Ran across this article today. Chalk drawing protests that were power washed or street swept away, over and over. City officials called it ‘graffiti’ and it can now be grounds for a citation. It doesn’t really matter where it happened in the US, we know things like this happen all the time in every state.
Use this article to open up age-appropriate anti-racism conversations with your kids. Read the article (or parts of it) together. Ask what surprised them. Where did they see racism at work in what happened? What would be an anti-racist ally response to what happened?
Then get out the chalk. Give your kid(s) a place to protest by creating a Black Lives Matter chalk drawing on the driveway, sidewalk, or road. And keep talking. The action of drawing Black Lives Matter is great, but it’s the conversation and questions about racism and activism that help give our kids language to be anti-racist allies.
As you draw, consider listening to a podcast to learn more about racism in the US, or hear what protestors are doing to keep Black Lives Matter growing in the US, or listen to music that talks about change.
And after it rains, write it again. And again. And again.
Who am I? Deepening Our Conversations About Race. Friends, our world is reminding us, yet again, that we have work to do and that it’s everyone’s work to do. It isn’t a box we get to check. Our work continues and is imperative as we begin to understand systemic racism more fully.
As Westwood Staff, we’re committed to doing this anti-racism work with you. We’ve done some digging to find resources that will help you in this work and we want to pass it along because it has been helpful to us in our anti-racism work.
As Jen said in the post below, we’d love to hear from you about resources you have found helpful, and we’ll keep adding to these lists! Send us what you’re reading, and watching and listening to, so that others can learn alongside you! You’ll keep seeing this logo as we keep adding to our lists!
During this past Lent, we looked more closely at our own racial identity, how racism has shaped our lives, and developed anti-racism skills with the theme, ‘Who am I? Deepening our Conversation About Race’.
Anti-racism work is never done.
This post includes the parent resources that were provided during Lent to support our work in raising race-conscious, anti-racist kids.
If you have additional resources to share with our community- please let me know! j.mohr@westwood.church
Our kids are the leaders of a more equitable future! As we seek change, justice, and equity- it’s important to give our kids language and tools to recognize racism and empower them to be an ally or educator.
This lesson was used in The Message during Lent this year. Read the book together, work through the discussion questions, and connect as a family to your role as God’s hands and feet in a broken world.
For younger kids, check out Naomi O’Brien’s lesson plan and approach to talking about race to younger children. She uses the story ‘Chocolate ME!’ to encourage problem solving and racism awareness.
I don’t know about you all but I feel like one of the silver linings of this pandemic is the way we’ve reconnected with appreciating each other. I was in a park downtown a few weeks ago and heard the banging of pots and pans and general hooting and hollering that I found out is a nightly occurrence to show health care workers appreciation. HOW COOL IS THAT? The signs in yards, the hearts in windows, the cheerful chalk art? It fills my heart to see all of the ways we’ve learned to show appreciation for one another, in ways we’ve maybe never even done before!
This week is marked by a few appreciation holidays that existed before the virus but will exist in a new and maybe bigger way this year. This is a week marked with celebrations of many nurturing roles in our society, teachers, nurses, and mothers. That is a lot of people to celebrate and appreciate! Now I know we have reached the end of nurses and teachers appreciation week and you may have already planned a mother’s day celebration, but I wanted to share a few distance friendly ways to show appreciation to people who fill those roles for us whether or not it fits into this week. If I’ve learned anything from this season of life, it is to appreciate more, hold hugs tighter, and always be kinder. I can’t wait for those long hugs! But until then, appreciation and kindness will reign. People have shown appreciation from a distance for years, so there are some standards that can be used. Flowers, cards, videos are always meaningful ways to share your love from a physical distance.
Cards
Cards rule all celebrations it seems. But in a time when we can’t as readily browse the card aisle at Target, homemade is the way to go! Any paper folded with a kid’s handwriting and drawing on it is a win in my book! But if you want to do something new, try one of these pop up card ideas for a special hero in your life!
Flowers are another standard sign of care. But they can get expensive and many people are limiting exposure to delivery people right now. A few ideas to show how your appreciation is blooming! First, now is the time where tulips and lilacs are popping up! Make a homemade bouquet and leave it on a teacher/nurse/mom’s doorstep. Don’t have a green thumb? (I’m with you!) Make flowers at home!
To put a teacher spin on any of these flowers, swap out the stem for a pencil 🙂
Videos
While we are physically distant, hearing the voice of a loved one is comforting to say the least. Send your teacher/nurse/mom a video to tell them how appreciated they are! Or record an audio message to accompany a card or a picture. Sending a scan or photo of a card is a way to really keep your germs to yourself and a picture of a card that comes with a recording is the icing on the cake!
