How to keep kids educated while in quarantine

Educational tips for parents and kids to continue learning while being in isolation

I was seven years old when the civil war started in Lebanon. It was scary as hell hearing missiles flying above your roof and not knowing when it will land on your house. From our high rise building, we often had to go downstairs to the first level or when possible, to the underground parking lot so we can be sheltered from rockets and missiles.

We slept on rugs and woke up with no sense of time. Was it day time, night time? There were no windows — so we couldn’t even tell. We ate to fill our stomachs and we made it work! Our parents baked their own bread, compromised with recipes and played a few board games with us using our only sense of light — a candle.

We listened to the news on the radio just like old people, we learned not to make a peep and keep our mouth shut for a long period of time out of fear and anxiety. We learned a lot of valuable lessons while in hiding.

We learned empathy, thinking of others, helping those who are in need or injured, to compromise and be satisfied with very little and most importantly how to cope in difficult times. Despite fear and horror, we tried to stay positive and hoped for better outcomes in the near future.