Hello everyone, This newsletter is a list of some of the best online activities available that I have found, although of course there are many!! Equally, it is important to be kind to yourself during this time. No one is expecting you to put together an action packed and educational timetable. Some days it's ok to stay in your pyjamas all day and all get into one bed, put on a Disney movie and have a hot chocolate. Your mental health matters too. I frequently get emails from readers, telling me about something they discovered, thanks to the newsletter, so please feel free to give me any feedback about anything you discovered here! Stay safe, and be kind to yourself. xx
Zoos that offer live streaming:
Museums that offer virtual tours/have an online collection:
Theatre Live Streams
The Wind in the Willows - Julian Fellowes' 2017 musical production
The National Theatre - Live stream every Thursday, family friendly show Treasure Island coming 16th April.
The Globe Theatre - Over 130 filmed productions in their archive.
Sir Patrick Stewart's Daily Sonnets - Definitely one of my favourite things I've ever seen on Twitter.
The Royal Opera House - Quite an impressive array of free curated content.
Worldwide live streams:
Baby, Toddler and Child Classes
Gemma Learnbox (She used to do the Flying Storyteller in Pimlico) Bright and fun sessions for under fives. These are twice weekly, 30 minute sessions on Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30am for £8.
Kids En Cuisine Children's online cooking classes with fresh ingredients to your door! You can also just join the online class if you already have the ingredients for just £12.
Bach to Baby Live stream concerts At just £3, it's nice to continue to support small businesses, where possible.
Captain Fantastic Online Interactive Entertainment Including fitness, toddler sessions, singing and dancing.
Cosmic Kids Yoga Making yoga and mindfulness fun for kids since 2012.
Tumbletots at Home Live streaming all your favourite songs and exercises.
Mini Mozart Structured live broadcast music classes.
Busy Lizzy Fitness and fun for mums and little ones. Enjoy pre and postnatal workouts along with fun and engaging baby and toddler classes.
Monkey Music Lovely music classes for children, now available online.
Club Petit Pierrot French classes for kids, now storytelling and classes available online
Educational:
Core Subjects
BBC Bitesize (educationl resources, helpfully divided by age) Schools across the UK often use the teaching videos from here in class.
The Kid Should See This Smart videos for kids of all ages. They cover all topics, particularly Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths with also thought provoking videos on interesting subjects from dinosaurs to climate change.
The Maths Factor A Maths website set up by Carol Vorderman and she had made it free during this time.
Big History Project Aimed at Secondary age. Multi-disciplinary activities.
Geography Games A fun way to learn Geography.
Twinkl This is more for printouts, and usually at a fee, but they are offering a month of free access to parents during school closures.
Reading
Children can listen to their favourite authors read stories.
Also Author David Walliams is uploading an audio book every day at 11am.
Reading Eggs Offering a 4 week free trial, also compatible with tablets.
Art
Art tutorials Illustrator Rob Biddulph is adding more drawing video tutorials every few days.
The Artful Parent Good, free art activities.
PE
Joe Wicks Daily PE lesson.
Computing
Scratch Creative computer programming for kids
BBC Dance Mat Typing Free touch typing resource.
PSHE
National Geographic Kids Lots of great content for children to read and interesting videos to watch.
Role Models (They offer resilience and leadership classes aimed at 8-11 year olds (some courses from 6+) have launched their courses to be online, and there is a 25% discount at the moment, using code ONLINE25.