We officially received word yesterday that our schools would be closing indefinitely. Yes, you read that right. Not a couple of weeks, but indefinitely.
Emotions are certainly high for all of us, but a sudden school closure like what we are experiencing might bring even bigger emotions for many kids.
I hope that this free printable social story about schools being closed is helpful for explaining to your kids what will be happening now that their schools are closed for a lengthy period of time.
About the Free Printable School is Closed Social Story
This social story explains school closures to kids. I kept the text more general so that it could be used for other school closure reasons, beyond the current coronavirus pandemic, such as water main breaks. Besides, I'm sure most kids are likely already aware of why their schools are closed by this point.
I highly suggest laminating the social story for durability. You can use binder rings to keep the social story together or store it in a binder. As an alternative to laminating, you could use sheet protectors in a binder. Or if you find yourself printing off lots of social stories, then this binding machine is a lifesaver!
About the Spanish Version of this Social Story
I had quite a few requests for a Spanish translation and had some volunteer readers help out since my Spanish is pretty basic and extremely rusty.
So thank you to Anna F. and Angel A. for the initial translation and for getting the ball rolling on this project!
And a great big thank you to Carolina from Mama Instincts (and her aunt!) for verifying it, tweaking it, and making it sound/read more natural. She suggested offering a boy version and a girl version since some words aren't gender neutral in Spanish, especially after she told me that "little girls like me would have preferred to read it in female form." I'm a huge proponent of making sure everyone feels represented (as best as I can!) so of course I said yes to her suggestion! The changes are minimal. It's just a few verbs that have been switched to the correct masculine or feminine form. I'm immensely grateful for her help. I thought her podcast episode about How to Support Your Children During the Pandemic was helpful, if you want to check it out.
Again, I am so grateful for all of the help to make this story accessible to even more families!
Download the Free Printable Social Story About School Closures
This social story is 11 pages long and includes full color photos. It also has spots for you to fill in.
To get a copy of this social story, click the relevant link below:
>> Click here to download the social story in English
>> Click here to download the social story in Spanish (feminine)
>> Click here to download the social story in Spanish (masculine)
