Oral History in which Lee Foster discusses how one teaches shop (Industrial Arts) through online learning, what it is like teaching your students at the same time as your own children, and having a spouse working in a hospital during the pandemic. He also discusses the changes, or lack thereof, in family dynamics during a pandemic all with his easy-going positivity and sense of gratitude for his situation.

This past Saturday, I went to the craft store at the local strip mall with my mom. I needed yarn to knit some lace onto a project I have going and she, upon hearing this, called a single 93 year old lady we do the shopping for during the pandemic and asked if she would like any yarn since she knits too, and she did. It was 1 pm when we were there and the line to get into the local Loblaws grocery store was the longest I have ever seen it. I counted at least 14 families in line, which would mean it would likely take them as much 30 mins to an hour to get into the store. The other notable fact about the line is that it contained multiple children. Up until recently the policy was that only one individual per household was allowed in the store at a time and parents were not allowed to bring in children. As this policy has react parents and guardians, according to my mom who does our groceries, have started bringing their small children, sometimes in groups of 4 or 5. There are two sides to this of course, because firstly, many do not have the childcare to do others but the children often do not understand or observe social distancing in the stores. As we drove around to leave and saw the line my mom exclaimed "Well that settles it! If ever I was tempted I am not doing groceries on a Saturday! No matter how desperate we are! It is never that busy on weekdays!"

A tweet from author Anne Thériault talking about the silver lining to the disruption to routine brought on by the pandemic. She and her son have been staying with her mother in Kingston instead of their home in Toronto.

An public statement shared on Facebook by Kathleen Wynne and then by various childcare professionals and sympathetic parties. It was retrieved from the Facebook page of a Early Childhood Educator. Kathleen Wynne, a member of Provincial Parliament, former Premier of Ontario, and a former teacher, wrote this in response to action taken by Premier of the province of Ontario, Doug Ford and the Provincial Minister of Education, and Conservative government in the province, that they will reopen all childcare centres in Ontario effective Friday June 11, 2020 as part of their tiered 'reopening' of the province from Covid-19 restrictions. It is Ms. Wynne's opinion that centres are being provided with insufficient time and resources to do so safely for staff and children.

News article discussing a program providing seeds and gardening supplies to school children to provide fresh produce at home during quarantine, especially for those in underprivileged circumstances, and to allow for online group lessons on subjects such as horticulture, cooking, ecology. A particular and amusing challenge they are learning to face is the healthy local squirrel population eating their crops!

News story about a nurse's struggle to find daycare for her young son. Her son's previous daycare closed, perhaps permanently, he is far down the waiting list for emergency daycare for the children of frontline workers, and then a spot she did find him fell through when the parents of other children in the daycare, two of whom had weak immune systems and asked the carer not to take the child on as they feared he would carry covid19 to daycare from his mother's work at a hospital. She has not been able to work due to the unavailability of care, during a time when nurses are in high demand. However, the article also mentions that after a story on the situation was aired on the nightly television news, the nurse received numerous calls offering to watch the child for her.

The time honoured tradition of summer camp in northern Ontario, usually drawing children from across the country and around the world, especially the Northeastern United States is obviously not viable in its usual form during the pandemic but some camps are lobbying to be able to open nonetheless, with strict precautions, they say.

“The resiliency has been passed down to further generations, so we are able to survive these times of struggle.”

A post with photos of the food program implemented to supply food to kids in School District 52, Prince Rupert, BC. Photos show volunteers preparing over 200 hundred bags of food and gift cards for families struggling amidst school closures and stay-at-home orders. The post appeared on the Prince Rupert School District website.

A letter from the government of the Yukon to families outlining ways for them to speak to children and cope with both the medical and emotional needs of Covid-19. It offers ideas and techniques for normalizing lives and homeschooling students of different ages. It also gives descriptions of symptoms to look for, ways to teach students hygiene, and methods to prevent the spread of the virus.