‘So there’s a game on it where you have to make shapes to fit in the bubble, isn’t there?’
He nods.
‘And you have a big bubble round you and you just have to make sure you don’t burst that bubble or the game’s over.’
‘I’m good at that,’ says Zane with a small smile.
‘Okay then, let’s see if you can sit where you can see my book without bursting your bubble.’
Zane arrives at his allotted space and sits down, extremely pleased with himself.
‘So, Zane, you have been kind to your friends by not bursting their bubbles and kind to yourself as you haven’t burst your own. Charlie Mackesy is such a kind man that he gives away his beautiful drawings, which are now worth a lot of money, to people he doesn’t even know.’
‘How does he do that?’ asks Freya.
‘Before the lockdown started, he would leave his finished drawing on the train for the next passenger to find.’
‘Like a present?’ asks Milo.
‘Yes, exactly like a present.’
‘Even though he doesn’t know the person.’
‘Absolutely – it’s a lovely thing to do, giving happy thoughts and drawings away to others. Also if we think about helping someone else, it can take our mind off how sad and worried we might be feeling about ourselves or our families and give us a warm sense of giving.’
‘Can we do that?’ asks Alfie.
‘Yes it’s a lovely idea, isn’t it, Alfie?’ I’m so pleased he’s talking out loud in front of the class – there are only five others but this is still a huge breakthrough.
‘Sometimes I feel lost,’ he says sadly.
‘I think we all do at times, especially at the moment when maybe we can’t see our friends or our grandparents,’ I say.
‘I can’t see my grandma and she gives me sweets and makes sure no one else eats them,’ calls Milo.
‘She sounds wonderful. Well the thing is, in one of the gorgeous pictures in the book, Mackesy says that the dark clouds may seem huge, but they will pass and the blue sky is always up there. You just can’t always see it.’
‘Like on an aeroplane,’ says Lola. ‘Last time we went to Spain, it was raining when we left the airport in England but then the plane got really high and the sky was all blue.’
‘That’s exactly how it is and just like the dark clouds, the virus will go away and we will all be able to see our families and loved ones again really soon.’
Everyone stares at me transfixed. ‘In the meantime, it’s quite normal to sometimes feel a little sad, or down in the dumps. So, that’s exactly what we’re going to do today. Let’s all think of things we could do to help other people feel good – and ourselves too, when we’re feeling down. Any ideas?’
‘Read a book,’ suggests Freya.
‘Yes well done, read a lovely cheerful book. Anything else?’
‘Do some Airfix?’ suggests Alfie. He’s really beginning to find his feet now.
‘Yes that’s a great idea. Do you like doing Airfix?’
‘I love it,’ he says, then adds shyly, ‘I could bring some pictures in to show you of the things I’ve built.’
‘That would be lovely, Alfie, please do – we would all love to see them.’
‘I like to do cooking,’ says Lola.
‘Well maybe we could do some more here,’ I say. I’ll just have to think of some social distancing friendly recipes!
‘Any other ideas? What about you, Zane?’
‘I like cuddling my cat,’ he says quietly.
‘That’s a lovely one – animals always have a way of making you feel better. And there’s another thing you can always do: ask someone for help. It could be one of the adults in your life or a friend, or I’m always here if you want to talk about anything that’s worrying you. Now I’ve photocopied some of these pictures and I’m going to place them round your desks and next to that a clean sheet or two so we are all going to think of some more slogans and drawings like Charlie Mackesy’s to make people feel better – or you can simply copy some of his. It’s up to you.’
I walk around the desks putting out the papers and making sure each child has their own pot of pencils and colours.
Within minutes the kids are all scribbling away and a contented silence falls on the room except the very slight scratching of pens and pencil on paper. The concept of being kind and thinking of others is