Canberrans get creative to help families learning, working at home

​by Kathryn Lewis. The Canberra Times.
Photo by Elesa Kurtz. 

As one of many people with reduced work hours due to the coronavirus, preschool teacher Sarah O'Neill found herself with a little extra time on her hands. 

Scrolling through Facebook, Ms O'Neill read the all-too-common qualm from local parents struggling to keep their kids occupied while working from home, and came up with an idea to alleviate the problem - deliver everything they need to their door. 

"I thought maybe I could make a business out of putting all the materials together for them," she said. 
"We know that it's hard to go down to the shops, we know that even online ordering can be a hassle and can be expensive." 

Her new business, Miss Sarah's Education Resources, launched on Saturday and already she is "shocked" by the success of the home-delivered craft packs, with a bulk-order on the way to replenish stock. 

"I'm overwhelmed, I'm selling out of products," she said. 

"I never expected it to get this kind of response, I was hoping in a few months I'd have a few customers."

Ms O'Neill is among many people who recently lost work due to the coronavirus. She continues to work part-time at a Queanbeyan preschool, but lost her two-days-a-week role as a dance and music teacher.

She is grateful for the work she has, but said the classroom normally brimming with childish delight feels "eerie" and "bizarre" with only four children from a class of 20 still attending. 

She hopes her business will help alleviate the stress on parents juggling remote learning and working. 
"If I prepare things that are ready to go it can mean less supervision. Obviously some of these activities you want to supervise, but if they're old enough they don't need much help so parents can have their own time to chill," she said. 
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"It's a way to brighten up a walk'

The artist known as Oh Little Spark put her creative talent to good use, making an isolation challenge to keep kids in her neighborhood of Gordon occupied and "brighten up a walk" in the local area. 
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"I needed to find a way to keep them entertained and engaged. We're really enjoying the small things at the moment, so we spend a lot of time outdoors anyway, but it makes it extra special when you earn it," she said. 

Hand-drawn creepy-crawlies appearing in trees, ponds and bushes around town are part of the Iso Spy Canberra challenge which has been taken up with gusto. 

"I didn't anticipate how much the kids would enjoy it. Some of the neighbourhood kids have been giving me some to hide so I've been hiding them in extra hard places." 

Ms Kristine has released the bugs to a wider audience with the templates online now popping up in the most unlikely places, including the middle of Point Hut Pond in Gordon. 

"People are really looking for ways to connect with their community, the feedback from the parents has been beautiful. They're in some ways surprised that someone would go out of their way to do something like that."