Ideas for keeping primary school-age children entertained at home

[soniamumsnet]

If you have primary-aged kids at home demanding lots of your time, look no further.

We've shared some of our best ideas here, along with a few of yours - from craft activities, made-up family games, useful online resources to baking ideas (and how to make it even easier with cake mixes).

So go grab the glitter and the laptop (but not together). You got this.

1. Get baking

Why not make some wonderful creations in the kitchen together? And, what's more, you can teach them basic food science while you do it.

Buy Betty Crocker products here

2. Make live art

Take inspiration from The National Gallery itself and help bring art to life - by recreating famous artworks using household items.

See creative live art examples here

3. Garden bug safari

Collect bugs in pots, identify them indoors, observe their bug-like behaviours and then release them back into the wild.

4. Make pet rocks

Collect pebbles from the garden (if you have one) and then go mad with the glue, glitter and felt tips. Googly eyes not necessary but to be encouraged.

Buy googly eyes here

5. Try a balloon game

Got any balloons left over from party bags? Then you have a noisy but busy hour ahead of you. There are plenty of balloon game ideas online.

See balloon game ideas

6. Make theme park

"Spend a few days making your own 'theme park' in the garden using materials available in your home." - Antiopa12

7. Make a beach

Can’t get to the beach? Try to recreate the experience at home with the paddling pool, beach mats, ice creams.

Buy a paddling pool here

Related: The best garden games for kids

8. Host a dog show

"We had a lot of fun creating an agility course for the very bemused dog, Olympics-style. You can have a family competition with different events and an opening ceremony and awards.” - Antiopa12

9. Watch storytime online

Watch Stay at Home Storytime with children’s author and all-round kids’ book genius Oliver Jeffers, who wrote Stuck!, The Day The Crayons Quit, The Incredible Book Eating Boy and many more.

10. Virtual musical statues

For any primary-age kids sad to be missing out on birthday parties over the coming months, Nutty’s Children’s Parties (based in London) is taking the party to Facebook with Boredom Busting videos every day. Let the virtual musical statues commence!

11. Superhero activities

Try out the Superhero activities online at Super Hero Parties. Spidey is even doing personalised videos and video chats for isolation special occasions.

12. Do some yoga

Bring some zen to their day Dahl-style with this Cosmic Kids Yoga take on . Help them paint the ceiling with their feet from a downward dog position and jump like the monkeys who finally fix The Twits. Worm spaghetti at the ready.

13. Make secret codes

Bring out the Alan Turing in them and try Lego Secret Codes at Frugal Fun for Boys (we think it looks like frugal fun for girls, too, but we’re not splitting hairs now). Create a code using different Lego bricks for each letter of the alphabet and then write secret messages to each other.

14. Draw pigeons

Fans of Mo Willems (his Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus’ is a Mumsnet favourite) will love Lunch Doodles on YouTube. Join in as Mo teaches you how to draw his signature pidgies and more.

15. Customise a t-shirt

Got fabric pens? Missing being able to buy them cool T-shirts for summer? Then you got 99 problems but a lack of new T-shirts ain’t one. Pick out some plain-ish garments (tote bags and T-shirts work well) and let them upcycle them with fabric pens. Don’t worry - no one’s going to see them, remember? You can sneak them out in bin liners once this is all over. They’ll be too distracted by soft play and McDonald’s being open again to notice.

Buy fabric pens here

16. Make a map

Pretend ones, dragony ones, ones of the moon, ones of places you’ve been on holiday, one of your local area with all their friends’ houses marked on, one of the inside of your house. Kids love maps. We love maps, too. Try it.

17. Have a dance party and learn some maths

Get them bopping along to some seriously ear-wormy tunes (sorry) on Supermovers. The good news is they’ll be learning their times tables, grammar rules and much more at the same time. The bad news? You’ll be humming ‘Capital Letters and Full Stops’ by The Hip Hop Granny until isolation is over.

18. Go stargazing

You don’t even need a garden (though hot chocolate and hats and gloves do make it more fun). Dig out your telescope and download SkyMap or another constellations app on your phone to help you tell your Orions from your Ophichuses. Or visit the CBeebies Stargazing page.

View telescopes here

19. Host a debate

Teach them the art of debating with battles such as Monkeys vs Sharks and Chocolate vs Chips on the podcast Smash Boom Best.

