'Dear NPR': In Postcards From The Shutdown, Kids Show Us Life — And Learning
Milo Greer from Brooklyn, N.Y., drew himself and his friend because he "misses him so much." Courtesy of Melissa Greer hide caption
Milo Greer from Brooklyn, N.Y., drew himself and his friend because he "misses him so much."
Courtesy of Melissa Greer
Milo Greer's postcard had us emoji-face crying, too. Courtesy of Melissa Greer hide caption
A few weeks ago, we asked parents to help us out. Have your kids draw or sketch or write us a postcard, we said, and send it to NPR (digitally, of course).
And children from all over the country (and Mexico!) responded with drawings and dispatches from the home-school, online-class, mask-wearing, missing-my-friends world they've been living in for the past several months.
So check it out: Here are some of our favorites, along with the notes that the kids wrote on the back of their postcards. (Thanks to the grownups for helping out sometimes!) And you can see all of the other great postcards we received, too.
Oh, and one last thing: Parents and caregivers, we'd love to see more postcards from students about summertime, reopening, what's going on in the country right now or anything else they'd like to show us through their art. Keep them coming (details here about how to send us a postcard).
1. Grocery shopping is very different.
Madhu, age 5, draws a picture of how her mom goes grocery shopping during the pandemic. Courtesy of Melissa Smith hide caption
"This is from my 5-year-old daughter, Madhu. We are from Columbus, Ohio. I'm a single parent without family in the area. When I go to the store, Madhu waits in the car while a friend watches her from the car next to us." — Melissa Smith Courtesy of Melissa Smith hide caption
2. Feeling boxed in.
Dalilah drew us a nice picture of her room. Courtesy of Jeanette Jasso hide caption
And on the back of her postcard, Dalilah showed us her mature sense of humor. Courtesy of Jeanette Jasso hide caption
3. Missing the park.
Aniket, in Freemont, Calif., showed us how his favorite park was closed because people were getting sick. Courtesy of Ananda Madhukar hide caption
Aniket, in Freemont, Calif., showed us how his favorite park was closed because people were getting sick.
Courtesy of Ananda Madhukar
Aniket explains the pandemic to us and how he misses the park. Courtesy of Ananda Madhukar hide caption
4. Getting creative out of necessity.
Anya, age 7, from Seattle, made a comic-style postcard and told us about "sweater ball." Courtesy of Jamie Alm hide caption
We wish we could come play it with you, Anya! Courtesy of Jamie Alm hide caption
5. Appreciating nature.
Nine-year-old Avish from Phoenix was hands-down our favorite landscape artist. Courtesy of Mehul and Seema hide caption
Avish wrote to us that he "cannot wait for the pandemic to be over." Us, too, Avish. Us, too. Courtesy of Mehul and Seema hide caption
6. Too much screen time.
Fourth-grader Lucia in Brooklyn, N.Y., told us she is dealing with too much screen time. Courtesy of Melissa Capasso hide caption
Testimony from fourth-grader Lucia in Brooklyn. Courtesy of Melissa Capasso hide caption
7. Keeping up with other interests.
Clair, 9, told us she practices ballet in her room during the pandemic. Courtesy of Jun Wang hide caption
Nine-year-old Clair of Needham, Mass., is focusing on dance while in lockdown. Courtesy of Jun Wang hide caption
8. Staying connected virtually.
A postcard from Ishir, age 7, of West Windsor, N.J. Courtesy of Shannon Shah hide caption
A postcard from Ishir, age 7, of West Windsor, N.J.
Courtesy of Shannon Shah
Ishir tells us how he plays virtual Scrabble with his Nani. Courtesy of Shannon Shah hide caption
9. Making time for meditation.
Eight-year-old Daniel from Brooklyn, N.Y., shows us how mindfulness activities help him during lockdown. Courtesy of Claudia Obata hide caption
Thanks for the reminder, Daniel! Courtesy of Claudia Obata hide caption
10. Social-distancing challenges.
Alissa, a 6-year-old from Brooklyn, drew a picture of her and her grandmother socially distancing. Courtesy of Jonathan Alwais hide caption
"The picture is her visiting her grandma under the new social distancing guidelines. Alissa plays in the yard and her grandma watches from the house," says Jonathan Alwais. Courtesy of Jonathan Alwais hide caption
11. Helping out parents.
Five-year-old Belén Chávez Aguirre from Querétaro, Mexico, drew an impressive looking robot. Courtesy of Lorena Aguirre Espinosa hide caption
Five-year-old Belén Chávez Aguirre from Querétaro, Mexico, drew an impressive looking robot.
Courtesy of Lorena Aguirre Espinosa
Belén (in her mom's handwriting, it seems) explained that her robot was to help her mom out with multitasking. Courtesy of Lorena Aguirre Espinosa hide caption
Belén (in her mom's handwriting, it seems) explained that her robot was to help her mom out with multitasking.
Courtesy of Lorena Aguirre Espinosa12. Drawing comics to keep laughing through it all.
"Morning," by 11-year-old Kyra of Springfield, Va., depicts her having to get ready for virtual school. Courtesy of Erin Mather hide caption
"Quarantine Life" by Springfield, Va., cartoonist Kyra. Courtesy of Erin Mather hide caption
Below are the rest of the submissions we received, in no special order, so you can keep smiling:
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