Hello friends,
I loved hearing reflections on last week’s story from those of you who saw your own kids or clients in Sam. A few of you asked how to support “Chameleon” kids (and teens) who hide feelings without realizing it.
For me, helping “Chameleon” kids with feelings begins with practicing the three steps of self-compassion with their current feelings habits. I start by helping them notice that they may have hidden feelings—the chameleon habit. Then I help them understand that other kids sometimes have hidden feelings, too. (This is why my workbooks are full of real children who share their own feelings habits.) And finally I invite them to be curious about what self-kindness looks like given that they have hidden feelings. This may look different for different kids and always invites kids to meet themselves where they are. Paradoxically, self-acceptance becomes fertile ground for change.
And now, on to the beautiful lessons that children taught me about how they learn. (You’ll see some of their drawings at the bottom—they still make me smile.)
When I first started imagining the comics for the workbook, I thought all I needed to do was take the words the kids and I had already written and paste them into speech bubbles with characters talking to each other. Simple enough.
So I made sample comics myself, each one from the same vantage point and distance. I was focused on getting the message across.
Maya took one look and said, “No, no, NOO! That’s not how comics work.”
She explained that what draws kids in isn’t the message, it’s the images and movement—the shifts in perspective, the small details that make you look twice.
Then she showed me what she meant. Suddenly, the same scene had life. The angle changed. The characters had feeling. And there, somewhere hidden in every scene, she had added a tiny ant.
I worried the ant might distract kids’ attention away from my words, but Maya shook her head. “Mom, that’s what makes them pay attention to your words!”
And she was right.
That little ant, who the kids later named Anty, became a playful part of every comic. Kids started looking for Anty on each page, laughing when they found her, and engaging with each comic.
It was the lesson kids taught me again and again: Play is the secret door.
I had been trying to explain self-compassion with words. But the kids were showing me something deeper. They learn through pictures, not paragraphs. Through imagination, not instruction. The illustrations didn’t just support the message. They were the message.
In a world where so many images are generated by AI, these comics were born from something deeply human: real pencils, real insight, and real kids teaching me how to see.
Last week I shared how the kids and I developed the dialogue for the comic about Sam’s hidden feelings (the one where Sam insists, “Parties are dumb!” and Curi stays present and curious). Below you can see how Maya’s sketch helped to bring the comic to life. The text might be a little hard to read in these drafts, but that’s okay. What matters most are the perspective changes, the expressions, and the little visual details that bring the story to life.
Once we had Maya’s sketch, Ambika (another child from the kids’ team) created colored digital images for me to share with kids in classrooms.
Teaching students using the comics in Milwaukee Public Schools was a much bigger testing ground. Once the comics were thoroughly tested and loved by a diverse range of kids, it was time to choose the illustrator who could capture the same playful spirit.
The kids were in charge. We went to an event at MIAD and surveyed the artwork of many artists. We took pictures of their favorites and requested comic samples from their top three. In the end, there was a clear winner, Lexi Warshall, who later became the primary illustrator for the two-volume series. I’m going to be honest, the person the kids chose wasn’t my favorite, but that didn’t matter. What mattered is that Lexi’s whimsical illustration style delighted kids and made them happy to begin the adventures in the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbooks for Kids.
When we listen to how kids learn, we grown-ups begin to understand what really matters: attuning to how our kids experience the world (which in this context means imagery and play).
With love and humility,
Jamie Lynn 💛
P.S. I put my heart and soul into listening to kids and creating what they needed to playfully learn the resource of mindful self-compassion. Thank you for helping me share this creation with the world.
🐾Read next: Finding the Spark Together — The surprising moment when kids turned learning into a joyful quest.