Still dressed in their pyjamas, Dian Turner's kids couldn't wait to get outside.
But they didn't go far — they stopped at the footpath outside their Melbourne home, armed with a bucket of chalk.
Max, seven, and Lenny, four, have been away from their friends since coronavirus physical-distancing restrictions came into force and the Victorian school holidays were brought forward a week.
They're just two of the many children who have been spending their shutdown time drawing rainbows and encouraging messages like "we're all in this together" across Australian suburbs.
"It was something for the kids to make them feel connected to other people, because obviously they're feeling a little bit uncertain about staying at home and what this means, and not being able to go to the playground and the park," Ms Turner said.
Ms Turner first saw the idea when she was added to a Facebook group called the Rainbow Trail, which documents children and their parents drawing rainbows for others to spot.
Ms Turner, a lawyer who has been spending much of her time working from home amid the shutdown measures, said it was "something positive to be able to talk about" with the family.
How writing messages of hope can help children
In order to slow the spread of COVID-19, many states and territories have urged parents to keep their children home from school where possible.
University of Melbourne public health researcher Lisa Gibbs said it was important to provide children with age-appropriate ways to make them feel active and capable during the pandemic.
"It's easy in times of danger, which essentially this is, to be so concerned with protecting the child which obviously is of utmost importance," Professor Gibbs said.
"But in protecting the child we can sometimes treat them as passive and vulnerable, which doesn't make them feel safe.
"So these sorts of activities are really helpful in providing a sense of agency in children, that they can cope with what's happening and they're making a contribution to others as well."
Professor Gibbs said in times of disaster, two patterns were very common — community mobilisation, where people banded together, and community deterioration, where social supports fell apart.
"So what these initiatives from children are doing is really contributing to social mobilisation," she said.
Why adults are joining in, too
But it's not just children picking up the chalk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Artist Suse Scholem has been curating different quotes for the streets around her Melbourne suburb.
"It's cathartic, joyful and empowering for me, and beautiful to feel a sense of the connection and hope that it might bring others," she said.
Centrelink staff in Melbourne and teachers at Tasmania's Lauderdale Primary School have also arrived to work to chalky messages of thanks.
Sharon Bailey, from Kalbeeba near South Australia's Barossa Valley, has been trying to solve the mystery of who has been leaving chalk trivia questions along the route of her morning walk.
They first popped up a fortnight ago, with questions ranging from how many horses there were in an adjacent paddock, what to do with your dog poo (the answer: an arrow pointing to the bin), and who won the 2000 grand final.
"It's just really good, and all positive, and cheers everybody's walk up," Ms Bailey said.
She said the only clue as to who wrote the messages are two initials — E and D.
"I'd like to thank whoever they are … it's a real positive thing," she said.
How chalk is binding together communities across Australia
Research shows if people feel part of their communities, that can be protective of their mental health outcomes during times of disaster.
"So they're not small measures, they're actually really important," Professor Gibbs said.
"Anything like that can make a contribution, not only for the person who is doing it, but also for the person who encounters it."
Healthy cooking teacher Kristen Pavez said it had been empowering for her two boys to add rainbow pictures and a message to "be kind" to their Perth street.
Schools are closed to most children in Western Australia, so with much more time at home on the horizon, Ms Pavez said "there'll be a lot more driveway art".
Just south of Cairns, relief teacher Maria Holt and her three-year-old Leonardo used homemade chalk to brighten up their street.
Ms Holt has been out of work as a casual relief teacher and her son stopped going to daycare more than a week ago.
"It's a weird season in our collective experience and a tough time for many," Ms Holt said.
She said while she hadn't had any comments from her neighbours yet, "I did see the postie slow down to have a good look".