Working part-time as an assistant teacher, Cinnamon Jones is helping plan curriculum to educate her students working from home. She's also mother to two, to daughters ages 3 and 6, and is trying to keep them entertained and on target with their assignments from school.
"This morning we had a Zoom call, that’s another thing her school is doing with her classmates, and when the call was over she started crying," Patterson said.
She said her daughter was struggling with missing both her friends and her teacher, along with the awkwardness of being home 24/7.
The family is spending time in their yard as much as they can. They even made a hopscotch drawing on the sidewalk in front of their home for anyone to use when passing by. The kids then waited in the window, hoping someone would come by and give it a whirl.
As adults struggle with this new normal, chances are kids are as well.
"I think a lot of people are minimizing how big of a deal this is," said Anatasia Taylor, executive director of Alliance Child & Family Solutions.
Taylor and her colleagues are doing video calls, helping families find ways to deal with the stress that comes with living in a pandemic.
Taylor said children are worried about everything from what happens if they get sick to overhearing parents stressing about finding food or losing their job.
"Kids hear bits of information and they don’t know how to translate that in their kid's brain," said Taylor.
Taylor suggests taking at least five minutes alone with each child, guide them through their feelings and do the same for yourself.
They're doing it in the Patterson household, just to get their thoughts out, and looking for ways as a family to build a sense of community while obeying the rules of social distancing to keep the community safe.
