Cards for Kenya- A Mitzvah Project to support Health and Education in Kenya

For my son, Leo's Mitzvah project ahead of his upcoming Bar Mitzvah, he has decided to help raise money to support health and education in the Maasai Mara and Lewa, Kenya.

Leo, with the help of his mother and me, has created a deck of playing cards illustrated by him to sell, with the net proceeds going to two places.

The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy Main Clinic
The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is a non-profit organization that supports sustainable biodiversity and conservation in Lewa, Kenya. As part of their mission, they offer subsidized medical clinics that are the only source of healthcare for tens of thousands of Lewans. You can find out more about them at lewa.org/impact/communities/healthcare.

Proceeds from my Mitzvah Project will help fund medicines, medical equipment, and outreach efforts of the clinics, contributing to the health and wellness of the people of Lewa.

The Africa Foundation in Maasai Mara
The Africa Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports sustainable socio-economic development in local communities near conservation areas. The foundation worked with &Beyond, owners of Bateleur Camp where we stayed, to build a school in the nearby Maasai village. They are now working to open boarding facilities there, so children won’t have to travel long distances every day for their education. You can learn more about The Africa Foundation at africafoundation.org/projects/education.


Proceeds from my Mitzvah Project will help fund the village school, contributing to education and socio-economic development for the Maasai people.

If you would like to support Leo's project and purchase a deck of cards, or if you would like more information, please send an email to leosbarmitzvah (at) bernat.net or you can pick them up on ETSY.

In the Maasai Mara:

At the Lewa clinic:

Thank you for your support!

Groundhog Day 2018!

Happy Groundhog Day!

What's Worse Than 6 More Weeks of Winter?

This is a little departure from my usual Kidlit and Kid's education work. Normally I don't go political with my yearly Groundhog Day illustration, but this time around it couldn't be helped.

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And here's an alternate version:

Thanks for looking and sharing- I appreciate it!

There are MANY more Groundhog Day illustrations on this blog.

I have a collection of my favorite Groundhog Day illustrations on Behance.

Challenges of a Student with Poor Time Management Skills

The first student I illustrated for Engaging Minds is physically and mentally disorganized.

The second student is stressed out and has trouble concentrating. 

The third student (below) has poor planning and time management skills. He has trouble following directions.

Attributes of student 3 include:

• Poor planning and time management skills
• Doesn’t use a planner (s/he says she can just remember things in her head or just find it online)
• S/he doesn’t even really know how to use a planner to begin with so s/he jettisons it
• Doesn’t know how to prioritize
• Doesn’t know how to make lists
• Doesn’t know how to break down tasks into manageable pieces
• Never learned how to effectively plan out long-term assignments
• Doesn’t know how to create an agenda and estimate time on task
• Poor self-monitoring
• Doesn’t read directions
• Doesn’t follow the rubric
• Doesn’t use an assignment book effectively
• Doesn’t follow through on goals and plans

Engaging Minds is a learning and tutoring center in Massachusetts that helps students to enhance their academic engagement, and strengthen executive function and learning skills.

Challenges of a Stressed Out Kid

The first student I illustrated for Engaging Minds is physically and mentally disorganized.

The second student (below) is stressed out and has trouble concentrating. 

The third student has poor planning and time management skills.

The top image was a lot of fun to put together. How often does one get to include a 'poop' emoji in one's art?

Attributes of student 2 include: 

• Stressed out!
• Procrastinates and struggles with task initiation
• Always leaves things for the last minute
• Constantly thinks s/he has more time
• Easily overwhelmed
• Doesn’t know where to begin
• Doesn’t know how to break assignments down into manageable pieces
• Doesn’t have a homework routine
• Can’t focus
• Has a really hard time sitting and doing work for more than 20 minutes at a time
• Constantly daydreaming while reading
• Easily distracted – even by the squirrel out in the front yard
• Inflexible
• Unwilling to try new approaches; stuck in a rut and can’t see another way out
• Has a hard time shifting from one activity to the next
• Doesn’t do well when things don’t go as planned

Trouble focusing:

Procrastinates and struggles with task initiation:

 Inflexible:

Engaging Minds is a learning and tutoring center in Massachusetts that helps students to enhance their academic engagement, and strengthen executive function and learning skills.