There’s little doubt about it that things are going to see some huge changes, and we are all going to be spending more time at home than we might otherwise have done. It all feels quite unsettling at the moment, for lots of different reasons.
I wrote a piece yesterday about some of the changes I am hoping to make now we are home educating in isolation – it’s so alien to us as we spend a lot of time with friends at groups and hosting events, and I do feel like we are going to be a bit lost in the coming weeks. I’ve suddenly got a lot more time to fill with the children so here are just some suggestions for things to do over the coming week and months.
YouTube is your friend
YouTube has so much educational content on there, it’s going to be fantastic for you in the coming months. Channels such as ArtVenture offer fantastic tutorials for children to follow (and allow you to spend a bit of time doing something else). We have used this channel in the past and I have plans to use more regularly over the coming weeks.
I’ve also heard great things about Art for Kids Hub and Karen Palmer Art but there are other channels too that offer similar tutorials and you’re bound to find something to suit your child’s learning style and interest.
YouTube also has some great channels for nurturing the ‘active’ side of life. Cosmic Kids Yoga is fantastic and you could, of course, spend some time trying to learn the classic dances of the 80’s and 90’s (the Locomotion anyone?).
You’ll also find videos to support pretty much any topic you’re learning about. You can take tours around cities, famous buildings and monuments, museums and watch fantastic videos about all manner of things.
Get Crafty
One of the things we seem to never make enough time for is time for the children to get crafty. Spend time making! Save recycling materials and do some junk modelling. Always a fun activity and you’ll be amazed at what the children create. Save loo roll tubes to create a marble run with or have a challenge to see who can build the tallest or strongest structure.
Always wanted to learn how to sew? Then take time to learn now. Grab some old items and create something new. Sew an outfit for a favourite toy or have a go at making a small cushion. Perhaps have a go at making a fabric bookmark as we did recently. Try to make a springtime wreath for your front door, or try your hand at needlework or knitting. There’s plenty of great websites that sell kits for this and are (as of the time of writing) still working to despatch items.
If it’s a nice day then throw open the doors to the garden and get outside into the sun and take the colouring books and pens. All three of my children enjoy colouring and it’s a great way to slow down and calm down. We often take a larger book out and I’ll colour one side of the page and the children the other. We plan out the rest of our day doing this and it’s a nice way to bring some calm to the day.
Indoor Fun
There’s a lot of fun to be had indoors – create a new board game to play together or learn a new card game! Dig out the jigsaws and create your own from posters or drawings. We have been really enjoying this jigsaw at the moment and we are planning to learn more about the women featured soon.
You could create an obstacle course for a remote control car or make a fan and create a route using masking tape to guide a balled-up piece of paper through.
Read a book and create a puppet show based on it or how about writing the next book in the series? Draw a comic or even have a go at some stop motion with some plasticine characters or existing toys?
Dig the Lego and Duplo out and have a go at recreating famous monuments. We have built pyramids and cars, different types of trains and have made lego zip wires and cable cars. Hours of fun to be had and lots of learning too.
Learn a new skill
Take the time to learn a new skill. Have you got a craft kit you’ve never quite got around to doing? Now’s the time! Always wanted to build a website – do it now! to learn sign language then do! There’s plenty of resources and communities online that will help you to learn these new things.
Teach children about the world around them – look outside to see the changing seasons and the appearance of new birds and other creatures to our gardens.
And Finally….
It’s enormously unsettling at the moment, and the reality is some of us will be unwell. Either through general seasonal illness or with the current pandemic. Utilise the technology we have. Don’t worry about a Netflix afternoon. Make it a fun movie marathon! If you can afford to, treat yourself to something to ease the burden over the coming weeks. We have invested in a new tablet as we know we will be spending significantly less on the children’s activities so this will help in a different way.
Make time to chat with friends and loved ones either on the phone or via Skype. This is something we will be doing. Take time to reflect and exercise 
– both are important for maintaining balance.
