“The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us significantly. For the past year and a half, we have canceled plans, been isolated from our loved ones, worked from home, closed schools, transitioned to virtual learning, we’ve dealt with grief, and much more. Oh, and we can’t forget the vaccine saga: to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. The stress and anxiety levels that we continue to experience have caused a rollercoaster of emotions. Throughout the pandemic, depression and sleep disruptions and thoughts of suicide have increased, especially among young adults. In addition, many people across the country have experienced job loss, and children have been affected by food insecurity. Thus, the pandemic has both short and long-term implications for mental health, and we must be prepared to address shortcomings in the months and years to come. Even after the novel coronavirus is in our rearview mirror, we will still have to deal with the emotional toll the invisible virus took on young and old. This section has a variety of resources that will help you with the ongoing pandemic.

Helpings Students Needing Extra Help with Reading

The pandemic has impacted some students in the early grades, and the ability to read aloud quickly and accurately – largely came to a halt in March 2020, after the abrupt school closures brought on by COVID-19.  Students’ development of phonic, oral reading, and comprehension have all been affected. Reading is a fundamental academic development, and students who struggle with reading will have difficulty in other subjects. The question that many teachers are asking is, how can we help struggling students catch up? Controlled Phonetic Reading (CPR) is an Orton-Gillingham-based curriculum that includes a variety of HANDS-ON, MULTI-SENSORY, word-for-word teaching lessons specifically designed for EARLY readers, STRUGGLING readers, or students diagnosed with DYSLEXIA.

To learn more about this resource watch an interview with the author of CPR, Melissa Hanson, and teacher Ruth Davis who has piloted this program for two years in her classroom. Also, visit the Creative Products 4 Reading website for more details.

Interview with Melissa Hanson and Ruth Davis

School Resource

• Improve Your System of Mental Health Support for Teachers and Staff in Response to COVID-19, EAB
• COVID-19 Resources for Schools, Students, and Families, US Department of Education
• COVID-19 Resources for Schools, SchoolSaftey.gov
• Schools and Child Care Programs​, Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Student, Office for Civil Rights

Websites

• Mental Health & COVID-19, World Health Organization
• Mental Health and COVID-19 Information and Resources, Mental Health America
• One Year In: COVID-19 and Mental Health, National Institue of Mental Health, (NIMH)
• Mental Health and COVID-19, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Children and Adolescents

• Impact of COVID-19 and Lockdown on Mental Health of Children and Adolescents: A narrative review with, US National Library of Medicine with recommendations^☆,
• Mental Health During COVID-19: Signs Your Child May Need More Support, Healthy Children.org
• New Findings About Children’s Mental Health During COVID-19, Psychiatric Times
• The Coronavirus Seems to Spare Most Kids From Illness, but Its Effect on Their Mental Health Is Deepening, TIME
• Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 on Children, Kaplan
• 7 Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Kids, Children’s Hospital Association
• Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review, SAGE Journals
• Signs of Depression in Children During COVID-19, VeryWell Family

Early Childhood

• COVID-19 Parental Resources Kit – Early Childhood, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Tips for Families: Coronavirus, Zero to Three
• Supporting Children and Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center
• How Will the Coronavirus Crisis Affect Children’s Learning?, Education Next

Elementary & High School

• https://www.childandadolescent.org/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-high-school-students/The Impact of COVID-19 on High School Students, Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health
• Mental Health in High School Students at the Time of COVID-19: A Student’s Perspective, US National Library of Medicine
• COVID-19 and Student Well-Being: Stress and Mental Health during Return-to-School, Canadian Journal of School Psychology
• How Is COVID-19 Affecting High School Students? Riverside Military Academy

College/University

• School During the Pandemic: Mental health Impacts on Students, National Alliance on Mental Health (California)
• Psychological impacts from COVID-19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States, Plos One
• Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on College Students After School Reopening: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Machine Learning, Frontiers in Psychology
• How COVID-19 Has Impacted Student Mental Health by Evan Thompson
• Effects of COVID-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study, US National Library of Medicine
• Over 9 in 10 College Students Report Mental Health Impacts From COVID-19, By Anne Dennon

Teachers

• Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Teachers and Parents of K-12 Students, CDC Foundation
• Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 on Educators, Kaplan
• The Experience of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Teachers’ Mental Health, Coping, and Teaching, School Psychology Review

Families

• Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 on Families, Kaplan
• Parent/Careegiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019, National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
• Resources for Helping Kids and Parents Cope Amidst COVID-19, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
• Useful Resources for Children and Families During the COVID-19 Crisis, Children’s Defense Fund
• For Mother in the Workplace, a Year (and counting) Like no Other, McKinsey & Company

Books for Children

• Why a Mask You Ask?: A Children’s Book about the COVID-19 Pandemic by Eric Argo & Kelly Argos
• Coronavirus: A Book for Children by Elizabeth Jenner, Nia Roberts, & Kate Wilson
• Why Did the Whole World Stop?: Talking With Kids About COVID-19 by Heather Black
• School Coronavirus Do’s and Don’ts: a humorous guide to teach your child essential rules for back to school during Covid 19 by Adrienne Barber
• COVID-19 HELPERS: A story for kids about the coronavirus and the people helping during the 2020 pandemic by Beth Bacon
• Covid-19: Let’s Talk About The Plan: A resource to help young children understand the pandemic by Aubrey Kilaman & Bailee Rad

How to Talk to Children about War

Articles

• What to tell children about war: Tell the truth, keep it simple by William J. Cromie | Harvard Gazette
• Talking to Your Kids About War by Amy Morin, LCSW | Verywell Family
• How to talk about war with your young child – and help them feel safe by Mary VanClay | Babycenter
• How to Talk with Kids About War: Pointers for Parents by Alvin Poussaint, M.D. and Susan Linn, Ed.D.
• Talking with Children About War and Violence in the World by Sheldon Berman, Sam Diener, Larry Dieringer, and Linda Lantieri | FamilyEducation
• How to Talk to Kids About War by Andy Kryza | Parenting / Education
• How to Explain the Russia and Ukraine War to Your Children by Anna Maxted |The Time

Video Clips for Adults about talking with children about the Russia/Ukraine War

• Talking to Kids About Ukraine | YouTube CBS Mornings – 5:56 minutes
• Attack on Ukraine Talking to Kids | YouTube CBC/Radio-Canada – 2:02 minutes
• How to Talk to Your Kids About Ukraine & Russia | YouTube GMA – 2:57 minutes
• Explaining War to a Kid | YouTube – 8:33 minutes
• The Russia-Ukraine Conflict Explained | YouTube Nightly News: Kids Edition – 25:44 minutes

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These resource links are being provided for informational purposes only. The North American Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is not responsible for the accuracy, legality, or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Please contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.