We’re in the midst of very uncertain times at the moment, with social distancing becoming the utmost of priorities – to the point where school closures are in place (although, not for everyone!).
We’re all in a state of limbo, not knowing how long this will last, or what to do in the meantime. If you’re a parent trying to keep your child busy, or a teacher trying to work out what to do with the time you have with a limited amount of children, why not try some of the following ideas?
- Children are used to a routine at school! Why not try and follow this as much as you can? Allow for a morning break time and lunchtime, and try use different slots to allow for children to learn different skills. It might be school work, exercise, chores or free play – children thrive off routine and it can help with a sense of normality.
- Twinkl are offering one month FREE access to their Ultimate Packages. Enter the code ‘PARENTSTWINKLHELPS’. Try searching ‘KS1 Maths’ or ‘KS2 Science’. Want to organise a whole topic? Try searching ‘Fire of London’, ‘Ancient Greece’ or ‘Olympic Games’! *TOP TIP* Search ‘School Closure Resources Pack’ for some great ideas.
- Allow children to go outside for breaks and lunch times. Exercise is important too!
- Want to plan a PE lesson? You could set up your own fitness circuit outside, with a different exercise on each station! Try one minute of jogging on the spot, star jumps, high knees, or hopping!
2. Social distancing doesn’t mean children can’t go outside. Why not ask children to design their own bug/hedgehog hotel? You could even ask them to search in the garden for Minibeasts! Children can be super inventive, so see what they come up with – whether it’s a drawing, or a shelter made from sticks!
3. Keep your kids active! – Joe Wicks (aka ‘The Body Coach’) has announced that each day (Monday-Friday) he will host a live workout on his Youtube channel called ‘PE with Joe’. Just visit his channel from 9am – it’s a workout specifically designed for kids!
4. Have any unfinished puzzles? It’s the perfect time to crack them out! Puzzles require lots of critical thinking and brain power!
5. Get creative! Try supervised Facetime play dates with friends, painting, colouring, or even gardening! You could try baking healthy treats for your children to have towards their daily snacks! Have you ever tried making homemade Fruit Winders? They’re much lower in sugar, and much tastier!
Remember, we’re all in this together and we can make sure we are doing everything to limit the spread of COVID-19. It can be extremely difficult for young children who don’t understand what is going on, so do your best to keep everything as normal as you can for them – but with extra hand-washing!
Have any of your own ideas? Comment below or tag us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram – we’d love to share them!
Really great and useful ideas. I’ll definitely try some of these!
Brilliant, Thank you ever so much for this! Just what I need to keep the little ones busy 🙂
Wow what amazing ideas! Thank you so much for sharing this is super helpful! Will make sure to give these a go. Thank you
What a great blog
I will be using some of these ideas with my three over the coming weeks
Lovely ideas! So important to keep the kids busy during the school closures. Keeping kids active is paramount. Thanks for sharing these ideas.
so helpful, can’t wait to show these to my kids!
Excellent ideas to create structure , consistency and interest at a difficult time for all – very useful !
Thank you, this will keep the little ones occupied tomorrow
Absolutely love the fruit winder recipe – will be making more of these!
Hey! thanks for the great tips. As a parent, i find this beneficial for me also. I am a boxing teacher and coach. since the clubs closed due to coronavirus i have found some great resources only which i definitely learn and apply for training my students.