5- and 9-year-old sisters by Sophie & Julia

To see this through the eyes of children is so moving. If anyone wants to write them a note, please send it to me and I will forward it to them.

Thoughts from Sophie, age 5
Westchester County, NY

I get to play with Julia a lot. I also get to play with Julia’s doll. I don’t like that when I go to bed I don’t always get to snuggle with Mama the whole night.

I am wondering about when I will go back to school. I miss my friends. I miss gymnastics and dance and ice skating.

I love not having soccer! No soc-cer!

I like having Mommy as my teacher. I like it because I get to be with Mama more. And Dada. I loved making a map of the beach.

I think I will remember when I am older, playing outside on the really hot day. (Yesterday March 20th, was almost 70 degrees. The girls put on short sleeves and flip flops)

Thoughts from Julia, age 9
Westchester County, NY

I like getting to see my parents and sister all of the time. And we get to do things we don’t normally get to do. Like do yoga every day and we get to play with Legos.

I don’t like not seeing my friends for a long time. I also don’t like not seeing my grandmother and grandfather or not touching them when I do see them. I don’t like how when we go places everyone says, “Wash your hands! Wash your hands!” We have to wash our hands all of the time.  

I wonder when we are going to go back to school or when it is going to be over.  
I miss getting to do fun things and be out of the house and not just staying home.  
It’s fun doing school at home but it can be hard and confusing with all of the online meetings and other stuff. It is hard keeping track of when the meetings are. I like getting to see people (my family) at home. But I miss my friends.

I like having my mom as my teacher because normally at school if they ask us to do something, if you ask, can I do this instead, they would say no, but my mom doesn’t say no. We made maps and I asked if I could do my map of my room instead of our yard and she said, “Sure.”

I think the coronavirus is annoying because people freak out over it. I understand why they freak out but it’s not really a good reason to freak out.  

When I am a grown up, I think I will remember staying home from school. I think my kids will be amazed that we got to have no school for such a long while.  

Grown ups should know that if they freak out and a kid sees them or a kid sees that they are scared, it will scare the kid because the grown up is scared. So I think grown ups would be a little better to try to not act scared so the kids don’t get scared.  

(Do Daddy and I seem scared?) No. You don’t seem scared, you seem cautious, careful about it. That’s different than scared.