National's candidate for Otaki Tim Costley is keeping himself busy video conferencing with various people in Kapiti/Horowhenua, talking about how the crisis affects them and what tips they may have for us all.
His first interview was with Horowhenua College principal Grant Congdon and was about how learning has changed now that everyone is at home.
Congdon said the change from school to home is a really big deal. "Learning to cope with this change and doing this successfully is important, but we are doing this together," Congdon told Costley.
He advised parents to ensure kids have a regular daily schedule but warned this is not like learning at school, where there is plenty of interaction and feedback.
"Keep the expectations down and the hours to three or four a day." He said these hours could be split into two blocks over a day. "Interrupt this learning with chores, exercise or making the family a cup of tea," he advised.
Costley also interviewed a psychologist who works with first responders, the Otaki Health Centre, Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden, and Kapiti Youth support. "Next week will be good fun, talking about cooking and kids activities. I've done one interview each day this week."
He's hoping the videos will contribute to keeping up the community spirits.
Most videos are about 6-7 minutes long and a one-minute short review of videos from the first week can be found on:
https://www.facebook.com/100272638114473/videos/210486407046448
He uses the online app Zoom, records it and then puts the recording on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/timcostleynz/