Children's Writing During COVID
While working with children, I mentored many of them in writing about living in the time of the coronavirus. I did this both to help them put their feelings and experiences into words, as well as to create a keepsake to remember what it was like, long after the days of the virus have passed. What follows are some excerpts from their writings.
Things To Do At Home During the Coronavirus
Sleep more.
Still do your homework. If you don’t understand something, ask your mom.
Watch Youtube videos of people singing on their balconies in Italy and dolphins swimming in the canals of Venice (even if it’s fake news).
Get ahold of friends over Skype.
Watch each other play video games.
Eat bananas.
Wash your hands a lot.
Protect other people from the virus by staying home.
Learn stretches to do at the computer.
Do yoga.
Consider meowing and mooing when you do cat/cow.
By Skylar
I am athletic, but not during the coronavirus
I am active in the morning
But lazy at the end of the day
I am lonely right now
I want to have a playdate with my friend
By Robert
Every day I am at home. Sometimes I draw or make dresses for my dolls. The best part of staying home is that we have three day weekends. Yay! Also, my parents let me eat vanilla cupcakes with Hershey’s syrup on them.
When my parents go to the grocery store, they take masks. That’s when I get to be alone with my older sister, and we do whatever we want. We watch teenage movies, and we have the best time in the world.
When the coronavirus is over, I will play board games with my friends and try as hard as I can not to read my comic books at school.
By Amy
Before COVID 19, I was allowed to go to the trampoline parks, but now I can’t anymore.
The worst part of it is both the coronavirus and having a lot of trouble with racism right now. We had a protest outside our house, but it was a peaceful one. But, I’ve seen looting on TV. I saw a guy with a mask steal an expensive TV.
When this is over, I will go to the trampoline park. I will not wear a mask.
By Nico
Before COVID 19, I rode my bike, and my brother rode his tricycle. My family went to restaurants, and we hung out with our cousins.
Now, every day I just play basketball in my backyard and box so I can get some exercise. All of my classes have been online. I don’t like it that I can’t see my friends in person, but I do like it that I can turn off my camera. They don’t let us get up, so when I want to get up, I say I have bad internet so I can move around and get some water.
When my dad goes to the grocery store, he wears a mask and gloves. When he gets home, we have to disinfect everything with Clorox.
When this is over, I will have lots and lots and lots of sleepovers and hug people. Right now, I can only fist bump and elbow bump.
By Roberto
When my mom goes to the store, she has to wear a mask and I feel scared because I don’t want her to get sick. I’m afraid that my mom could get sick and die. I’m scared to go back to school because it isn’t safe, but I miss my friends. Sometimes I play Roblox with my friend Helen over the computer. We play with our dolls and stuffed animals over the computer too.
By Maddie
Every day I just eat and sleep and do exercise over the phone with an app.
I wish I could go to a cafe with my friends and go get boba. We’re just texting now.
The worst part of it is that my parents are making me do things that I don’t want to do, and I’m stuck inside the whole entire time.
When I go outside, I see most people wearing masks and staying six feet apart, but some don’t do that.
When this is over, I’m actually excited to go to school.
By Jasmine
When this is over, I want to go to Chucky Cheese, see the man in the mouse costume and get prizes including a stuffed bear and some candy.
By Santiago
The worst part is getting bored and having to play all by myself. Also, I’m not that good at a lot of stuff on the computer, and it makes me super angry.
I never expected my mom would have to teach me so much stuff. She is exhausted from doing so much work. Sometimes I get exhausted too.
By Nicholas
When we go to the grocery store or get take out in a restaurant, I stay in the car with my mom, my brother, and my sister and my dad goes inside. I give my sister a bottle or pacifier if she cries. My dad wears a mask when he goes inside the stores.
The hardest part is taking care of my sister and my brother. My brother is five and my baby sister is one. I have to get my sister’s bottle ready and play with her. I let her watch baby learning stuff on YouTube on my iPad.
The best part is I can go to gramma’s house and help in her garden. She grows squash, tomatoes, carrots, limes, and flowers.
I never expected that COVID 19 would come to San Francisco. I thought it would just stay in China. I never expected we couldn’t go to hotels and Legoland.
When this is over, I will play soccer again and go to Legoland, Disneyland, and hotels. I‘m not really looking forward to going back to school.
By Cole
The worst part is we have to stay inside with our siblings and deal with all of them, we can’t play soccer or do anything fun, the hand sanitizer in shops smells disgusting(it smells worse than a skunk or a sea filled with garbage), not hanging out with friends in person, and worrying about getting sick. We don’t want to die. We want a safe vaccine now!
The best part is we get to decorate for Christmas early, we get more vacations, we get to wear whatever we want to Zoom school, we can wear whatever hairstyles we want(since we can’t play soccer), we get to go through our old stuff and find things we lost and when we see someone we don’t like in public, we can stick our tongues out at them and they don’t know it.
By Kailah and Roisin