With the Coronavirus pandemic meaning families are stuck inside, self-isolating with nowhere to go, here are some ideas for activities that primary-aged children (and hopefully parents too) will enjoy doing, and are a little educational to boot.
1. Get gardening
Get some seeds, pots and soil, and plant some veg!
I predict that growing your own is going to be big news this year with people wanting to be less reliant on visiting the supermarkets regularly for fresh food.
Now is a great time to get into the garden as spring is just around the corner and there are so many vegetables and flowers that you can plant.
If you don’t have a lot of garden space, we have one of these Veg Trugs and although they are quite expensive, I can recommend them greatly – they are good if you have pets (like mine) who like to get all up in your business.
Gardening teaches children patience and you can make it into a learning activity by looking at the science behind how plants grow.
2. Write letters to elderly relatives
Although most of the world is connected by the internet these days, the older generations are the least likely to have access to Facetime and social networking. They’re also the people who are most at risk and therefore are advised against leaving the house.
Currently, the regular postal service is still running, with Royal Mail workers voting in support of plans to become an additional emergency service while the Coronavirus outbreak keeps us all in our homes.
Ensure that you have plenty of stamps and envelopes (although if you run out, you can order more from somewhere like www.bestbuyenvelopes.uk) and get writing! Get your children to tell them them about their day, invent a story or draw a picture or two.
Not only will it mean that your kids will be kept amused (and writing is obviously a good skill to keep practising when off school), but you’ll brighten up someone’s day too!
3. Put on a show for grandparents
My two love dressing up and ‘acting’, however I must say, my excitement for these shows has waned somewhat over the years… but somehow their grandparents can always appear enthusiastic.
Set up the camera and get them to do an all-singing, all-dancing show over Facetime or Skype, meanwhile busy yourself somewhere else.
4. Read a story remotely
If they don’t like dancing and acting, then reading a book to their grandparents or friends over Facetime gets you off the hook for a little while. There are only so many times you can hear Biff and Chip, and it seems that grandparents have infinite patience.
My kids have been reading to their one year old cousin, which is just about the cutest thing ever AND I get a cup of tea in peace.
Or take it a step further and get them to read a story they’ve written themselves; my daughter (aged 6) is loving her Imagidice at the moment.
5. Go on a treasure hunt
You can and should get outdoors, even when socially distancing your family.
If you have a large garden then why not get some Walkie Talkies like the Kid Gear ones from Vtech, and guide the kids around to find something that you have previously hidden, giving clues as they go.
Easter is coming up so Easter Eggs are an obvious one.
For slightly older kids, a scavenger hunt or bingo card (these Go find it cards are fab!) works really well; collecting different leaves, or taking photographs of what they find if they happen to have a camera/old phone can be great fun. There are a billion examples on Pinterest to get you going.
6. The dreaded arts and crafts
If it’s warm weather, set up a table outside for painting, dress the kids up in old clothes and try not to watch too hard.
If it’s too cold or windy, which let’s face it, it will probably be for a while, then craft boxes are a great alternative. We’ve recently been sent a big box of kids’ crafts by Baker Ross and not only are they easy to do (requiring minimal parental input) but because they’re all self-contained in packs there isn’t too much mess involved.
Each pack has lasted the kids about half an hour or more so it’s a nice thing for them to do between learning or watching TV when stuck indoors and you need a little break. For 15% off a £25 spend, use the code STAWW5 on their website.
I love this, which my six year old came back from school with. If your child is bored, they twist the plate around to find something to do. Today, we are going to smiyol!
For something a little different, the Dig Kits and Crystal Growing Kits we reviewed here are also educational but fun and not too expensive. Things like Aquabeads can be a bit bit messier but keep them entertained for longer and are good for concentration and dexterity (top tip; just save your sanity and hoover them all up at the end) and craft kits like these mosaic jewellery boxes (reviewed here) are nice to keep and take ages to do!
7. Home baking
I have a really simple recipe for cheesy biscuits here which we make fairly often, and there is a whole world of kid-friendly recipes out there.
How to follow any recipe is a life skill that you can teach your children, and I’m willing to bet that will be much more useful to them in the future than a lot of the things they’ll eventually learn in school…
Or a packet mix. Whatever you have in the cupboards, tbh.
8. Youtube workouts
Soft play may be shut and outdoors largely off limits, but kids still need to burn off energy. PE with Joe is great, but might be a little energetic for small kids.
Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube is often recommended (and isn’t annoyingly American so your kids won’t start speaking with peculiar accents after watching).
My kids are currently obsessed by Andy and the Band, and they have done Andy’s Wild Workouts (find them free on iPlayer) at school so these are fun and familiar to them. I have no idea where he finds the energy to be honest.
9. School learning
You can download and print all manner of useful classroom resources so that you can continue your child’s learning at home.
Here is a huge list of free online resources for all ages!
