When Cy was old enough, he started going too.

The teacher is a Russian architect who migrated from drawing buildings to drawing his own art. Every other week, his charming daughter teaches jai do -- a sort of Japanese sword fighting (she's the German national champ). Martha and Cy love that too, including folding the gees following instruction.

There's a German saying about how getting to the goal can be the actual goal, and that's how I feel about Vladimir's classes. My kids may or may not be artists, but I like that they're getting external support for their creativity.

Apparently, Vladimir likes having Martha in his classes too:

www.wladimirprib.de