High hopes, and high-fives; Candor student shares his cooking, insight, and inspiration

One student in Tioga County is filling his time at home during the pandemic with a bit of creativity. Eddie Evans, an eight year old student attending Candor Elementary School, is going viral himself with his YouTube videos on a variety of topics ranging from cooking to quarantine and everything in between.

Eddie’s Little Bites, as he likes to call his YouTube Channel, offers tips on a variety of things, and contains a tagline in each, “Remember to enjoy every little bite.” Eddie also begins and ends his videos with what he calls a “social distancing high-five”, offering viewers a continued message of staying safe during these times.

We were able to catch up with Eddie and his family last week to see how things were going during the pandemic, and to talk to him about his video creations.

Of special interest was a video, created by Eddie, entitled Quarantine, COVID-19, and General Q&A: Eddie’s Little Bites. This video offers insight into how an eight year old, home with his family now for about six weeks, is coping with the pandemic, and how he is occupying his time.

According to his father, Ed Evans, Eddie has been doing a lot of videos, but they decided to do one that would talk about the quarantine.

“The video contains questions that I came up with,” said Eddie’s dad, adding, “I also found some of the questions when I did an Internet search on what to ask kids during the pandemic.”

Eddie’s father also commented that he’s seen several articles on people dealing with the pandemic, but none that really focused on children; so they decided to do the quarantine video and give folks an inside look at how children are coping with all of this. 

The video, produced on April 8 and uploaded on April 10, contained general questions, such as “What is your favorite food,” What is your favorite game,” “What do you enjoy,” and basic questions about being at home with his parents, Ed and Susan Evans.

For Eddie, he stated that he misses his friends, but that they are all doing okay. He specifically mentioned his friend Miles, who he said he enjoys playing with and talking to. He did mention, however, that thanks to the Messenger App, he can connect with his friends.

Last week, Eddie was even able to Facetime with his teacher, Kate Handy.

“I got to see her, got to talk to her,” said Eddie.

Utilizing Chrome Book, Eddie has apps he is working through for his continued education at home, and he can work on subjects like math, and music.

But Eddie admitted, he is getting bored. 

“I don’t like it, it’s bad” Eddie said of the coronavirus pandemic, adding, “Just stay in your house.”

And although bored, and missing his friends, Eddie works hard to keep busy.

He has started metal detecting with his father, and he also has a new dog arriving in a week or two; a dog named Dug. Eddie has been readying to bring the dog home, and even built a tee-pee in the yard to play in with Dug.

All in all, Eddie admits, “We’re doing good.”

Cooking is also something that Eddie likes to do, and he has created several videos that are also part of Eddie’s Little Bites, his YouTube Channel. In one particular video, Eddie even stresses the importance of washing your hands – especially when cooking, maintaining an educational component during the pandemic.

And although the videos are all for fun, Eddie’s father told us that they have received a few emails regarding a Kid’s Baking Championship on the Food Network, and they are hoping to get a shot at this.

“He’s very hopeful,” said Eddie’s dad.

In the meantime, Eddie will continue creating his “Little Bites,” and is looking ahead with optimism that someday he will be able to spend some time with his friends again, especially Miles.

But in the meantime, a social distancing high-five, cooking videos, metal detecting, and the arrival of a new dog are keeping Eddie, as well as his family, busy during this pandemic. 

To view his videos, you can find Eddie’s Little Bites on YouTube. And as he recommends, “Enjoy every little bite” – a slogan he says does not just refer to food, it means to remember to enjoy everything you do.

To view his videos, visit www.youtube.com/eddieslittlebites.