COVID KIDS: The Virus that Shut Down the World

By Abigail Ingram

School is definitely not any kid's favorite, but for Shawn, Xavier, and Victoria, it is especially tough. Sometimes words and letters swim all over the page. They have great ideas, but it is impossible to actually write them down. It feels like their brains are always jumbling things up. When a worldwide crisis forces everyone to hide away inside their homes, these three will find out they were heroes waiting to be discovered all along.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798888320556

Book preview

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COVID KIDS

The Virus that Shut Down the World

Abigail Ingram

ISBN 979-8-88832-054-9 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88832-055-6 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Abigail Ingram

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

To Xavier, Shawn, Victoria, and all the others just as special as you.

Thank you for teaching me that we all have something important to offer.

Introduction

September

Shawn

Victoria

Xavier

Shawn

Victoria

Xavier

Shawn

Victoria

Xavier

October

Shawn

The first month of school was actually a reasonable warm-up. We sectioned off our journals for class writing and free writing and took time to get adjusted to the daily schedule. Mrs. Oakley ran her morning meeting in a way that we all felt welcome and important. My favorite part of the day was recess when they would let us run and just enjoy the fun of being a kid. The other kids were pretty nice, and Xavier was a great basketball player.

Victoria

Xavier

Victoria

Shawn

Xavier

November

Xavier

Shawn

Victoria

December

Xavier

Shawn

Victoria

January

Victoria

Xavier

Shawn

February

Shawn

Xavier

Victoria

March

Victoria

Shawn

Xavier

April

Shawn

Xavier

Victoria

May

Victoria

Xavier

Shawn

June

Xavier

Victoria

Shawn

About the Author

To Xavier, Shawn, Victoria, and all the others just as special as you.

Thank you for teaching me that we all have something important to offer.

Introduction

He looks at me with those big brown eyes. Pools of life waiting to be unveiled if only I will dig deep enough. I know you are scared, broken, alone. My job is to teach you to cope and maintain strategies to learn. You are so much more to me because of who I serve. You are an image bearer, a priceless treasure needing to be shown its true value. Come, my dear, let me reveal it.

September

Shawn

Shawn came to school that year looking like a young bull ready to charge through a china shop. He wanted to kick the notebooks in the perfectly arranged stacking drawers beside each desk cluster. He looked at all of the smiling, compliant faces of his fourth-grade classmates. What Shawn really wanted to do was put up his hood and hide with his face buried in his desk.

His teacher, Mrs. Oakley, said, Boys and girls, please come to the front carpet for our morning greeting. We will do this every day to build our classroom community.

Will I be here long enough to become part of that community? Shawn wondered.

This was the third elementary school he had attended in his nine challenging years. Will they criticize and ridicule me for being different here, like at the other schools? Will Mom find us a place to live so that I can make friends at this school? Will I have a teacher who helps me with my work in class like at my old school?

In just the thirty seconds, it had taken the class to form a circle around the outer edge of the carpet; these were all the thoughts that had raced through Shawn's head. He chose a safe spot beside the teacher's chair. She looked kind and friendly enough to trust for the moment. The day officially began as each student said their name and described an activity or food that they liked.

When it came time for Shawn's turn, he mumbled, Shawn, football.

Mrs. Oakley smiled as the class echoed back, Hi, Shawn.

Following the morning greeting, Mrs. Oakley went over the daily schedule with the class. She explained that whole group reading would be immediately after the morning greeting, followed by independent reading. Next would come writing, related arts, lunch, recess, math, and content (which would rotate between science, social studies, and health). Shawn perked up slightly as he realized the schedule allowed for two hours outside of the classroom every day. Now Mrs. Oakley was introducing another teacher.

This is Miss Davis. She will be another teacher helping in our class throughout the day.

Mrs. Oakley could not directly say that Miss Davis would be helping the struggling learners because it would be unfair to stigmatize these students. Yet somehow, they always know. Shawn certainly knew how it felt to be the odd one out because he needed extra help with understanding new concepts. Mrs. Oakley introduced another adult in the room as Mr. Nate.

