Are your kids climbing the walls after too many days stuck at home with no school? If they have exhausted their favorite indoor toys and can’t stop complaining, “I’m borrreeddd,” then you’ll appreciate this bit of good news.
Iconic children’s book author Dav Pilkey, the creator of “Dog Man” and “Captain Underpants,” is hosting free drawing lessons for children via the Library of Congress and Scholastic websites. Pilkey will host drawing demonstrations and read aloud to his audience.
Budding artists can get expert education from Pilkey himself at 8 a.m. ET every Friday. You can also access some of the videos, which launched April 3, via the Library of Congress and Scholastic’s social media accounts.
Along with the 8 a.m. videos with Pilkey himself, you can also find additional free downloadable activities and learning materials, including how-to-draw demonstrations and other video content that will be released throughout the week. It’s all free of charge, of course.
Here’s one of the videos from the @librarycongress Twitter account:
It's Friday Fun Day! Take a break & watch as author & illustrator Dav Pilkey reads aloud from "Dog Man Unleashed." BONUS: tonight at 8PM ET see how Dav draws Big Jim! @Scholastic #DoGood #DavPilkey MORE: https://t.co/WNjCJRzG1m pic.twitter.com/9JbdRca5qE
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) April 3, 2020
Pilkey is the author of over 60 children’s books, including “The Paperboy,” for which he was given the Caldecott Honor Award. The talented illustrator and author struggled with sitting still in class as a child, due to his dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and his imaginative, hilarious creations were born out of the many time-outs he experienced during his school years.
Now, his work entertains children of all ages, some of whom struggle with the very same learning differences which Pilkey experienced.
Pilkey explains that his learning differences made him hate reading as a child, and that other classmates would bully him for his inability to read as well as they did. That’s why he designed “Captain Underpants” and his other stories to be short, engaging and filled with pictures and jokes to help inspire kids who learn differently to love reading.
And now he’s now encouraging reading and learning with this new effort. Here’s the @Scholastic Twitter announcement:
Calling all supa buddies! Get ready for Friday Funday: a special #DogMan read-aloud and “how to draw” videos from author and ilustrator Dav Pilkey tomorrow starting at 8am ET. #DoGood @librarycongress pic.twitter.com/yGleMWzYZc
— Scholastic (@Scholastic) April 2, 2020
“I designed the Captain Underpants books so they would appeal to all kids — but especially to kids who learn differently,” Pilkey told Scholastic. “I think it’s important for kids to have a positive experience with a book as soon as possible. That’s why my books have short chapters and funny pictures. The comic books and action scenes (Flip-O-Ramas) take up at least 25 percent of each book. Kids who are frustrated by reading find that they can breeze through them. And they laugh, too! For some kids, it might be the first time they realized that a book can be fun. That might be all they need to get them going on the road to literacy.”
If you miss a live showing of Dav Pilkey at Home, you can watch the videos at a later date. And make sure you bring paper and a pen, pencil or crayons so you can draw along with the illustrator.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
