In response to Rhode Island's stay-at-home order of March-April 2020, The Newport Historical Society launched an active collections initiative: 'The COVID-19 Dairy for Kids'. The diary was aimed at children in kindergarten to fourth grade, and asked children to chronicle the activities and emotions that occupied them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses were submitted via Google Form or were emailed as PDFs.  

The blog post promoting the project outlined its aim:

'"Many families are staying at home together during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of our mission to preserve Newport’s history for future generations, we are looking to create a snapshot of this moment from the perspective of those often underrepresented in the historical record: Children.

This diary is aimed at children in kindergarten to fourth grade. Parents of children learning to write can help their kids by recording responses on their behalf. If you are filling out the diary on a computer, feel free to compile your child’s responses in an email or by filling out this google form. Don’t forget to attach a drawing or selfie! These entries will be collated and preserved in an archive at the Newport Historical Society*.

PDFs or email responses were submitted to the Newport Historical Society's 'Manager of Digital Initiatives'.

The digital collection is comprised of 21 submissions: 16 submissions via the google form, and five submissions via PDF. Three images and one video were also submitted attached to diary entries.