Maybe he will be a relatable teacher, Shawn hoped.

As he looked around, Shawn noticed that there were actually several other kids with the same beautiful dark skin and creatively expressive personalities as his. He began to relax a little as he realized he would be able to relate to his peers a little more through this sameness. Shawn also saw some students with rich coffee or almond skin and glossy dark hair. Their priceless Indian or Hispanic heritage shone through in their unique names and respectful demeanor. The other kids were the ones who did not have to worry about anything in life. Because of their creamy skin and average school performance, they would never understand what true hardship is.

This is going to be a great year, and we are going to be respectful, responsible, and safe, Mrs. Oakley said.

She kept referring to her class from last year and how they were so great at following directions. Was this her way of getting her class to behave every year? Shawn could tell this lady was not going to be a pushover. She had a warm and friendly demeanor that invited trust. However, Mrs. Oakley also announced that students would use the take five space to cool down and regain their composure after receiving three warnings from a teacher.

Shawn looked around, trying to figure out if there were any other kids who seemed to be in a situation relatable to his own. His eyes fell on a slightly stocky kid named Xavier who seemed to be just as unsure of the new class as Shawn. Maybe he has a history of being labeled the difficult kid too, Shawn thought. We could form some kind of alliance to have each other's backs. But the real question was, would he even be staying at this school long enough to build friendships?

Victoria

My new teacher introduced herself as Mrs. Oakley and another teacher who would be helping in our class as Miss Davis. I just came to this school last year, and I already knew I was behind with my math and reading compared to the other kids. As Mrs. Oakley was introducing Ms. Davis, I knew what she really wanted to say was that Miss Davis would be helping the slower kids in our class. Sometimes I overheard teachers using the word special to describe kids like me, but I don't see what could be so special about having a hard time with reading and writing.

I was looking forward to the new soccer season starting. Call me crazy, but I was also looking forward to learning new things in math. Those were the two things I was really good at. I was also good at cheering up my friends and making people laugh. I could put my thick wavy hair up in a ponytail all by myself, and I was an expert at making my little brother laugh. I really hoped my teachers this year could help me discover some other things that were unique about me.

This year, I would probably have to leave my regular classroom to work with other teachers, just like in the past. The teachers who came to get me and the other kids in these pullout classes usually gave us some kind of silent signal when it was time to have our reading or math group. These groups usually involved three to six kids, and we got to know each other pretty well. We were usually all working on the same reading and math skills, so that was why we got along so well. Maybe this year, I could actually make some progress with reading and be closer to reading the same books as my friends. They liked to choose big chapter books from the class library or the school media center. I always chose books with lots of pictures to help give me hints for all of the words I don't know. Will this be the year that I finally read a whole chapter book?

Xavier

Mrs. Oakley and Miss Davis were the names of my new teachers for fourth grade. I knew that Mrs. Oakley would be the lead teacher because her name was posted on the door and around the classroom. Miss Davis must be the teacher who helped kids like me who have a hard time in school. Last year, I got sent to the principal's office a lot. I was at a different school, and I was always being accused of not making safe decisions or being disrespectful to teachers. There were lots of phone calls home, and Dad was always really angry by the time I got out of the car at home.

I thought Mrs. Oakley actually meant it when she said this was going to be a great year, but how could I be sure? Would the teachers really listen when I tell them why I got frustrated? Who would be a friend that I could be honest with—someone who just appreciates me for me? As I looked around, my eyes fell on Shawn. He looked like he had built up a wall of defense just as high as mine. What was it that made us so different?

Mrs. Oakley was talking about how we would do a lot of reading and writing this year. This definitely made me nervous because I knew I was not as good as the other kids at these subjects. I usually picked books with a lot of pictures or graphic novels because they were the most interesting and easy to read.

Mrs. Oakley also said that we would be math wizards by the end of fourth grade. I was unsure about this because I was pretty good at following the steps to solve problems, but I had a hard time with the explanation part. Why couldn't math just be numbers? Why did it always have to be a part that says