No matter who you are celebrating, or being celebrated by this weekend, I hope smiles and sunshine fill your days. You are loved! Now go out and remind others it is true for them, too!
One of the most uplifting parts of the last few weeks is seeing the love spread throughout our communities, shown in hearts in the windows, signs on the lawns, and distance birthday parades. I have a friend from college who is a talented chalk artist and she has been taking her talent from her own stoop to our community. I love the idea of spreading this love beyond our own front stoops and doors (safely of course!). This weekend for some family fun, here are a few ways to spread love (while keeping your germs to yourself!)
Do you have a family member you miss, or a community leader you want to thank, take a trip to their house and leave a message for them in chalk! Maybe there is a neighbor in your community you know lives alone and you want to leave them some hope! Don your masks, pile in the car or walk down the block, and spread some chalky cheer! Text them or call them when you are finished so they can come wave out the front door, or leave it as a surprise for them to find later!
Homemade Yard Signs
Do you have a paint stick, a wooden kebab skewer, or an unused ruler? That is all you need to bring a yard sign to a friend! (besides art work and tape of course!) Make some encouraging signs and leave them in someone’s yard that you think could benefit! Bring them to your essential worker friends and family members and write on them “An essential hero lives here!” or just include encouraging messages and leave them for strangers. How cool would it be to open your door to a sign that said “You matter!”
courtesy of Lowes
Thank You or I Love You Parade
With the physical space between us, the list of people we miss is much too long. Take a “Thank you!” or “I miss you!” or “I love you!” tour of those people! Decorate your car like you are in a parade and take a trip to drive by those loved ones’ homes! Text them when you are on your way or honk really loud and surprise them 🙂
Spreading this love in your own yard is also special and a great way to get the family working together creatively, and outside! No matter how big or small the sign, the sentiment is huge and meaningful! Join us in spreading kindness (not germs!)
During the pandemic, Illustrated Ministry is providing free resources for at-home family faith formation. Check out this week’s coloring sheets, activities, and family guide!
In celebration of earth day, we’ve been hosting an “earth day” challenge at Westwood. It has been so fun and uplifting to see pictures of how you are celebrating God’s good creation!
One of my personal favorite things people do to help out mother earth is go on litter walks and pick up trash. In this new era, it is a bit tricky to safely make that happen, with the shortage of gloves and the need for them in medical settings. So instead, I’ve made up a nature scavenger hunt for you to take a walk, enjoy this beautiful weekend, and look out for the beauty in creation! You can add your own items to it before you set out, or follow along on the hunt, either way! There are pictures next to the words so non-readers can play along, too! Enjoy God’s good creation!
We spent the morning yesterday writing notes and coloring pictures to people we love, but cant be near right now. The weekend was hard for me. We missed celebrating my dad’s birthday, and Easter with our families who we haven’t seen since Christmas. It was complicated and messy in my heart.
Do you know what I mean?
Just a jumbled up ball of feelings. Feeling sad in tension with feeling grateful that we have people to love, and miss.
Grief and blessing,
stir crazy and content,
separate and yet deeply connected.
It was important for me to sit in those feelings, but then to mobilize those feelings yesterday as I talked with my kids about that it means to share love even when we cant be together. Man, my 4 year old gets it, better than me sometimes I think. She has dreams of what she’ll do with her daycare friends, her grandparents and our neighbors when “the sickness” goes away, but she also understands that there are other ways to be connected.
I’d like to encourage, maybe even challenge you to try this too. Sit down with your kids, yep the big ones too, and make a list of 3 people you’re each going to write a note to. It feels incredible to tap into the love and contentedness that is deep inside and write a good old fashioned hand written note to someone. Seriously, try it!
When I stumbled across this quote over the weekend, I started to notice trees differently. I noticed that how seemingly overnight the view out my front window has changed. There’s less sky and more tree each day, the buds are exploding and even though there is snow, there is new life. An Easter message right out my front window, and frankly, one I have probably been too busy to notice before.
I held this Easter message as I wrote simple notes to those we are distanced from, but very connected to. That we, like the trees are connected, growing in our places, and radiating love and support by staying planted right where we are.
We hope that these coloring page prayers will help you in times when you might feel anxious. Through the words, images, shapes, and opportunities to color and reflect, we hope you will find peace and calm in your life.
Westwood Parent Connect 