‘Give us the World for One Day’: Children’s Notes to Future from Quarantine Days…

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We have been in coronavirus quarantine at our homes for over a month now. That being the case, on the centenary of April 23 Children's Day, children are celebrating the day for the first time at home.

We asked them what they will do first when the quarantine ends and they go out on the street and what they recommend to other children staying at home like them. They have answered our question by writing poems, playing songs on the piano, drawing pictures and making a kite...

Children's notes to the future from quarantine days...

Cihangir: Make a ball out of socks

Should it always be the adults who would recommend children to do this and that in the days of coronavirus quarantine? Children's recommendations to other children are also quite fun.

5-year-old Cihangir, who lives in Antep, has recommended other children what they can do at home. Among his creative ideas is also making a ball out socks and play with it so that neighbors will not be disturbed: "Because, otherwise, your noise will be heard from downstairs."

"Painting a picture, counting the cars from window and baking a cake with his mother" are other recommendations by Cihangir.

Tuana: You can be friends with a flower

11-year old Tuana from İstanbul has said, "Friends, I know that you are bored at home, that is why I have five recommendations for you."

The first recommendation of Tuana is to "make a crown from colorful cardboards with your family. If you don't have colorful cardboards, you can color an A4 paper and make your crown with it."

Her second and third recommendations are to enter the distance education system called the EBA and send messages to friends from there: "You can enter the EBA, send messages to your friends and fulfil your longing. You can order a puzzle and do it, too."

But, the most beautiful recommendation of Tuana is probably the following: "If you have a pot, you can plant a flower in it. You can write a name on a paper and place it next to your flower. When you do it, you will have a friend, because plants are living beings, too."

Umut: Mad-lib, brain teasers, a film with family...

11-year-old Umut from İstanbul has shared his recommendations with us in a drawing. "Play mad-lib style games, brain teasers, watch a movie with your family and technological games..." And, as a last recommendation, he has added, "You can read a book."

But, what do they dream of doing when the quarantine ends?

Şan: I will walk around the streets with my dog Linda

Second grader Şan has drawn the earth in his drawing. While he is standing on the earth, he has a rainbow on the left. He has also attached a note to his drawing in English: "Let's go. Let's travel the whole world".

Şan has explained his dream in following words: "I want to travel the whole world with my dad." But, first of all, he will walk around the streets with his dog Linda because he has missed walking her a lot.

Dicle: I will first eat an ice cream while walking around

The first thing that 9-year-old Dicle will do when the quarantine ends is to do what she likes the most: She will eat her ice cream while walking around the streets. She has told us this with the picture below:

Zümran: Virus will end, children will rush to parks

The poem entitled "Corona" by Zümran from Rize province in Black Sea region of Turkey gives us hope in these bad days:

"Corona travels from country to country / Making the ones outside sick / It gets over when we stay home / It is the corona, they call it the virus

"Scientists are doing research / How will this virus will get over? / But if we stay home / This virus will, of course, get over

"This virus will [end] one day / The streets will be filled with joy / Children will rush to the parks / The parks will be filled with life."

6-year-old Yaprak has drawn herself and Beren with balloons in their hands.

6-year-old sisters Mihrişah and Mirgün from Adana have also been dreaming themselves in the world outside their home.

'Give us the world one day...'

Their teacher read the poem "Let's Give the World to Children" by Nazım Hikmet to fourth graders Musa, Revza and Sudenur.

In this poem of his, Nazım Hikmet briefly says, "Let's give the world to the children just for one day / like a balloon in bright and striking colours to play with / let them play singing among the stars / let's give the world to the children / like a huge apple like a warm loaf of bread / at least for one day let them have enough /..."

Inspired by this poem, they have also penned their own poems. While Musa has said, "Give me the world for one day, I would give the kite that I dream of to everyone," Revza has written, "I would close down the zoos."

Sudenur has also listed her recommendations and added, "What are these, anyway? A bunch of many more beautiful ideas that I cannot imagine!"

11-year-old Cemre has played a song about April 23 on her piano.

Yaren and Cansu sisters from Konya have also drawn a picture of the earth with lots of balloons in their hands:

8-year-old Duru has made a kite. She will fly it when the quarantine ends.

* We would like to extend our thanks to Ebru Özelçi, Gülesra Güllü and Leyla İşbilir.

(AÖ/SD)