With the country back in lockdown and schools closed, we know that many parents will be juggling responsibilities.
We are here to help.
Keeping the kids entertained all day is not always easy - but it is exactly what we do in our child-friendly spaces around the world. Below you can find lots of activities to enjoy with your little ones. We’ve got dens to build, pom poms to make and stories to watch, as well as educational resources to help fill the days at home and keep children active, creative and happy.
Things for children to do and lessons at home
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2020/04/free-or-cheap-ways-to-entertain-kids-indoors/ - 21 free (or very cheap) ways to sprinkle joy for kids
BBC Bitesize - A vast range of resources to support parents and teachers with online lessons, planning and links to Bitesize across the entire BBC network.
BBC Tiny Happy People - Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child's communication skills. Explore simple activities and play ideas and find out about their amazing early development.
Book Trust Home Time - Looking for something fun as a family? Free online books and videos, games, win prizes, test your knowledge in book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
British Trust for Ornithology – Big Garden Birdwatch - Take part in real citizen science and enjoy your garden birds at the same time.
CBeebies - Games for kids and early years activities
Craft Council - Crafts for Home Schooling
DK Stay at Home Hub - Great activities for children of all ages and adults, brought to you by Dorling Kindersley.
Draw with Rob - new #DrawWithRob videos for adults and kids every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am, from illustrator Rob Biddulph.
Fun Palaces – Tiny Revolutions - Great ideas for children to connect with their community during lockdown.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust - Explore the wildlife of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Hampshire and Isle of Wight has some of the most spectacular and internationally recognised habitats and wildllife in the country. We have beautiful and rare creatures like the Duke of Burgundy butterfly, internationally important populations of Brent Geese and endangered species such as the Red Squirrel.
We also have extremely important habitats such as the internationally renowned lowland heath of the New Forest, vital seagrass beds in Portsmouth and chalk rivers such as the Itchen that support an abundance of wildlife including otters, water crowfoot and crayfish.
Hungry Little Minds - Simple, fun activities for kids up to to five.
Kids in Museums - Links to museums, activities, virtual tours and online learning resources. Everything from The Mary Rose to The Roald Dahl Museum.
National Geographic Kids - Huge range of free videos, quizzes and interactive stuff for kids around history, geography, science and animals.
National Literacy Trust – Family Zone - Ideas and guidance for simple activities that will engage your children at home, while also benefiting their reading, writing and language development. Free resources.
National Shelf Service - Daily book recommendations on You Tube from librarians across the Country. You can also search #NationalShelfService on social media
Oak National Academy - an online classroom and resource hub created by teachers, for teachers.
Oxford Owl - Resources to help primary school children learn from home, brought to you by Oxford University Press.
Penguin - Articles, games and activities from Penguin Random House UK
Scholastic Learn at Home - Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking and growing
Shakespeare Week - Kids’ Zone – free activities for children.
Skills Academy – Brought to you by The National Literacy Trust. Free for families and secondary schools during the coronavirus crisis, Skills Academy improves Year 7 and 8 students’ reading, rewarding their progress in a fun and engaging way.
Something Bad Happened - Reading Well for children author Dawn Huebner has published a free reading of her book Something Bad Happened - a great way to approach talking to children about Covid-19 and the stories they might be seeing in the news.
StarLine - Home learning advice direct from qualified teachers and parenting and education experts
STEM Home Support - Activities and ideas for families and teachers in the Science Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects
64 Million Artists - Creative ideas for home schooling and daily challenges.
Seven Stories - Facebook page of the National Centre for Childrens Books, posting weekly virtual story time sessions in partnership with Andersen Press.
The Book of Hopes - Completely free for all children and families, the extraordinary collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures has contributions from more than 110 children’s writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Greg James and Chris Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Francesca Simon and Jacqueline Wilson.
Wild Days - Wild Days is a free service providing around an hour of curated outdoor activities every day, to bring your family closer to nature during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wildlife Watch - local wildlife on your doorstep. Lots of activities to undertake as a family. Spotter sheets, activities, guides, masks to make and much more!
Explore the fascinating contents of one of the world’s largest collections about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
The collection journeys through the world of Sherlock Holmes and the many actors that have played the character – as well as the numerous films and books inspired by the Sherlock stories.
Find out more about how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to Portsmouth to set up his doctor’s surgery, and ended up writing some of the earliest detective novels just to help make ends meet.
