SOME parents were beginning to plan for the upcoming Easter holidays - but with the school closures in place, plans have been brought forward or cancelled. With coronavirus, social distancing and the lockdown at the forefront of people’s minds, it can lead to bored children who are cooped up inside. Here are some things that you can do with your children to keep them amused.

Schoolwork

Okay, so this may not be the most fun for children, but technically they are still in school time. Most schools have provided packs for pupils to keep them going through the closed period and have provided a wide range of resources for children of all age groups.

It is important that children continue their education, and it keeps some normality during these unprecedented times.

Outside of their schoolwork, it is important that children still enjoy their free time as best as they can.

Melissa Anderson of Valleys Gymnastics Academy suggested Lego, jigsaws, board games and letting the children relax. She also suggests the PE sessions on YouTube with The Body Coach and doing music and movement along with strength and skill work through the Valleys Gymnastics group’s videos.

Into Film

Into Film have opened up some of their resources for free. There are activities for both primary and secondary school age children that revolve around the film industry – including review-writing guides, filmmaking skills and storyboarding – to enhance the children’s creativity. There are also prizes if the projects are submitted to the Into Film website.

You can find quizzes and games too.

Find out more here: https://www.intofilm.org/news-and-views/articles/activities-for-young-people-to-do-at-home

Play Wales

Play Wales have created a chart of indoor play ideas that will be fun for the whole family. They include things like acting out scenes, blindfolded pillow fights, making paper airplanes, egg and spoon races and many more. Follow the link below for the full list:

https://twitter.com/PlayWales/status/1242099019515641857

Techniquest

Techniquest are giving away some of their science experiments for free for children (and adults of course) to enjoy at home. They will be providing daily ‘How To’s’ throughout their social media channels where they explain some of their experiments and show you how to do them, encouraging you to take part at home.

You can tune in every day from 12pm on the below links:

Facebook: @TQCardiff

Twitter: @Techniquest

Instagram: @TQCardiff

YouTube: www.youtube.com/techniquest

Website: www.techniquest.org

RSPCA

The RSPCA have a wide range of resources for parents to download which can help teach children about various wild, working and farm animals and compassion. There are plenty of quizzes and interactive games available. All the resources are educational so can fit in with the schoolwork but are also fun and engaging.

There are lesson plans for early years, primary and secondary ages so there is something for all children.

For more information, and to access the resources, visit: https://education.rspca.org.uk/home-resources

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The Body Coach sessions

Joe Wicks is doing daily PE sessions Monday through to Friday on his YouTube channel for children and adults too. More than 800,000 tuned in for the first one on Monday morning. It’s a good way to get the daily exercise in, especially when it comes to the lockdown situation.

Alongside the PE sessions, he also has more than 250 other free workouts online for varying age groups. Visit https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1

Isolation sports challenges

Various schools and groups are getting their pupils to do various sporting challenges while at home. So why not make some up yourself? It will help the children burn off some energy and they can have fun.

Some examples include the toilet roll challenge – where you do keep-ups with a roll of toilet paper, online dance sessions, jump rope challenges.

Puzzles and board games

Jigsaw puzzles engage the brain and can be hours of fun for a child. Board games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Mouse Trap, Operation and more can also take up hours of your time and be fun for all the family.

Crafts

There are lots of craft options including creating your own animals by drawing around your hand.

You can also go a step further by making paper plate animals, masks and other crafty things. You could even get your children to create their own characters and make stories.

Gardening

This may not be one for the youngest of children, but you can get them involved when you’re out in the garden. As spring is starting, it’s the best time for people to be planting various flowers, fruits and vegetables in the garden and you can get the children involved in this too – filling pots with compost, planting seeds and for the older ones, some digging. It can help them appreciate where their food comes from and nature, as well as giving them time outside.

These are just some of the activities you can do. Let us know what you’re getting up to with your children by emailing Elizabeth.birt@newsquest.co.uk