Learning to integrate
As a housewife, Wu stays at home and also takes care of her second child, 3-year-old Andy. In early April, She and her husband-now working at home-decided to keep fourth-grader Daniel at home as well.
"My son's school has lent laptops to students unable to afford such facilities for digital classes. As Daniel cannot go to school, he feels quite excited to see his classmates and teachers online," says Wu.
Interestingly, Wu says she can also sense the cultural difference, as most immigrant parents, especially those from Asia, show a bit more anxiety about their children's education, while Australia-born families generally take a comparatively relaxed, laid-back attitude.
Recently, Australia has eased restrictions as the spread of COVID-19 on the continent begins to slow. On April 21, Channel NewsAsia reported that Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that schools will be reopened for more children.
Wu says she feels proud about the effort of Chinese immigrants to combat the pandemic, especially after she read a local news report praising Chinese Australians and quoting Morrison as saying that they provided "one of the greatest defenses" in the early weeks of the outbreak.
"In early February when the Australian government had yet to order 14 days of self-quarantine for anyone entering Australia, most Chinese students, who returned from China after spending the Spring Festival holiday with relatives back home, chose to self-isolate for two weeks to reduce the risk of potentially spreading the virus," says Wu.
The school closures across the world are perhaps an unprecedented crisis, but it may also shape precious memories for many parents, who can now spend more quality time with their children.
Chen Mayo, a mother of three in Los Angeles, the Unites States, has a much busier life than before.
Her 10-year-old son Kevin, and 5-year-old daughter Nina, take turns to attend online classes.
With the rise of confirmed cases in the US, Mayo says her own art studio-where she teaches 15 students-has also been closed.
While her son's school has been closed since March 13, it has provided laptops and free lunches for all of the students.
As part of their home education, Mayo and her children prepared 20"love packages" as gifts for neighbors. Each package contains 15 masks, 20 alcohol-based sanitizing wipes and 10 pairs of disposable gloves.
During the break between classes, Mayo and her husband encourage their two children to bake cakes and plant vegetables, as well as learn to babysit for their 8-month-old sister.
"We are busy, but happy every day," she says.
