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See how this teen entertains her little brother with sweet chalk drawings

They're a mood boost for the entire family.
/ Source: TODAY

Quarantine boredom led to acts of beauty that have brought a community together in Libertyville, Illinois.

Fourteen-year-old Macaire Everett and her 9-year-old little brother, Camden, needed something to do when they finished their distance learning lessons each day during the long months of COVID-19 quarantine this spring.

Macaire Everett, 14, has been doodling and drawing for her younger brother, Camden, 9, since he was little.
Macaire Everett, 14, has been doodling and drawing for her younger brother, Camden, 9, since he was little.Christine Everett / Christine Everett

"My husband and I are working from home, and we are each holed up in our makeshift home office, so the kids have needed to be self sufficient," their mom, Christine, told TODAY Parents. "We told them, 'When you're done with your remote learning, we cannot entertain you, because we need to work.'"

Macaire, who just graduated from middle school and is heading to high school in the fall, had once experimented with chalk art a few years ago, and she decided to take up the hobby again — and this time, to have Camden participate as well.

The results — daily chalk art pictures in which Camden is the star — have not just entertained her younger brother, but also her neighborhood, her community, and the world.

Many of Macaire and Camden's pictures feature famous world landmarks and cities. "We have never traveled outside the United States," Macaire explained. "Cam really wants to travel, so he likes going places in the chalk. I'm giving him a little preview."

In the past few months, Camden has taken selfies at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France...

fed pigeons near Chicago's famous "Bean"...

ridden a bicycle on a Dutch adventure with his stuffed bunny, Hopper...

rowed a gondola in Venice, Italy...

and walked the Great Wall of China...

all without leaving their driveway.

The chalk art, their mom said, quickly became a mood boost for the entire family. "March and April were pretty rough," she said. "This gave us a guaranteed topic for dinner every night.

"Cam would ask, 'Where am I going next? What am I doing?' and Macaire would ask, 'Do you want to go to the Taj Mahal?' Then they would look it up," she said.

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"It is just so cool for them to dream when we can't go anywhere, when we're still reeling from the fact that we didn't go on Spring Break."

Through Macaire's pictures, her brother has also explored new hobbies over the past few months, including making pizzas...

sword fighting...

and bungee jumping.

"The pictures keep getting more unique and more complex as we went along," said Macaire. As the weather in Illinois turned warmer, the Everetts' neighbors began to visit their driveway more and more often to see what she had drawn each day.

"I liked seeing how others react to the pictures," said Macaire. "This is really to help others through quarantine. I love when people come over and to see others smile."

And Macaire has made a lot of people smile. Local businesses have started donating chalk to her effort, and social media accounts for European cities have even contacted her and asked to use her photos for their own campaigns.

"Some of this started by necessity, some of it started by fun, and it grew organically," said Everett. "It's special because it's a kid empowering themselves and empowering their sibling, and it has ended up giving us all something to look forward to."