Amid the coronavirus outbreak, beloved children’s author Mo Willems is encouraging kids all over the country to participate in his online drawing classes. From his studio at home, the artist will be teaching kids to draw cute doodles via live stream once a day.
“I know a lot of you guys are not in school. You’re at home right now because of all the things that are going on,” he said in a video introducing the series. “Well, guess what? I’m at home too. So for the next couple weeks … I’m going to make drawings with you, I’m gonna show you some stuff about my studio, and we’re gonna hang out together.”
The genius behind best-sellers like “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” and “Knuffle Bunny” launched the “LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems!” video series. The 52-year-old author is encouraging learners to “grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons,” and draw cute doodles with him every 1 pm ET from Monday to Friday.
The government has ordered schools and establishments across the country to shut down to prevent a spike in the number of infected cases. People are also advised to self-quarantine and stay at home as much as possible to avoid contact with other people.
Because children will be home all day in the next coming weeks, parents might run out of ways to keep their kids busy. Thankfully, Willems is here to save these youngsters from boredom and help them develop their creative skills!
So far, the series has had two episodes. Based on parents’ social media posts about the program, it appears that their children are loving it! Grateful moms and dads have been sharing photos of their kids working on their cute doodles.
“Connell kids are decked out in green & ready for the #MoWillems lunchtime doodles!” wrote one person on Twitter. “Little Connell even refused to nap so she could participate — such a dedicated artist in training!”
“You might be isolated, but you’re not alone. You are an art maker. Let’s make some together,” Willems wrote.
Another author and illustrator, Oliver Jeffers, is also stepping up with an initiative of his own. Every day, he will read one of his books at 2 pm EST via Instagram Live. The videos will also be posted on his website.
It’s nice to see these creatives coming together to bring a little color to people’s lives amid these dark times. We hope to see more of these projects in the next few weeks!
Watch and doodle with Mo Willems below: