15 fun activities for kids to do at home

The U.K. and much of Europe has been thrown into a situation we’ve never found ourselves in before. Schools are out, the country is on lockdown and things have changed for the foreseeable. We’re now having to educate kids in a whole new way and working in a school myself believe me when I say this is a learning curve for everyone. Many parents have now found themselves playing the role of a teacher and I know it’s hard but I’ve created a list of 15 activities to help you out while you’re homeschooling.

First off I just want to say that in this time no one expects you to provide your children with the same kind of education that they would get at school. This is a whole new situation for us all and we’re all just trying our best. I’ve tried to include a lot of fun things on this list as your children will have received lots of work from their teachers so this list is just a little something extra for when the kids are bored or need a break.

Here a few ideas of ways kids can keep active during this time. All these are great for parents to join in with as well. As things stand family units can still go out for one daily walk too so I recommend making use of that but please pick quiet areas and practice social distancing whilst out.

Cosmic Kids Yoga – this is a great YouTube channel that teaches children about mindfulness and relaxation through interactive adventures. This is a great activity for adding a bit of calm to your day and for kids who are worried about the current situation this may help ease their anxieties a little bit. Cosmic Kids Yoga uses stories to guide children through a yoga session but there are also lots of good topics on there that incorporate yoga into life lessons such as how to stay strong and how to deal with nightmares.

Joe Wicks PE – I’m sure you’ll have all heard of this by now but Joe Wicks aka The Body Coach has started daily live PE sessions at 9am. Joe is famous for his fantastic Youtube channel that’s packed with home workouts and now he’s started a daily PE lesson for kids until all this is over. It’s great to really get kids moving and I know lots of parents have started joining in too. Each session is half an hour long and you don’t have to join in at 9am if you can’t make it as all the sessions are available on his channel for you to access at any time.

GoNoodle – another YouTube channel that encourages children to get moving but to just be themselves. GoNoodle really allows kids to let go and just be silly. They’re still being active and moving but in a much less regimented way. This is a great activity choice for blowing off some steam as kids won’t feel like they’re in a lesson but will still be moving!

Dough Gym – dough gym is an intervention often used in Early Years. It’s used to improve fine motor skills and dexterity. This is a particularly great activity to do with SEN kids too. Although usually used in an Early Years setting within school, dough gym can be used with any child regardless of their age as long as they love Playdough. Basically you take a ball of dough and create moves to music. Focus on anything that gets the hands and fingers moving such as rolling, squeezing and pinching but also try and bring in a few moves for the wrists and arms too. There’s loads of videos on YouTube so I suggest watching those to get a feel for it then after let your kids pick their own songs. Upbeat songs work best so you can really work on those fine motor skills. 

Twinkl – many schools use Twinkl due to it having thousands of resources on pretty much every topic you could ever think of. From worksheets to puzzles and colouring pages Twinkl has so much stuff and now it’s been made free while schools remain closed. To gain access to Twinkl you’ll need to sign up but use the code UKTWINKLHELPS to access everything for free.

Amazon Audible – Audible is now offering free streams on select children’s books. This is an ongoing offer while ever schools remain closed.

Book Trust – booktrust.org.uk has Cressida Cowell reading a chapter a day from How to Train Your Dragon. There are also a number of fun activities on there based around the book too.

Western Approaches HQ – head to the Western Approaches Facebook page to gain access to their free history lessons. You’ll also find links to their YouTube videos on there as well if you miss the live lesson. This is actually the Liverpool War Museum so their lessons are super informative and they’ve created worksheets to accompany each lesson. The lessons will be live at 1pm every Wednesday but as I’ve said you can catch up on YouTube too.

Scratch coding – with Scratch kids can programme their own interactive stories, games and animations. It teaches creativity and reasoning. Scratch is available online and as an app all for free. 

Animal live cams – a number of zoos and sanctuaries have started creating more content around their animals but for a U.K. based one you’ll need to head over to Edinburgh Zoo. They have a number of live cams for different animals. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago are also uploaded lots of stuff across social media.

Bug hunting – we’re getting to the time of year where there are lots of insects out and about. If you’ve got a garden then you can bug hunt there. If you don’t have a garden then you can incorporate bug hunting into a daily walk. This activity is great for curious kids and teaches them to be kind and respectful to animals and their environments.

Messy time – Messy time is perfect for kids who don’t mind getting stuck in and getting messy. It’s also a fantastic sensory activity for SEN kids. Messy time is probably something you’ll want to do outdoors and in old clothes though! It’s best done in a large container so you’ll need something like an old sandpit, an inflatable paddling pool or a bucket. You’re looking for something shallow and wide though. Then you need the materials for getting messy, this can be anything from shaving foam mixed with glitter, water and bubbles, slime and even ice. Ice is a particularly good sensory option for SEN kids, make sure to make it fun though. Infuse the ice with things like food colouring, squash and even sweets so the kids can eat it as well! Fill your container with your messy time solution of choice and let kids dive in. It’s all about letting them explore and know it’s OK to get messy so let them play in it, stand in it and wipe it all over themselves if they want!

Den building – this can be done indoors or outdoors. Just grab some blankets, pillows, cushion and even some fairy lights and get creative. Your child could build a castle, a pirate ship, a cave, whatever their imaginations come up with!

Baking and cooking – take this opportunity to teach your kids some life skills too. They’ll be having so much fun they won’t even realise they’re learning. This activity teaches kids all about hygiene, basic maths and of course the essential skill of been able to cook or bake something. Good starter recipes are biscuits, pizzas, butterfly buns, cookies and wraps.

Chalk drawing – if you have your own outdoor space chalk drawing is a great way for kids to put their stamp on it and you don’t have to worry about anything because it will all wash away when it rains. There are some amazing chalk drawing ideas on Pinterest from patterns to full scenes you and your child can draw out and then your child can lay in while you get a picture from above. They look amazing!

I hope this list helped some of you out. If you have any fun stay at home activities add them in the comments!