By Justin RouillonWednesday 18 Mar 2020ParentingReading Time: 3 minutes
As countries around the world impose nationwide lockdowns in the fight against COVID-19, we’ve put together a list of activities to keep the kids sane, should a similar situation eventuate in Australia.
And remember, this list is great for anytime, not just a national lockdown!
Screen Free Activities
- Toddlers love to help, so why not use the time to organise storage areas in the home. Get those kitchen cupboards emptied and sorted, and you can guarantee your toddler will find something that’s even better than their toys – pots and pans drum kit anyone?
- Dance Party – get the kids favourite music pumping, you can find some great playlists on Spotify, and bust out all your favourite moves on the lounge room dance floor!
- Let them transform their bedroom into the worlds ultimate cubby house, let it spill over into the lounge if needed. Encourage them to fill it up with their favourite books and toys.
- Colouring In Time – you can find online colouring pictures that can be printed out, why not start with everyones favourite blue heeler and do some Bluey colouring in.
- Speaking of Bluey, ABC Kids has some fantastic Bluey themed crafts and games here.
- If you’ve got a yard, get a treasure hunt underway. Make a list of items the kids need to find such as sticks, flowers or stones. You’ll get extra brownie points by throwing a few Easter eggs around and getting into the Easter spirit early.
- While you’re in the yard, have a picnic. The kids can help packing a basket, or even cook up simple things like pinwheels or mini pizzas. Tasty have some recipes that kids can get stuck into with both hands.
- If your kids are into Lego, get them designing and building their ultimate Lego creation.
- Science experiments at home are always fun, from the Coke and Mento’s bottle rockets to DIY mould farms. Check out some ideas from Kidspot.
- Make chalk roads for Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars on the driveway.
- Put the tent up in the backyard for a camping adventure!
- TRAMPOLINE!
- Create a fairy house from plastic bottles and clay.
Online Activities
- Check out the surface of Mars as viewed by the Curiosity Rover.
- Virtually travel to The Louvre in Paris with these virtual tours.
- Then jump across the English channel to the British Museum for an online viewing of priceless artefacts.
- Tour the San Diego Zoo in the USA.
- Visit Hamilton Island in virtual reality with this 360 degree tour.
- Dr Suess fans will love Suessville online.
- ABCya have a ton of maths and reading games.
- If your kids love science, there are plenty of kids science channels on YouTube, SciShow Kids is one of our favourites.
- Breakout EDU have developed a collection of online games for Prep to Grade 12.
- Fun Music Games are aplenty at the Chrome Music Lab.
- You can explore earth and space at NASA Space Place.
- Learn a new language with Duolingo.
- Watch the International Space Station Live Stream.
- For the young virtuoso, practice your music theory with free online resources at musictheory.net
- Listen to and read stories for young readers from National Geographic’s Young Explorer magazine.