With rain back in the forecast and the nice weather seemingly on hold, it may not be possible for children to play out in the garden for a while. But here are some ways to keep them active and occupied indoors when they’re not doing school work:
Exercise
There are plenty of ways to keep active indoors. Simply running around the house, dancing or following an exercise video are all ideas which come to mind however there are other ways to keep active. To involve the whole family, a great idea is a family Olympics. The challenges can range in difficulty, depending on the age of participants, and to make it really competitive set some prizes for the person who finishes in first place.
Or if you’re looking for something just for the kids, they can have fun with simple items such has balloons or small bean bags. Everyone knows the classic game of not letting the balloon hit the floor which will get them happily moving and improve their motor skills. With bean bags, make a target and see who can throw theirs the furthest. Set them a challenge to see how many they can get in the target within a minute.
Party!
Singing and dancing are great mood boosts and perfect for burning off energy. It’s so easy to put some music on and do some silly dancing around the house, which is guaranteed to make younger children giggle. This is a perfect way to de-stress after a few hours of school work, or for just tiring the kids out before bed.
Baking/Cooking
Everyone loves to bake and especially tasting the delicious outcome at the end. Baking cakes, biscuits, or even savoury treats is a great way to engage your children at home because of the fun, interactive nature of the activity and the need to concentrate. Baking even involves children using their maths skills without them even realising! If you have older children, you could even turn the activity into a bit of a competition and have a bake off, which is sure to bring out their competitive nature and really focus them to the task at hand. Kids will love showing off and tasting what they’ve accomplished.
Isolation is a great time to learn new recipes and if you have a teenager that’s interested in cooking, why not let them take charge of creating a meal for the family? This is a great way for them to do something they like whilst taking on some extra responsibly, and if it all goes well parents may be able to spend less time in the kitchen!
Document their lockdown journey
Obviously these are strange times at the moment, but one day children might want to look back and reflect on this period of their lives. Therefore, it might be nice for you to create a memory box together as a family. Keep all of the drawings your children complete, or anything they make during this time. To keep them involved in the process and occupied, set them daily challenges. For example, with older children, give them a task of taking one photo a day in isolation to highlight their day. Seeing as they will be in the same setting most days, it will force them to be creative to get different pictures.
The Oak-Tree Group of Schools consists of Braeside in Buckhurst Hill, Coopersale Hall in Epping, Normanhurst in North Chingford and Oaklands in Loughton.
