I know this is hard to see, but it's a comic strip written by a fourth grader. Our hero, RetroBoy, thinks he's finally finished his hero-duties for the day when he hears Katie's cries. She is upset about the upcoming CRCT. He tells her not to worry; all she has to do is remember to get a good night's sleep, eat a good breakfast and get to school on time. Very, very cute.
It made me think about how cartooning may be a perfect project for this time of year. Think about it, in the comic strip above, there is a setting, characters, problem and solution. Not bad, huh? It may be just the thing to hook your reluctant writers and motivate those who are just plain tired. There are some pretty cool sites out there that can help with the drawing part of it, if you have some kids who don't think of themselves as artists. The only one I've tried out myself is http://www.toondoo.com/. (I made the "It's almost Friday" cartoon below and to your left.) http://www.goanimate.com/ is another site, but I haven't played with it yet and and seems more complicated. Check them out. If nothing more, they may make you smile!
