Great Heights

Spear 3863 1 Great Heights

Cartoon of a girl scolding a kitten. She says, “Come down from there! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Heights and obstacles are a matter of perspective, aren’t they? Whenever a child is convinced an obstacle is just too much for them, I need to remember it really does look as big to them as they imagine it. Part of the challenge is to convince a student they can overcome an obstacle without belittling or minimizing their fear.

How do you get a child to overcome an an obstacle in a respectful, encouraging way? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week’s word is “heights.”

 

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Plugging Hope at School

Spear 3862 Plugging Hope at School

Cartoon of two students. A boy says, “Should we abandon all hope, or keep plugging through fourth grade?”

Sometimes, it just feels like hope is a distant goal to grasp, doesn’t it? I remember hoping and praying that school would be over soon. Thirty years later, I can tell you there’s hope. Hold on. You’re break will be here before you know it.

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Voila! It’s a Duck

Spear 3854 Voila! Its a Duck

Cartoon of a boy in a magician’s costume and a duck. The boy says, “I’m sorry, Sis! I didn’t mean to change you into a duck. I meant to turn you into a dog!”

Siblings really do love each other. It’s just that there are so many possibilities when you have a magic wand and hat. It makes me wonder what I would do today if anything was possible. I want to make it clear to my siblings that I’d keep them just the way they are. They’ve turned into very nice adults, thank you. Besides, I don’t have a duck pond.

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Leap Day Choices

Spear 3852 Leap Day Choices

Cartoon of a boy with a big mouth about to consume a birthday cake. The caption reads, “This choice may come back to haunt him.”

O why must birthday cake be designed so that it is not wise to eat the whole thing? I guess it’s because birthdays are meant to be shared with other people. You learn real quick in life to share some things or the choices will come back to haunt you.

it must be hard to have a birthday on February 29. But it could be fun too. Wouldn’t it be nice to live forty-eight years, yet only be twelve years old? The only hard part would be waiting for birthday cake every four years.

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Worry about no Worry

SB0109 67 Worry Worry about no Worry

Cartoon of two women. One says, “I’m not scared of anything anymore, and frankly, that worries me!”

I drew this rough cartoon in my sketchbook during a tumultuous time in my life. I was laid off from a dream job, my wife was working at a place with financial difficulties in a town that faced severe financial hardships. We had two, young children. Though I was working, it was a temporary job. Oh, and September 11, 2001 was still fresh in our minds. There was plenty to worry about.

But all of the things we worried about never came to pass. It’s ten years later and there are a new set of worries in our life. What good does worry do for us? Live today and let tomorrow take care of itself, unless you want to worry about not worrying.

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