Lost & Found is a national storytelling project, led by the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, in collaboration with a diverse coalition of mental health and child-serving organizations. The project was developed to give kids in Canada a platform to tell their COVID-19 pandemic stories. Recently, the project launched its digital exhibit showcasing the multimedia results of these impactful stories. The website includes a selection of stories from over 5000 children in the form of videos, drawings, poetry and writing. The stories cover topics such as emotions, technology, health, nature and quality time.

“The Lost & Found program is valuable because a lot of families feel heard, they get to share their stories, as well as it’s bringing the communities together.” – Samantha Singh, educator

The stories can be searched or browsed by type (format), theme or province. The result is a thoughtful, profound and creative collage of children’s stories.

The video below offers a insightful introduction to the project and what it meant to the children and caregivers who participated.

Included with the Lost & Found project are two sets of wonderful learning materials: family and caregiver resources and the educator toolkit.

For Families and Caregivers

The website offers a selection of tip sheets for advice on how you can support children with learning, reading and literacy.

• Understand how the pandemic impacted kids’ language and literacy
• How To Build Language and Reading Skills at Home
• How To Connect with Your Child Through Sharing Books
• Raising Children to Speak More Than One Language
• Screens and the Early Years

For Educators

Educators can download the free educator toolkit to help students tell their pandemic stories. You can also use the website to locate a workshop near you, as well as application information for community delivery partnership funding.

“We know that storytelling is necessary for developing literacy skills. Storytelling is also a way to build connections between people, teach the value of listening, and to remind ourselves that everyone’s story matters.” – Lost & Found

Learn more about the project by reading the press release and visiting the website.