The coronavirus outbreak has been hard to understand for adults. Meanwhile, children are left to wonder why they aren’t hopping on the bus for school anymore, seeing their friends for playdates, or going to local stores with their family.
Holly Winter, a kindergarten teacher in her 30th year of teaching at George Washington Public Montessori School in Kingston, was eager to help her students understand.
Over the course of a month, the veteran teacher and author wrote a book titled Hans Helps: A Coronavirus/COVID-19 Story. Throughout each chapter of the book, she explains the situation in an effort to spark household conversations between parents and children. She also outlines seven healthy habits to empower children and let them know there are ways to help.
The book is based off of an interaction with Winter’s grandnephew, Hans, a kindergartener who didn’t understand the extent of the coronavirus outbreak. While Hans understood that the disease was spreading to every country, he believed he had to stay home from school because his teacher had the coronavirus.
“I realized that what I’m good at is helping kids,” says Winter, who notes that the World Health Organization has contacted her requesting a copy of the book. “If I were with my kids now, I could help them understand the virus or what to do about it.”
At press time, Hans Helps: A Coronavirus/COVID-19 Story was scheduled to be printed in May; it is available at winuplypress.com.
