What can teachers and parents do when there’s no school? Online learning from home offers children opportunities to develop and learn new skills at the touch of a button. There are heaps of awesome online learning platforms that can be accessed at home, which you can access through the previous news items.
However, screen time for the entire length of the school day can have a negative effect on children's wellbeing. To help, we’ve rounded up some fun, non-screen activities that can be done at home and support independent learning.
Here are 25 fun and meaningful ideas to choose from:
- How many different words can you make from the letters in this sentence, below? Grab a pencil and paper and write a list!
‘Learning from home is fun’
- Thank a community hero. Think of someone that helps you in some way and write a short letter to thank them.
- Get building! You could build a Lego model, a tower of playing cards or something else!
- Can you create your own secret code? You could use letters, numbers, pictures or something else! Can you get someone else to try and crack it?
- Start a nature diary. Look out of the window each day and keep note
of what you see. Birds, flowers, changes in the weather, what else?
- Hold a photo session. Use a camera or a mobile phone to take some snaps. What will you photograph? Your pets or toys perhaps?
- Build a reading den. Find somewhere cosy, snuggle up and read your favourite book!
- Use an old sock to create a puppet. Can you put on a puppet show for someone?
- Make a list of all the electrical items in each room of your home. Can you come up with any ideas to use less electricity?
- Design and make a homemade board game and play it with your family.
- Do something kind for someone. Can you pay them a compliment, make them something or help them with a task?
- Can you create a story bag? Find a bag and collect items to go in it that relate to a well known story. If you can’t find an item, you could draw a picture to include.
- List making! Write a list of things that make you happy, things you’re grateful for or things you are good at.
- Design and make an obstacle course at home or in the garden. How fast can you complete it?
- Can you invent something new? Perhaps a gadget or something to help people? Draw a picture or write a description.
- Keep moving! Make up a dance routine to your favourite song.
- Write a play script. Can you act it out to other people?
- Read out loud to someone. Remember to read with expression.
- Write a song or rap about your favourite subject.
- Get sketching! Find a photograph or picture of a person, place or object and sketch it.
- Junk modelling! Collect and recycle materials such as yoghurt pots, toilet rolls and boxes and see what you can create with them.
- Draw a map of your local area and highlight interesting landmarks.
- Write a postcard to your teacher. Can you tell them what you like most about their class?
- Draw a view. Look out of your window and draw what you see.
- Get reading! What would you most like to learn about? Can you find out more about it in books? Perhaps you can find a new hobby?