The COVID-19 pandemic has been sweeping across the globe and, in an effort to flatten the curve, the UK government has, on the 23rd of March, announced stricter measures for us all. The UK schools have mostly closed and now families are advised to stay at home always except for food shopping, medical reasons and one walk a day. Understandably, parents everywhere are a little concerned. At Happy Journeys, we aim to support your family always, even through trying times! So, we thought we’d put together some ideas to keep children busy and entertained during the lockdown.

Sensory Play

Sensory play is any activity that appeals to the development of a child’s senses and allows them to learn proactively through touch, taste, sight, sound or smell. You’ll find that lots of things around the house owe nicely to sensory play, such as making pasta or rice shakers, threading pipe cleaners through colanders, blowing and popping bubbles, mixing dyes and water or exploring textures such as playdough.

Get Artistic

Children love to play with different materials and colours and there are lots of great artistic go-to’s that you can achieve from home. You could finger paint, use chalk pens in the bathtub, use colouring in books or encourage the children to draw their favourite toys. Shadow drawing is a great activity you can both try at home! Set up a toy in direct sunlight with paper behind it and have the kids trace the shadow. It will focus their attention and develop their creativity!

Develop Their Coordination

Games are the best way to develop coordination and get the family to pass time together. A really great way for younger children to develop their coordination is the paper tunnel game. Bend a4 sheets of paper lengthways and tape the edges to the floor to create a tunnel. Place tunnels all over the floor for different spots to aim to (and you could even set up a points system based on distance and difficulty if you want to make it competitive!). Show your children how to aim and roll balls towards the tunnels, aiming for the goals!

We know that it is a worrisome time for a lot of us but there are always silver linings such as the possibility of spending more time at home together! Let’s help the little ones remember this time as fun and hopeful with these games and activities!