Today I am taking over the resource round up.
As well as working at City, I am the mother of two girls aged 6 and 8.
Like many I have struggled my way through lockdown whilst trying to provide my children with some form of education. It has been difficult, oh so difficult, but what I realise now is the focus on (attempt at?) “home schooling” provided some form of structure and purpose to our days. Now we face six weeks of summer! A week in and I am struggling to keep the kids busy and my stress levels are rising. So I have scoured the web to find things to help, below I share some of what I plan to do with my young family over the next 6 weeks.
Top Pick 1 – Online: Virtual Summer Camps and Activities
Barracuda’s are running daily sessions online, with different themes, challenges and activities.
Maddie Moats YouTube channel is a firm favourite of ours, it is fantastic at keeping my kids entertained whilst learning and is full of good ideas for activities you can do at home.
Top Pick 2 – Low Tech: Treasure Hunts
If you need to get outside but want to do more than just run the children around the block or take them to the park, why not put together a treasure hunt. This is an all-time favourite of mine and the kids. You can find loads online and if you don’t have a printer just draw it out yourself. Or even ask the kids to design their own! It could include a feather, a big stick, a snail, a round stone, a flower, something interesting, something blue, words, letters, numbers or something they love – the ideas are endless. The kids enjoy ticking off each item as they find it and you can take a picture of each find.
Top Pick 3 – Books: Read Or Be Read To
As an alternative to TV (and my kids watch a lot of TV when I am working!) I have managed to find a number of ways for my children to access stories during lockdown, from audio books to podcasts there is so much free online.
- KidsRead2Kids Kids reading abridged classics
- Audible has a wide range of free audio books, poems and stories for children and young people, including Harry Potter,In Praise of Difficult Women and Say Her Name.
- The Book Trust has lots of story books and games for younger kids
- Common Sense Media has a list of 25 podcasts for kids
Also, why not see what your local library is doing. Mine has now opened for pre-reserved books, others are making content available online and being really creative about how they support young people reading during the summer!
