Tag: children cartoons

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How Is Your Reality TV Show Going?

Cartoon of a student and a Sunday school volunteer. The student says, "You'll love serving in the fifth grad class. It's kind of like being in a reality TV show."
Published in "K! Kidzmatter Magazine"

There are some days when I think the last couple of weeks have been a twisted reality TV show. People have been sequestered in their homes with whatever they could scrounge at the grocery and instructed to live within the confines of their home with the kids while they attempt to work from home and homeschool their kids. Whew!

It has reminded me of a time or two when a class could get unruly and devolve into an out-of-control reality show atmosphere. Oh, how I long for those days! 

They will be coming soon. Sometime late spring or in the summer, Sunday school classes will be back in session. It may take some time for students and teachers to get their bearings again. In the meantime, hold on for today. If you are feeling you are in a bizarre reality show, see if you can ask the director for a raise or bonus. Just beware of that added twist that those shows like to add just to make things interesting.

Cartoon of a student and a Sunday school volunteer. The student says, "You'll love serving in the fifth grad class. It's kind of like being in a reality TV show."
Published in “K! Kidzmatter Magazine”
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Encouragement K! Magazine Kidzmatter Magazine Magazine motivation

The Many Ways We Find Comfort

Cartoon of a little brother and big sister. The boy says, "Why shouldn't I suck my thumb? After all, it's gluten free!"
Published in "K! Kidzmatter Magazine"

The last week has been a deluge of Coronavirus craziness. It’s been enough to make a grown man want to suck his thumb. Not that I’ve tried it. At least I didn’t before I washed my hands thoroughly for twenty seconds humming the ABC song so that I properly lathered up and washed away all the nastiness of my extremities!

There are many ways we find comfort during trying times. Here are a few I noticed this week.

We will get through this and come out better for it. In the meantime, we may have several weeks that will test our emotions and resolve. I feel for the parents that have to scramble to find ways to deal with their kids being out of school. And I know what it’s like to be concerned for aging parents since that is the age group that seems most vulnerable.

Acknowledge your feelings and let’s find ways to comfort each other even if we need to do it from a distance. I won’t fault a child or adult if they resort to thumb sucking while we barrel through. After all, a thumb is gluten free.

Cartoon of a little brother and big sister. The boy says, "Why shouldn't I suck my thumb? After all, it's gluten free!"
Published in “K! Kidzmatter Magazine”
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Some Calm During This Crazy Coronavirus Time

Cartoon of a girl and a baby. The girl exclaims, "Bobby's nose is running! Code Green!"
Published in "K! Kidzmatter Magazine."

As I write this, The world is coming to grips with the COVID-19 virus. In the United States, professional sports organizations, schools, and businesses are closing until we can get a better handle on the extent and severity of the outbreak. It’s been a crazy week no matter how you look at it. By the way, happy Friday the Thirteenth!

When facing an unknown such as a contagious virus, it can be easy to overreact like the girl in today’s cartoon. How can you not when everyday life is being affected even if you don’t get the virus? Yet, we will get through this. We have endured outbreaks through millennia and we will get through this one as well.

As we go through this pandemic, remember to take precautions, but do so with calm. Panic causes people to do some crazy things like put a daycare on lockdown when a baby has a runny nose. It can make someone buy six months’ worth of bathroom tissue. It can make you want to disinfect your cat. Keep calm and we will get through this!

Cartoon of a girl and a baby. The girl exclaims, "Bobby's nose is running! Code Green!"
Published in “K! Kidzmatter Magazine.”
Categories
K! Magazine Kidzmatter Magazine Magazine motivation

Creativity in Bending the Rules

Cartoon of a teacher observing a boy. He says, “While it’s true you’re not standing on the chair, I don’t want you to do that either.”
Published in “K! KidzMatter Magazine “

I am a firstborn, like my wife. We both grew up believing the world had a set of rules that were meant to be followed. Our poor siblings and kids probably got quite tired at hearing the “rules lecture.” It makes it that much more amazing we’ve both been in creativity careers and children’s ministry.

When I drew this cartoon, I thought of all the creative ways kids demonstrate how to bend the rules. They have taught me you can obey the letter of the law, but not the spirit. Is it any wonder one rule can become a dozen variants in no time!

There are certain rules that need to be obeyed for safety, fairness and justice. Then there are unwritten rules we need to reconsider each day. Are there unwritten rules about our culture that are keeping us from thinking creatively? Is there an unwritten rule in our business that no one really knows why we do it that way, we just do?

At any rate, please be kind to the chairs. They get enough abuse as it is.

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Do You Have the Courage to Go Out There?

Cartoon of two boys talking. One says, "There's an excessive pollen warning for this area, and they're taking us outdoors. Don't they care about severe weather warnings?"
Previously published in "K! Kidzmatter Magazine"

There are warning signs that are legitimate. As I write this, we are experiencing the beginnings of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 spread in the United States. It would be foolish to ignore the warnings such as those broadcast by the World Health Organization:

  • Wash your hands frequently
  • Cough into your bent elbow
  • Don’t travel to places that are in the midst of the outbreak

At the same time, there can be a lot of misinformation out there. And if you spend enough time on the Internet, you will find warnings that are overly cautious or just plain wrong.

When I drew this cartoon, I thought about how we can get overly cautious. It’s true that pollen can really mess with people. I’ve had hay fever over the years and I am not a fan of the time of year when goldenrod is in full bloom. Still, for most people, it’s not a severe weather event.

There are times when it takes courage to go out there into the world. It remains to be seen if all the conferences that are getting canceled due to COVID-19 are legitimate or overkill. We won’t know the full impact until much later. But in the meantime, we need to keep living and do the activities that make life full.

How are you handling this outbreak and all the warnings? Let us know in the comments.

Cartoon of two boys talking. One says, "There's an excessive pollen warning for this area, and they're taking us outdoors. Don't they care about severe weather warnings?"
Previously published in “K! Kidzmatter Magazine”