Idea: Have children write corona history
Teacher Marie-Louise Loomans challenges students from grades 6, 7 and 8 to write down how they experience the corona crisis. The history? We write it ourselves!
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
Dear children, you do not have to go to school today. We have never experienced such a situation in the Netherlands before. ' For example, the promotional film that invites children to write down how they experience the corona crisis. This time it is not about Charles the Fifth, William of Orange or slavery, but children themselves experience something that will certainly go into the history books later. Hence the title of the project 'History? We write them ourselves'.
As a child I loved to draw or write when something frightening happened. I think kids still like to do that.
How did initiator Marie-Louise Loomans, substitute teacher in the Hilversum region, come up with the idea? “Like everyone else, the corona crisis surprised me personally, but also in education. From one day to the next everything came to a standstill. I soaked up the news like a sponge. Children also see and experience the changes and that triggered me. How do I explain what's going on? How do I reassure? But also: how do children experience it and how would I react if I were a child? Would I be afraid? The measures affect our freedom; what would I think about that? We can now go back to school, but the virus still threatens our freedom. It covers us like a damp blanket. ”
Loomans: “As a child I liked to draw or write when something frightening happened. I did that, for example, when my grandmother died. Because I liked that, I think that children still like to do that now.” As a teacher, she likes to let children write essays. “It's a great way to learn more about your students. What can they do in terms of grammar, spelling and creativity?"
Anne Frank
"I would also like to point out the diary of Anne Frank, who described what she experienced as a child during the war. As a result, we now know what her days were like. Her diary is extremely precious to us, 75 years after the war it gives us insight into the experience of a child from that time.”
She gives children creative freedom when posing. “Pay attention to spelling and grammar, but otherwise it is free. What do you experience? What do you feel? The contribution may be in the form of an essay, rap, poem. They can also sign with it. ”
More than four hundred children have already made an, often moving, contribution. “A boy wrote that he was worried about his daddy. He was in Venezuela for work and Mom and he did not know if he would be able to come back. Many children write about their grandfathers and grandmothers that they are not allowed to hug from one moment to the next. ”
Many children write about their grandparents that they are no longer allowed to hug from one moment to the next
'The Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, told TV that we also had to comply with rules. At first we were no longer allowed to shake hands at school and then we could no longer go to school and we had to work from home. I liked it at first, but afterwards I regret it because you can't play with friends or go to the store together ', wrote Amy (12) from group 8.
And: 'There are now almost no planes flying, there are far fewer cars on the road. The air is much cleaner. I heard on the news that even the top of the Himalayas (highest mountain in the world) has been visible for thirty years. That's how clean the air is now. I hope we can keep it that way.'
Normigia (10) from grade 6: 'It sounds crazy, but I would like to go back to school. I miss my teacher, my friends and I don't want to lag behind with my work. '
Or Alex (12) from group 8: 'I thought it was a shame that I was not allowed to visit my grandfather and grandmother. Sometimes I did this to bring food and then we had to keep 1,5 meters away. My grandmother in particular found that difficult, she always wants to cuddle with me. '
Time capsule
The goal is to publish a post-crisis book documenting the XNUMX best contributions. All submitted contributions - on paper and on a digital stick - are put in a sealed time capsule that goes into the ground in the Soest region. “Maybe that capsule will be found in a few hundred years. That is an exciting idea for children. Because of this you know: I am part of a larger whole.”
You can still challenge students to participate in this project. The assignment is part of a language lesson with creative processing. Send the contributions of your students to creadagia@gmail.com
