Our new normal has begun. Working at home. Schooling at home. Playing at home. Doing everything at home. How are you coping?
For some, these adjustments will be small. For others they will be more challenging. The important thing is we stay connected, supported and know that we’re all in this together.
There’s been so much information overload in the last few weeks – much of it doom and gloom. So we’ve decided to turn this around, and give you a heap of helpful resources to try to make this time at home with kids and family as positive and fun as it can be.
Learning at home
kidsnews.com.au is offering free daily school-day education tasks and fun activities to help parents and children with home learning. The activities have been tailored into four categories for students in Prep to Grade 2; Years 3-4; Years 5-6; and Years 7-9 to allow for age-based learning.
DIY projects
DIY.org allows kids to undertake fun DIY projects within a safe and moderated online environment. Kids watch inspiring videos, do creative projects, and make their own videos on DIY which gives them opportunities to both learn and inspire other kids. Free 14-day trials are available and can be cancelled before the annual subscription begins which ranges from $15/25 per month.
Fitness
PE with Joe is a UK personal trainer who has created a free live workout everyday Monday-Friday aimed at getting everyone active, from young kids to adults. Joe is full of energy and fun and acts as your personal PE Teacher/Trainer.
Science fun
There’s a heap of free and paid online activities for all those science buffs out there who are keen to get creative.
Drawing activities
There’s a number of free sites that give drawing tutorials as well as plenty of colouring pages and games to print out. A couple you can look at are:
Lego
Everyone loves Lego don’t they? So rather than go out and buy new Lego packs, if your kids have plenty lying around this site shows you how to build Lego using basic bricks.
Craft time
This site provides a host of craft ideas to keep kids entertained for ages. And there’s plenty of ideas to recycle empty toilet rolls and tissue boxes!
Taking time out
Smiling Mind is a daily mindfulness and meditation guide and app at your fingertips. With meditations for kids of all ages and adults, you can download the app in the App store or Google Play. They have also developed Thrive Inside, a special initiative to help you stay calm and healthy in the physical constraints of your home, while remaining calm and healthy inside your mind.
