Some families make a summer of going to different, local VBS programs. One day, I thought of what it would look like if there was a VBS critic, much like a movie or concert critic. That inspired my “How do you rate vacation Bible school?” cartoon.
Seriously though, if we’re going to host a big program like VBS, we need to consider how effective it is and how we can improve it. And if the volunteers have to eat the snacks, we would like them to be palatable to grown-ups too!
A few years ago, I had a great lesson on testing those props before presenting a lesson. I mean, what could wrong with candy as props, right?
The monthly theme in my class had been about grace. The classroom has been decorated like a candy shop and the opening activities had used sweets as props. This was part of the curriculum at http://whatisorange.org/252basics/.
The lesson called for inviting kids to come up and “test” candy for the rest of the class. The samples included some pretzel M & M’s, gummy candy, and Pop Rocks candy.
When you are a teacher, you soon learn kids love to use you as playground equipment. It’s especially true in preschool classes. One day, my son was in a class and a kid wanted to hang from his arms. So that inspired this tall teacher cartoon.
I drew this for Illustration Friday in 2012. That week’s word was “tall.” When I read it, I thought of times when my son has volunteered to teach. He’s a tall guy, and some of the small kids love for him to hold out his arm as they swing from it. The kids love a tall, strong, gentle guy. And who doesn’t love the monkey bars?
Kids are hilarious. They will say what they think and do what grownups consider socially awkward. One little boy that had a habit of staring at adults inspired me to draw this “Being Watched Cartoon.”
Privacy is an issue that keeps coming up thanks to the Internet, Facebook, Apple, and Google. People fret because they’re concerned someone out there knows way too much about what brand of bread you buy or how often you do (or don’t) brush your teeth.
School is almost out for the summer around the USA. Kids will be rejoicing for a good five minutes or so. Then they will attempt to establish a “new bored record.” Five minutes may seem a bit ambitious, but it can be done!
I remember the days when I was bored out of my skull during the first few days of summer break. After all, there were only three or four channels to watch.
We have more channels today, but the kids still have to suffer from nothing good to watch on TV. Come to think of it, when was there something good to watch on TV?