Book uses circus animals to instruct children during lockdown drills<\/h4>\n
By Franchesca Caputo<\/p>\n
As a mother of four and a kindergarten teacher for nine years at Mater Christi School in Albany, Alicia Stenard was troubled when it came to drilling her young students on what to do if a \u201cbad man\u201d entered the building.<\/p>\n She scoured the internet, only to find statistics on how these lockdown drills \u2014 an unfortunate and frightening necessity in our country \u2014 had a tendency to traumatize children, or at the very least, evoke feelings of anxiety when it came to their safety at school.<\/p>\n \u201cI had so many conversations over the years with either family or other teachers or just friends and neighbors, where they would share stories with me about their child (being) involved with the lockdown drill. And then (the child) would be afraid to go to school, they would have separation anxiety with their family, they\u2019d be afraid to go to sleep,\u201d Stenard said.<\/p>\n With no luck finding an alternative, she decided to create her own. That is how the book \u201cThe Elephant in the Room, A Lockdown Story,\u201d came to fruition. The tale is meant to instruct children during a crisis situation while cutting details that may not be age-appropriate.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that we need to consider their developmental stage and also be very aware of the fact that as children, they\u2019re basically powerless,\u201d said Stenard, who now works at the Pastoral Center as a prevention educator in the Catholic School Office. \u201cSo we don\u2019t want to add to that feeling of powerlessness and introduce an anxiety that they didn\u2019t even know existed because we\u2019re sharing too many details with them at this stage of their development.\u201d<\/p>\n The book tells the tale of what to do during a lockdown drill, but spares the nightmarish \u201creal\u201d reasons behind such precautions. Instead, Stenard replaces the sound of gun shots with an abrupt popping of tires in front of an elementary school. The tires belong to a motley crew of animals from the circus, of course. From there, the animals march right into the school with a mission: Eat the children\u2019s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.<\/p>\n This is where the drill comes into action.<\/p>\n As the children sit down, knees hugging their chest, the teacher says, \u201cLet\u2019s be very quiet and \u201cOur schools pride themselves on tending to the holistic needs of the child and this book Although only a quarter of shootings that involve three or more victims take place at schools, According to a landmark study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, 32 percent of 13- to 18-year-olds have anxiety disorders, and 22 percent suffer from mental disorders that cause severe impairment or distress. Among those suffering from anxiety, the median age of onset is 6.<\/p>\n \u201cThey might feel school is their escape. It\u2019s their safe place to go in their routine, and now we\u2019re pulling this out of our hats every couple of months,\u201d Stenard said. \u201cAnd I feel like we have so many children suffering with that and the anxiety, the effects of different adverse childhood experiences, let\u2019s not add this on top of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision by schools to immerse small children into a world full of grown-up fears isn\u2019t She brought her idea for the book to illustrator Greg Matusic, a parent who was at an open house at Mater Christi for his son, Jake, who was about to enter kindergarten at the time. What was supposed to be a 15-minute event soon lasted the whole day. Matusic found the right school for his son and someone who he would eventually collaborate with. Being a member of the Society of Children\u2019s Book Writers and Illustrators for the past seven \u201cSomething I learned at my last job was kids want to see themselves represented in the book. So I made sure there were diverse characters in the book, skin tone, nationality. Not just for kids to be represented, I think that\u2019s the main part, but for kids who aren\u2019t those skin tones they see that there are other kids together,\u201d Matusic said.<\/p>\n Stenard added that the power of prayer led her to the idea for the story after weeks of anticipating the scheduled drill. When the time came, she rang her bell, and as the small children surrounded her on the classroom\u2019s colorful rug, she said one last prayer.<\/p>\n \u201cI really asked God. I said, \u2018God please send me an idea, send me an approach so I can help And then she started to calmly talk to the kids about animals and peanut-butter sandwiches. For additional information and access to classroom resources, visit https:\/\/aliciastenard.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Elephant in the Room, A Lockdown Story” can be purchased at Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/chronicle.hvcc.edu\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/Alicia-Stenard-and-illustrator.jpg\")
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\nstill, so the elephants won\u2019t know we are here. We don\u2019t want them to eat our peanut butter
\nsandwiches.\u201d In the end, the clowns round up the animals by luring them with a bag of peanuts out of the school. The lockdown drill is now over, and the children live happily ever after, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in hand.<\/p>\n
\nsymbolizes that belief,\u201d said Giovanni Virgiglio, diocesan chancellor and superintendent of
\nschools. \u201cWhat an incredibly timely and relevant resource for our educators, written by one of our educators, to convey what otherwise could be a sensitive and frightening topic. We are proud to supply each of our elementary school libraries with their very own copy!\u201d<\/p>\n
\nseldom do we hear about realistic live-shooter drills in nursing homes, places of worship or
\nworkplaces. Children, however, experience these drills from a young age. Throw in adverse
\nchildhood experiences (ACEs), ranging from experiencing a divorce, to living with a parent who suffers from alcoholism or drug abuse, and the odds are suddenly stacked against young children when it comes to success.<\/p>\n
\nnew. Baby boomers experienced the trauma of \u201cBert the Turtle\u201d in the Civil Defense film \u201cDuck and Cover\u201d from 1951 that talked about what to do in case of an atomic bomb blast. And while most parents agree that the drills are needed, Stenard\u2019s book shows they don\u2019t have to be extreme or terrifying.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe just knew this was the place,\u201d said Matusic of the school.<\/p>\n
\nyears, Matusic offered Stenard guidance and insight.<\/p>\n
\nthese children with this difficult thing that is really important, so I can make it as easy on them as I can\u2019 \u201d Stenard said.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019ve added the details since then (but) the story came out about the animals and how they were coming in to get the sandwiches, and the children were on the edge of their seats,\u201d Stenard said. \u201cWhen I practiced it, I went right from there. And they were all excited, in their cubbies. And I said, \u2018Thank you, God,\u2019 because what was excitement, could have been this fear.\u201d<\/p>\n