Welp, I don’t think this is the start to 2021 anyone wanted is it? I know we had high hopes that if we all all crept in quietly after the clock struck 12 we might just be able to fix the disaster that was 2020… but no.
So here I am sharing this again – 57 ideas for homeschooling and entertaining your child, including a tonne of free resources for you to use to hopefully allow them to work independently.
Good luck!
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The mere thought of having to isolate me and my offspring for 14 days (minimum) is a daunting one. I’m one of those oddballs that actually looks forward to the summer holidays with my kids (for the first week or so) but that is because I plan plan plan. We can go do this, and this and even that, but when you’re on self isolation and you’re having to lock down your lives, stay in your house unless absolutely crucial you go out… well that is a whole new ball game.
I am not a home educator – I’m not convinced I have the patience or the basic ability to sit with three children, all at different ages and levels. Before I go any further with this post, can we just take a moment to raise a coffee to all the teachers and teaching assistants out there who are currently working and teaching our kids every day, whilst simultaneously prepping home ed kits for us to help during the lockdown that we will be facing soon. I honestly can’t thank them enough and whilst we’re all keenly aware of how amazing our NHS and medical staff are, the mum in me wants to make sure those teachers get the praise they are so deserving of.
I thought about this whole self isolation milarky, and after discussion, we decided that we would try to run something of a “school day” around our house when it comes to it. My children are 5, 7 and 9 so they are at such incredibly different stages in their education.
Our rough plan was to get up, have breakfast, get dressed and be sat at the table in the kitchen for 9am to do some work, followed by intermittent breaks and lunch. We will try to mix up the work between worksheets that the schools send home, and things that we find online that will help. There are some wonderful home education resources on these sites, not all are free but most have free sections:
There are so many other places to find ideas for homeschooling – Pinterest is a goldmine and can lead you to a bajillion really great homeschooling blogs that will have so many ideas for entertaining and innovative homeschooling ideas for children.
On to the more fun side of things, once we’re in the “break” part of our day, or on weekends, even when we’re just not feeling the home education and need to stop and reassess, I’ve jotted down a few ideas of how to entertain your kids during self isolation.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that if you are a natural worrier when you don’t have plans like I am, this might help you feel more chill.
- Movies & snuggles – Never ever underestimate the power of a good kid’s movie and a blanket day. Will they sit through it all? Maybe not, but they will for the first part and a few snacks can always make things far more fun. Now is always a good time to think about adding the Sky movies package to your sky subscription if it’s a possibility – I know loads of people who do this just for Christmas, so it might be worth it for now.
- Colouring sheets – if you have a printer then you can find an image of their favourite character, print it off and colour!
- Create a Newspaper – this combines writing, drawing and critical thinking in a really fun way. It could be on anything!
- Create a play
- Play shop keeper – you don’t have to *have* a shop, you can make one with drawings and go from there.
- Play vets – set up a vet clinic using soft toys.
- Learn to bake bread – Tesco will still be delivering and you will still be able to pop out for yeast and flour.
- Try out different cookies – you could make chocolate chip, peanut butter, vanilla… loads of different options, just split up the initial cookie dough and ask them what they want to put in it.
- Dress up fancy, have a kitchen party – we’re talking music on, maybe even a disco light if you have one, you might as well go crazy.
- Play in the bath – you can spend ages in the tub, I swear! If you want to make it a bit more exciting, order some glow sticks, pop up a black out blind and chuck them in the tub. Simple but fun.
- Film a movie together – same as a play but they get to be their fave youtubers.
- Build a box fort – any boxes, big or small!
- Have a living room camping party – got a tent? Set it up in the living room – all the fun!
- Obstacle courses – you can use anything.
- Get pets involved! – we used to build our guinea pig an obstacle course with cardboard boxes and bits of fruit for her to follow. She loved the play and gentle attention from Toby. Yoda also really loved all the attention and treats whilst being taught to do paw.
- Set up a hairdressers
- Set up a beauticians – do make up, paint nails.
- Write letters – to grandparents, to extended family, to friends. Go old school, lets just not lick the envelope!
- Do a science experiment – there are a million and one on pinterest, give one a go!
- Create a debate – got more than one child? How about they pick a topic between them to debate, one can be for and one against.
- Get crafty– again, pinterest is your friend. Loads of ideas for things you will already have in the home. If you have the budget, it might be an idea to order some crafting sets.
- Create a spider web obstacle – you know the lasers that spies have to crawl and climb through? Well, create one of those with either string, wool or tape.
- Sofa cushion hopping – chuck the cushions on the floor and hop from spot to spot to avoid the “lava” or “sea”
- Hunt – lego hunts, easter egg hunts, tell them how many things you’ve hidden in one room (or the whole house) and let them seek it out!
- Quests – for older kids you can build on the hunt, like an escape room without the escaping, they have to solve the quest. If you have a pen and paper you can write clues, you can tell them they have to find all the letters to spell a word or anything really – have a think and get creative.
- Bring the outside in – slides in the garden? Bring them in and make them an indoor toy, just be mindful of location.
- Board games – we all have one somewhere, yes, you might not cope terribly well in a monopoly stand off, but go for it anyway.
So there you have it!
H 🙂 x
Great resources and ideas, I get so overwhelmed with it all. My 6 year old is currently watching Blaze, I think it’s educational….
This is fantastic (and realistic!) list – thank you for sharing.
Great post by why is the picture at the top photoshopped
Some great ideas I will be saving just in case the inevitable happens 😫. Thank you