I now have no idea what week we are on in lockdown but I do know that during this time we have all been trying to find ways of coping with being around each other 24 hours a day and for me I have found structure is key and trying to give the children some kind of home learning has been a must.
I am no teacher and so with the help of work set by school and the wonders of the internet I have been trying to find ways to keep the children happy and engaged.
We have been lucky to have been blessed with this wonderful weather and have tried to utilise this as much as possible and taking our home learning outside.
I have compiled a few of our favourite activities below and hope you find something that’s a good fit for your family to try:
• Den Building – The boys love building dens, so this was a great excuse to get something set up in the garden where they could play and read independently.
• Skipping – Skipping is a great way to get them using their gross motor skills as well as burning off a lot of steam!
• Climbing Tree – This is great for them to challenge their dexterity and build their confidence.
• Digging In The Dirt – All kids love to dig around in the dirt and without knowing it they are getting a real sensory experience. From making mud pies to hiding and finding different objects this is a great exercise.
• Getting Out For A Walk – The government is still allowing us out for 39 mins exercise a day, and we can use this time to clear our heads, strike up conversations to check that your little ones are coming with this situation and make it into a game by spotting different things on the way.
• Planting – It’s the perfect time to plant seeds and flowers in the garden which can turn into a science lesson by talking about the lifestyle of plants and then drawing and labelling what you have planted.
• Still Life Painting – There are so many things that can be painted in the garden, just pick something that catches your eye and get painting.
• Rough And Tumble – This might not be for everyone, but my youngest two literally can’t keep their hands off each other; so for me allowing them to battle it out for a while works. It’s a way for them to relive stress, read social cues, make decisions on their own and of course have a good cardio workout!
• Nature Collage – Take some time to walk around the garden and pick up anything you find interesting to create a masterpiece with.
• Painting With Water – A big pot of water, some paint brushes and some space on the patio, a wall or a fence will allow children to create their own murals with no mess at all.
• Shadow Drawing – Grab some paper and some objects that will create good shadows…our favourites are dinosaurs; position them on the paper so that the sunlight casts a shadow on the paper and the draw around the shadow.
• Make A Bug Hotel – Find a space in the garden where you can put together as pike of bricks, logs, sticks, tiles and just about anything else mini beasts can create a home. The children can then go back and take a look at the insects and write up their finding.
• Scavenger Hunt – Write a list of all kinds of different objects you might find outside such as leaves, flowers, rocks and set the kids a challenge to find them all.
• Bug Hunt – Lift up rocks, dig around in the leaves and see what insects you can find and them write down and discuss your findings.
Tree And Leaf Rubbing – Grab some paper and crayons and find all kinds of different tree barks and leaves to rub over with the crayons and compare the different textures.
Giant Bubbles – If you have a tuff tray or something large enough to hold a hula hoop then make up a bubble mixture using washing up liquid and water. Place the hula hoop inside and make as many giant bubbles as you can.
Outdoor Gym – Nature gives us a huge array of items we can use to build our own outside gym which allows the children to left off steam and build gross motor skills. Stepping stones from logs, a rope placed between two objects to limbo under, a bench to do tricep dips from a just a few ideas. Let me know what else you would use!
It was a fraught start to the morning with number three running down the stairs shouting that she had to dress up for maths day just as we were leaving the house; we called on super Nanny who rustled up a number hat that we grabbed on the way in!
Once this was all sorted we could get on with our planned craft day with number four and five. I had seen some great paint brushes made from spaghetti a while ago and knew they would go down a treat. They are a very simple concept that gave lots of fun. Firsty grab a handful of spaghetti and tie around the top to secure the strands. Next cook the pasta according to the instructions, take out of the water and leave to cool down and dry. I then got some paper plates and put on three different colours and let number four loose to make his creation on a large piece of white paper.
I was going to let number five have a go but thought the temptation of the spaghetti would be to much to keep him from eating the paint; so I made some sensory tubs for him to play with safely. Theses are also very simple to make. Take a couple of handfuls of spaghetti and cook according to the instructions again, drain the pasta and split between two tubs. To each tub add a couple of drops of colouring of your choice plus a drizzle of oil to stop it from sticking together. Number five had great fun throwing this all over the place and I didn’t need to worry about him eating the paint!
