Free Online Resources for ‘Learning to Live with Fog Monsters’ Book to Support Children through Social Shocks
The Voices in a Pandemic (VIP-CLEAR) team recently launched a free book and accompanying resources online called ‘Learning to Live with Fog Monsters,’ to help children process and talk about social shocks.
Resources to help children cope with shocks
The resources, including Teacher’s Notes and an Activity PowerPoint, help teachers use the associated book, ‘Learning to Live with Fog Monsters,’ to support children through scary threats that aren’t always immediately visible, like pandemics, war, and climate change. The book is a free learning resource that draws on research findings of the VIP-CLEAR project, which draws on children’s experiences of lockdown to aid recovery.
‘Learning to Live with Fog Monsters’ book
The story draws attention to how invisible threats can impact children, and how adults can help children to process the worries that they cause. This is done through the eyes of two 10-year-olds experiencing the invisible threat of the ‘fog monsters,’ and the impact their presence has on them, their families, and their community. The story follows the children as they try to stay hopeful and find ways of coping.
Social impacts of COVID on children
Research shows that the effects of the COVID pandemic on children are likely to go on for a long time, and those already affected by social and economic issues have struggled the most with responding to and recovering from the experience.
The resources produced by VIP-CLEAR were developed following 18 months of research involving children aged 6-11 years old, who shared their experience of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. The contents of the book can be used to initiate classroom discussion surrounding the importance of talking about worries, working with others, and planning for a positive future.
School resources to support children
The goal is for these sessions, facilitated by the Fog Monster learning resources, to enhance the wellbeing during, resilience to, and understanding of difficult times for children. The resources can also be woven into existing lessons to support the curriculum, such as Geography, art, and English.
The ‘Voices in a Pandemic’ Project is run in partnership with six Bristol Schools and a national charity – Action for Children. The research was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
