Courtesy Photo Noah Burgess, 8, and his brother, Isaiah, hold the buff orpington chicks they are raising as an educational project while staying at home.

ALPENA — Michiganders have been ordered to stay home since March 24 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and are doing what they can to stay busy.

Prior to the pandemic, Alpena resident Heather Burgess bought five buff orpington chicks for her sons, Noah, 8, and Isaiah, 6, to raise. The Burgesses made their own brooder box and hung a heat lamp to keep the chicks warm.

Then Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered folks to stay home unless absolutely necessary and canceled in-person school for the rest of the academic year.

“We didn’t know that we were going to be on a lockdown when we bought the chicks, so it’s kind of coincidental that we ended up with a project,” Burgess said. “I thought I was going to be on my own taking care of them for the most part, because the kids would be in school, but they’ve actually taken over the whole project.”

So, now, “it’s a learning project for us,” she said. “We’re keeping the kids active and they’re doing some homeschooling, but, for the rest of the time, it’s up to Mom and Dad to make sure they’re doing things that are at least educational.”

Burgess said her sons have taken on the new responsibility of caring for the chicks — cleaning the brooder box daily, washing the food and water containers, and feeding the animals.

In her free time, Burgess has started making cloth masks that are donated to essential workers.

Alpena resident Beth Matzke is staying home with her husband, Bill, their children, Hannah, Isaac, and Tiffany, and three dogs and two cats.

Matzke said she has kept busy by completing puzzles, participating in virtual workouts with Bay Athletic Club, and walking their Labrador retriever, Winnie. She said the workouts and getting outside for an hour a day have helped her mental health.

“Quarantine has been good for our family,” she said. “We plan, prepare and sit down for meals together, enjoy doing puzzles, and watching shows.”

Alpena resident Eric Cardwell is staying home with his wife, Kim, and son, Aiden, 16.

Eric Cardwell said they have been extremely cautious about leaving the house because Kim Cardwell has a compromised immune system. He said they mostly utilize curbside pickup when getting groceries.

“Aside from that, we try to carry on normally,” he said, noting his wife is retired and he’s been working part-time from home.

Aiden Cardwell celebrated his 16th birthday at home and had a virtual party at which he still got a cake and was able to blow out the candles. Afterward, Cardwell said, they were able to use the videoconferencing software Zoom to connect with family and friends.

On Zoom, the Cardwells play jackbox games every Saturday night with friends from the Upper Peninsula to Indianapolis to Milwaulkee.

“If there’s some good that’s come out of this, we’ve connected with people that we’ve kind of fallen out of touch with because of busy lives,” Cardwell said. “But, thanks to us being home, we have time to reach out and we’re able to connect again.”

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.