The Agents of Instinct vs. Corona

Inspiration

We're a team of two moms who are trying to help our elementary-age kids understand the pandemic and the changes it has brought to their lives. We've noticed that a lot of our conversations with our kids center on managing emotions. So we created the story our kids need to hear: a story about the feelings they're having now and how they can find power in kindness and gratitude.

What it does

The story shows kids how their natural responses to danger (fight, flight, and freeze) help them deal with fear, and it shows them why they might feel more tired, bored, or angry right now. It explains Corona's powers and weaknesses, and how knowledge of those powers and weaknesses can help everyone fight Corona. It casts kindness and gratitude as superheroes who can give people the power to fight Corona.

How we built it

We identified the facts we wanted to convey about the coronavirus and managing the emotions kids might be feeling. Then we looked for ways to fit them into a superhero story.

Challenges we ran into

Balancing fact and story was a challenge. We decided to incorporate some facts into the narrative and use a pop-up scientist illustration to convey other facts.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The pop-up scientist works as a way to introduce facts and provides some comic relief. Plus, there's a hang-gliding capybara. What's not to like about that?

What we learned

Gratitude and kindness really are super powers.

What's next for The Agents of Instinct vs. Corona

We're waiting for reviews from our most important readers: our kids!