Children’s E-Book ‘Cory V, The Virus’ Explains COVID-19 to Kids

Several weeks into quarantine, it’s safe to say if you haven’t had “the talk” with your kids, now is the time: the coronavirus talk.

Educational therapist Daisy Vaisburg has heard directly from her students’ parents that it’s a chaotic time for everyone in quarantine, especially if parents don’t know how to talk to their kids about the pandemic.

In her newly published children’s e-book “Cory V, the Virus: Explaining The 2020 Pandemic to Kids,” Vaisburg presents a “lighthearted way to explain the scary.”

The book illustrates information about the coronavirus and how to prevent the spread in a digestible way. Just like adults are trying to stay updated with the latest information, Vaisburg says kids of all ages have a right to know what’s going on, especially since it affects them directly.

“They need to know, but in an appropriate way,” she told the Journal. “ ‘There is something going on in the world; that’s why we can’t go to school and can’t go to the park.’ Things that they can understand — whether it’s a 5-year-old or 10-year-old. ‘We need to wash our hands and be careful who we are around. If you touch something, make sure you wash your hands after.’ Basic things that they can relate to that makes sense in their world.”

The 31-year-old author and educator hails from San Diego and works one-on-one with children, specifically those with learning differences such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, executive function weaknesses, non-verbal learning disability (NLD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

When the spread of the coronavirus started to shut down schools, Vaisburg started Zoom and Skype meetings with her students to maintain normalcy. She also was careful not to “let the cat out of the bag” by telling them more information about the virus without parents providing it to them first.

“Explaining [face masks] to a child is difficult,” she said. “Whether we think kids aren’t listening, they absorb a lot more than we give them credit for. I don’t think we should pretend it doesn’t exist until they ask. I think it’s important to be real. They are little humans. We need to speak to them with age-appropriate language … they [need to] know what’s going on beyond ‘Oh, the park’s closed because they’re cleaning it.’ ”

While she tries to hold students’ attention via Zoom or Skype meetings, Vaisburg also is trying to provide support to parents, many of whom are now responsible for carrying out her lesson plans. While the state of California requires schools to provide special education-focused material to students, it still can be a big load for parents to take on.

“For parents, it’s been tough having to figure out what the kids have to do, get them online to their Zoom classroom — whatever time of day that might be — and also complete their assignments, while also doing their own work or whatever they have going on,” she said. “I think we have to be lenient at this time and be OK with things not going as planned.”

Daily routines certainly are hard to stay on top of, but Vaisburg said that’s fine. “Structure is absolutely wonderful; however, in the situation we’re currently in, it’s hard to maintain,” she said. “Kids can get distracted. I tell parents it’s OK to set small goals instead of really big ones. Making modifications as needed [will] help both parents and students at this time.”

Through applied learning, Vaisburg said, kids will be able to take what they’re learning in school and have it make sense at home. She added it can be beneficial to use what’s available at home to make learning creative and engaging.

“None of us have ever been through anything like this before, where everything gets shut down overnight. Being open and having that conversation can be tough. Having a lighthearted book or a not-so-scary way to present a scary thing is a great icebreaker for that conversation.”— Daisy Vaisburg

Vaisburg also said there are learning opportunities all around the home: Baking can help students learn fractions; watching an episode of TV and having kids recap what happened will help with comprehension; making a sandwich and telling kids what each ingredient cost helps them understand money and decimals.

“It’s quality versus quantity,” she said. “It’s a learning curve for everybody. We will gradually get there. I think it’s OK for parents or students to pause on an assignment. If parents don’t know the best way to present a new concept, I think it’s OK for them to take a step back and figure out the best way they [both] can understand the concept.”

Despite her tools for fun at-home learning — Vaisburg’s e-book has colorful illustrations and a personified virus —  she doesn’t want to take away from the fact that things are still uncertain and scary.

“None of us have ever been through anything like this before, where everything gets shut down overnight,” she said. “Being open and having that conversation can be tough. Having a lighthearted book or a not-so-scary way to present a scary thing is a great icebreaker for that conversation. The book shares enough to be the conversation if parents aren’t open to having it.”

To download the book, click here. For more on Daisy Vaisburg, visit her website.