Children are getting used to the new normal where the coronavirus is concerned.

Gone are the days when they could prepare for the day at school – seeing that they looked prim and proper, their outfit neat and well-ironed, shoes polished and hair neatly combed. Playing on the school’s grounds has equally become remote.

Schools have been shut, the latest being Singapore which will shutter them from Wednesday as authorities warned new coronavirus strains such as the one first detected in India were affecting more children in the city-state.

Though they are managing, it is taking a toll on their productive functioning. The coronavirus seems to have crimped children’s potential, especially where academics is concerned. Kids of colour have been particularly hit, as grades and test performance appear to have declined markedly around the US after school buildings closed, according to a Reuters report.

Another report said the mental health consequences on students have come into sharp focus.

School districts in the US nationwide were surveyed in February to assess the mental health impact of full or partial school shutdowns. Of the 74 districts that responded, 74% reported multiple indicators of increased mental health stresses among students.

Nearly 90% of responding districts cited higher rates of absenteeism or disengagement.

Being cooped up at home due to the corona is not a welcome prospect that many schoolchildren would cherish, some in fact finding the online education rather drab.

Under these distressing circumstances, the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival offers a giant ray of hope. Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), the event will host a series of fun and educational workshops and activities, from May 19 to 29 to provide opportunities for children of all ages to develop new creative and critical thinking skills in line with the festival’s vision to expand the knowledge of the young generations.

The interactive workshops will be led by qualified experts from across a spectrum of art and science disciplines and will commence from 16:00 daily. Participant numbers are limited to a maximum of 15 per workshop.

Bright young girls and boys can acquire both basic and advanced skills in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies through a series of workshops at the SCRF 2021. Children will build and programme robots using pieces of Lego.

They will also design, program and control fully-operational model sets in “Robotics.

Budding scientists will enjoy the experience of creating a car that runs on air in the “Balloon Cars” session while in “Mars Explorers,” they will engage in building mini-Martian vehicles using LEGO and race them on a Mars-like surface.

The SCRF 2021 offers a range of unique, practical workshops to enable children to express their ideas through the visual medium.

Fun art projects specifically designed to nurture imagination and creativity and enhance children’s confidence are the highlight of the SCRF 2021. The various expression and communication-driven workshops will facilitate children’s journey into the world of art and develop their problem-solving abilities.

Celebrated writers appearing in person include Swaady Martin, from the Ivory Coast; New York Times best-seller writer and illustrator, Colombian Claudia Reuda; illustrator and designer and author of “Leila in Saffron” and “Sleeping Beauty”, Dinara Mirtalipova from Uzbekistan; Pakistani author of “The Cosmos That Allah has Changed”, Zenubia Arsalan; and founder and lead writer of the “Greenfeet Guides”, American, Ambika Anand Prakop.

Other interactive workshops include a personality-building workshop, exploring cultures on a pop-up travel map, and identifying sounds and creating new melodies using a range of simple material.

The Child Safety Department (CSD) of the Supreme Council of Family Affairs (SCFA) in Sharjah will educate children on the basics of safety and teach them how to administer first aid in “My safety at home.”