Stocking up on things the Dc can do at home

[Ricekrispie22]

It suddenly occurred to me that, should the schools close, my DC would get thoroughly bored at home, so today I’m going to get a few baking kits, colouring books, board games, science kits, search and find books from the library etc... anyone else? Any other ideas?

@readyme can you recommend an app for French.

@JaneBond0007 fantastic idea having a theme day! I'm not sure how we'll it will go down but it's worth a shot!
Mine is 3 so short attention span but I have picked up some sticker books from home bargains, some cheap spring/easter ones and some more expensive Disney ones. She won't grow out of stickers anytime soon so they won't go to waste but gives us something to do. She is quite good at doing a page and then leaving it until later so that helps stretch it out. Plus we got some games for Christmas, she just had enough patience for snakes and ladders but not ludo yet! I have also picked up some puzzles and I already had some letters games in, she is not quite there yet but I picked them up cheap for her bd (June) anyway. We have been playing on the Teach Monster app recently so not too far off letter games.
Also like many of you I have plenty of jobs around the house and garden!

playhooray.co.uk/blogs/news/stuck-indoors-with-kids is an excellent blog with lots of play ideas for younger kids. Today's blog is about being stuck indoors (lockdown).

Twinkl has loads of printable resources for every key stage and subject and mapped to curriculum.

For my kids I've already got some tried and tested rainy day absorbing activities - like hama beads, play doh, Lego, loom bands and I've also bought them a sketch pad and some good felt tips. I have printed out some colouring too. They are a bit too old for a colouring book, but you can google insert their interest colouring pages ... for example "minecraft colouring pages" for some more mature colouring. Same for word searches "fortnite word searches" and print out a few to make a puzzle book tailored to their interests.

If they're at the end of a key stage, print out some past papers (freely available online) for a cheap resource to keep them prepped for a test.

On a roll now....

This was my most recent purchase. It's got lots of mini puzzles of different levels. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Games-IQ-Puzzler-Pro/dp/B01G3PYWCW/ref=mpssa113?keywords=iq+puzzler&qid=1583969581&sprefix=iq&sr=8-3

Pack of cards - even small kids can play snap, and older kids can learn solitaire to play by themselves or play some more complicated games as a family.

Jigsaws.

I like to get toys from charity shops. Kids like novelty. Then after a few weeks you can donate them right back.

Download how to make a tangram now, plus some shapes to make.

I’m going to buy a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle (not for the dc, but for me).

I’ve bought dobble as my friend recommended it. She plays it with her 6 year old.

We have banangrams which we like. Probably better for older primary and secondary ages though.

Orchard games are good for younger kids.

Find yhebookwhisperer on twitter. They've just done a great thread where authors are sharing links to resources that go alongside their books.

@fartyface duolingo is good for languages. Has lots of languages to choose from

I picked up some stuff to make an Easter bonnet, we have a mums Facebook group for his class so I’m hoping we can still share some photos etc to keep the link with his school friends.

Also plan on sorting out the garden and doing some planting with him. Also have some Lego and a massive jigsaw. He’s football mad too so lots of playing in the garden if the weather holds up.

My teen on the other hand is a different story...she’ll probably bunker down with her duvet and Netflix!

Lots of great ideas here guys, any ideas on preventing teens getting bored and ready for screens, tia

We don't have a garden and school is closed so I am going to go insane! I have to go in and pick up their workbooks next week.

I've emptied a plant pot on the balcony and I'm going to get the DC to plant it and study it 😂 Thought we could also measure the herbs every day to see how fast they grow and do a bit of statistics, both DC measure the height of 10 stalks etc.

And let them clean the windows on a sunny afternoon

I've made them an account on the laptop and signed them up to a typing website.

Twinkl is great not just for learning resources, but also cutting/folding/3d models etc. Some are quite complicated, DC13 has been struggling with a large shark for days.

We're listening to audiobooks from the library app together. Younger DC does colouring in at the same time to help sit still. Just half an hour at a time max, but it helps wind everyone down when it starts to get shrill.

Plenty of crafts, knitting, cross stitch, bead making (paper mache and straws are great for this). Board games, jigsaws. Touch typing and scratch on laptops. Youtube exercise classes. And all the usual computer games, lego, baking and avoiding schoolwork.

We’re in Ireland where schools have closed now. Mine are primary age, and will be getting school work sent from Wednesday. I’ve made it clear that we will be doing homeschooling and that they are responsible for setting their own hours, and working out a timetable. We had a trial run on Friday and it went well.
We have a science experiment book and mister maker art book that they can pick and choose from.
I’ve raided the library for books.
We can do yoga, dance, karate from you tube. There’s basketball, moonball, trampoline or an obstacle course for the back garden.
I’m making them keep a diary for posterity
I’m also encouraging them to engage with the curricular material they’re sent in ways that interest them (eg when ds is inspired to build a ship in Lego or Minecraft after reading about Christopher Columbus, I’m going to run with that)
I’m encouraging them to take on a project or challenge that interests them.

I keep a decent craft box, pens, pencils, colours, paint, glue, tape and lots of blank paper.

I’m also teaching them, sadly neglected, household skills like cooking, cleaning etc because they may need them in the near future.

I think it’s going to be important for morale to keep up a routine in the next while, insist on getting dressed in the morning, etc., and keeping a separation between weekdays and weekends.

With younger dc, I strongly recommend setting up an “invitation to play” which is basically just setting out an activity or task that they can find waiting for them. For some reason it sucks them right in, whereas if you are there suggesting it or setting it up with them, they’re not that interested.

Sensory activities (play dough,rice box, sand, water) are very calming and can give you a bit of a breather between activities that require more input from you.

If you’re not used to entertaining smaller children all day it helps to plan backwards from the clean up. Spread out a big sheet on the floor before rice play. Gather up towels and other laundry for soakage during water play. The bath is an excellent location for painting!

Pinterest, if you can avoid getting sucked into the perfectionism, is a great source of ideas if you search for homeschool, summer projects, etc

There’s some links and reviews to apps that may be useful.