20. Go on a virtual art tour

The Musee D’Orsay, as well as lots of other galleries, has a virtual tour with plenty of Van Goghs and Monets for kids this age to spot.


21. Try some engineering activities
The Leaders Awards are there to encourage a love of engineering in the young. They’re going to have lots of online activities and competitions running over the coming months.

22. Do Harry Potter-themed yoga

Cosmic Yoga for Kids has a special for Hogwarts fans. Lumos!

23. Write some fan fiction

“Make up some fan fiction eg when captain underpants visited our school.” - EllieQuinn

24. Start a nerf gun war

In the garden, ideally.

25. See a West End Show

You can now watch a streamed version of the 2017 West End production of The Wind in the Willows, starring Rufus Hound, for £4.99. POOP POOP to that, we say!

26. Learn some art history

Do they know their Monet from their Manet? More importantly, do they like to get drippy, splashy, smudgy and swirly while enjoying a bit of art history? Sign them up here.

27. Listen to the radio

Gather round the Wireless and tune into the BBC’s School Radio for music, drama and more.


28. Try some mindfulness exercises

Music and mindfulness for slightly older kids at Go Noodle.

29. Brush up their classical music education with David Walliams

The Marvellous Musical Podcast, courtesy of Classic FM is excellent. Very interesting and very silly.

30. Host the trampoline championships

Just don’t break any wrists.

What are your suggestions for keeping primary school kids entertained? Let us know by posting on the thread.

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[WICKEDSTEP]

1. Make an obstacle course in the house or garden - cut holes in boxes for them to wiggle through, blankets to wiggle under, low string to jump over, pick bobbing apples out of a big bowl of water or simple origami paper boats using their teeth (you can put numbers or symbols on the boats to make it more difficult and they have to choose what they're going for. or as a treat eat a doughnut off a hanging string without using their hands (messy but hilarious!). I know a couple of these are around Autumn but who cares?!
   

1. Found this site that does eco friendly video programmes on Facebook on Tuesday Mornings at 9.30am @Maintenant.Sustaining.Now
   

They also sell great card games - 9 games in one pack- called Diversity Deck - our favourites are Bacteria My Friends, Endangered Animals and Biosphere - for older kids too: maintentant.org.com/games
This has helped with home schooling too.

if you register (free) you get lots of additional activities, fun sheets etc -
maintenant.org.uk/resources/activities

1. Make up songs and record them on your phone. One for each member of the family.
   

1. grow seeds on the window sill - ideally something they can eat! Even if it's just cress
   

1. buy some chalk and teach them hopscotch outside
   

1. Make biscuits or cheese straws
   

Hope these help they are all tried and tested

[EllaJB]

Sheffield Cognitive Development Lab have put together a spreadsheet of links to great ideas for keeping children entertained in lockdown bitly.com/activityinspo

[AnilShoo]

Thank you very much for sharing ideas for this lockdown

[Sachin5239]

Hope this will be helpful.

[souravdigital]

It's really fun for children to use and I just love it!!

[sally4m]

WordUnited's Free Resources Hub has 10s of free videos with many ideas for home learning and playing. You can also download 100s of printables from //www.wordunited.com/resources. No subscription is required and the resources are ideal for children in early years and primary school age.

[8yearoldmum]

My daughter loved learning The Animals Dance from this website //www.mydanceocourse.com. They have some great ideas for dancing at home, our school recommended them.

[8yearoldmum]

My daughter loved learning The Animals Dance from this website //www.mydancecourse.com. They have some great ideas for dancing at home, our school recommended them.

[donna4692]

We've taken part in the Knowledge Recycled kids chocolate class and it was wonderful - kept them happy for a morning at least!. www.knowledgerecycled.com/product/little-hands-in-the-chocolate-bar

[Lilyloe]

When you have a threadworm infection, do you have to clean the car seats, too? My DD already had itchy bottom when we all used the car last, and we discoverd the worms the same night. But the children and I haven't sat in the car since we were treated, about 3 weeks ago. My husband uses it almost every day, but I wash his clothes daily. The eggs can live for up 2 weeks, some say 3 weeks. But what if they hatched on the car seats? Or they can't hatch if they aren't on/in a human?