'We can play tag with a stick'. Children's knowledge, experiences, feelings and creative thinking during the COVID-19 pandemic

Using a relational approach, we draw on repeated interviews with a group of 30 diverse children from Ontario to share and reflect on their knowledge, experiences and feelings early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Prioritising relational interdependence and relational agency, this paper illustrates our participants' embedded engagements with the pandemic and their contribution to the co-production of knowledge. We emphasise their thoughtful responses to the pandemic; their creative, self-reflexive strategies for managing a difficult time; and their advice to others. We thus prioritise children's viewpoints and emphasise their relational interconnections with others during a time that was marked by social isolation.

Automated summary

Using a relational approach, this paper draws on repeated interviews with 30 diverse children from Ontario to share and reflect on their knowledge, experiences, and feelings early in the COVID-19 pandemic. It prioritizes relational interdependence and agency and highlights the participants' engagement with the pandemic and their contribution to the co-production of knowledge. The paper emphasizes the children's thoughtful responses, creative strategies for managing a difficult time, and their advice to others, while also emphasizing their relational interconnections during a period of social isolation.