Kids, like adults, have been through a lot over the past several months. It’s likely that many of your students have not been asked to explicitly reflect on all that has happened, how they have changed, and what they have lost. This activity pushes them to do exactly that, without the pressure of expressing their pain out loud. 

The exercise: Ask students, or your kids, to write a letter to their pre-Covid-19 selves: they should include what they wish they had known then, how to prepare for ‘what’s to come,’ and what they’ve learned. Writing about their experience of Covid-19 is a creative way for students to be vulnerable, open, and reflective…and for you to get a sense of how they are doing and who might need additional support. 

Below are some prompts that you might use for this assignment: 

• What do you know now that you wish you had known before Covid-19? 
• What helped you get through the months of social distancing and e-learning? 
• How could you have prepared for that time? 
• Have you changed over the past few months? 
• What has been the hardest part of the past few months?
• Did anything good come from your experience?

While this is through the Covid lens, it can also be a great exercise for after the loss of a loved one. Ask kids, instead, how they have changed since the loss and what they would tell themselves from before the person died. As always, we are here to help if you would like to discuss this activity.