Norland logo takeover competition – Millie

We recently launched a Norland logo takeover competition with students and staff encouraged to test their creativity to redesign the Norland logo for a temporary takeover of our social media channels.

Millie, Set 42, is a second year student and was voted the winner by members of staff with her logo inspired by the Norland motto Love Never Faileth.

"I entered the competition as I love to draw and paint to relax and saw this as an opportunity for a little project alongside my last assignments. My inspiration for my logo design was the Norland badge and motto. My design shows the journey of a forget-me-not starting as a bud growing into full bloom. My idea was for the forget-me-not to reflect on how a child grows to fully blossom themselves, alongside a Norland Nanny supporting their development and learning."

Congratulations to our winner and runners-up, Lara, Rosie, Abigayle and Ruth. Their logos will be showcased later in the summer. A big thank you to all staff and students that took part in the competition. It was an amazing to see so much creativity and the standard was really high, making it very difficult for us to choose! 

Find out more about studying at Norland here: bit.ly/NorlandDegree

Why I chose to research LGBTQ+ inclusion in early years settings for my dissertation

Inclusion is intertwined throughout all aspects of Norland's course, with students looking at how they can apply different methods and practises to ensure all children and their families feel cared for. 

This is built on further in modules such as Supporting Children and Families and Thriving in a Diverse Society where students explore anti-discriminatory practice and how to support all families regardless of their circumstances.

In their third year, students choose to explore an area that is pertinent to them, and Chichi (Set 41) discusses why she chose to explore LGBTQ+ inclusion in early years settings as part of her dissertation research.

Why did you choose to research this topic?
I have a personal interest in the topic, being a queer person myself, and so I was genuinely intrigued by the results I might find. In the past three years at Norland I have often chosen it as the focus of various pieces of coursework, including a report and an academic poster. When reading pieces of research for these assessments I realised that they mainly focused around making recommendations for early years practitioners on what they could do to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion. I therefore wanted to conduct a piece of research which would show whether early years practitioners are currently following these recommendations as well as trying to understand their beliefs and approach to the topic in general. My decision was also influenced by the current climate in UK schools: the controversy of Andrew Moffat’s No Outsiders programme and the introduction of the new Relationship Education (which dictates that primary schools must teach children about LGBTQIA+ relationships and families) in September 2020.

What did you learn from your research?
It emerged from the research that there was a great disparity between how individual practitioners approached LGBTQ+ inclusion. Their responses each fell into one of three approaches:

• Silent tolerance - the practitioners did not feel LGBTQ+ inclusion was important and used very few inclusive strategies.
• Implicit inclusion - the practitioners felt LGBTQIA+ inclusion was very important but used few inclusive strategies.
• Explicit inclusion - the practitioners felt LGBTQIA+ inclusion was very important and their use of many inclusive strategies reflected this.

The approach used by the majority of the practitioners involved in the study was implicit inclusion, suggesting that many practitioners see the importance of LGBTQ+ inclusion but face challenges in trying to implement it in their settings. Practitioners reported a range of challenges, including convictions of faith, a lack of resources and/or familiarity with the topic, fear of backlash from parents and the belief that it’s an age inappropriate topic for children.

The results that I found most interesting were the comments from practitioners about inclusion of LGBTQ+ families not being needed as there were no LGBTQ+ families who attended the setting. Some felt that to do so would be “tokenistic” however this philosophy didn’t seem to apply other types of inclusion. For example, the setting had books which depicted a child using a wheelchair, despite none of the children in the setting using one. Rather than being viewed as tokenistic it was seen as a positive way of introducing children to diversity. This philosophy, that the topic is only relevant to children in LGBTQ+ families, seems to be founded on the misconception that all the children will grow up to be heterosexual, which cannot be assumed.

Has your research changed your practice in any way?  
While conducting my research I realised how much of an influential role each practitioner has in the lives of the children in their care. It therefore made me think about my own practice and how I can find ways to celebrate difference with children, encouraging kindness and acceptance of others. The project has given me the confidence to go beyond just using implicit strategies such as using inclusive and gender neutral language and instead to actively talk with children about LGBTQ+ diversity in families. It has also opened my eyes to exploring all kinds of diversity with children in a way which they can understand including people with SEND, different types of families such as single parent, people of different races, ethnicities and cultures.

Why do you think this topic is so important?
In the early years, a child’s identity and sense of self-worth are often linked to their family as it is the most significant presence in their lives. For children of LGBTQ+ families it is therefore vital for them to see their family reflected in their environment; the books they read, the posters and pictures they see and the language they hear. As families become increasingly diverse, it’s important that early years settings are able to reflect this, celebrating difference and making it visible. This ensures that the children and their families feel welcomed and have a sense of belonging, as opposed to feeling stigmatised.

In recent years the LGBTQ+ community has made massive strides in raising awareness and achieving equal rights.  However, it seems to be taking longer for this progress to filter down into the world of the child. For example, the idea that LGBTQ+ inclusion is only relevant to children in LGBTQ+ families and that children are innocent, asexual beings for whom the topics of sexuality and gender identity are inappropriate, are both still commonly held beliefs. However, it has now been shown that learning about differences between people from an early age, in an accepting and safe environment, can make the discovery of one’s own identity and the journey of self-acceptance a much smoother process, in both the short and long term. There is hope that as more research is conducted and policies and legislation are changed, that the benefits of celebrating LGBTQ+ diversity with children in an age appropriate way will replace the misconceptions explored above.

Did you enjoy researching this topic?
I have loved the opportunity to research a topic I am so interested in and to gain results I had never predicted. However, some situations were challenging. For example, I had a conversation with one person who said they would never expose children to LGBTQ+ diversity as they viewed homosexuality as unacceptable due to the religious beliefs they held. While this was very hard to hear and it was difficult to remain neutral for the sake of the research, it did make me realise that the more we talk about such issues, the better we can understand the other’s point of view and the more likely we are to be able to build bridges with those who have different opinions to our own.

What have you learned about working with diverse families and different family types during the course? How has Norland supported your learning of this?
Contrary to the popular belief that Norlanders only work for one specific type of family, Norland prepares students to work alongside many different types of families, with entire modules devoted to learning how to best support their individual needs. During these lectures the main principles I have taken away are to have a non-judgemental approach, to treat others with compassion and to understand that while everyone is different, many families face similar challenges. Throughout the course there are also many opportunities for students to choose specific areas to focus on and lecturers are always supportive of this.

Learn more about what is taught on our degree and diploma integrated course by visiting our website.

'I stand with you'

We live in a diverse society and our course prepares students to work with families with different backgrounds, contexts and needs.

Over the past few turbulent months, there have been more discussions over equality and diversity within society. Katie Crouch, Senior Lecturer in Early Years, reflects on how these conversations will influence some of the modules she teaches in the next academic year.

"This year seems to have really started some much-needed conversations regarding equality, equity and inclusion. Now as a white, straight person, I am well aware of my poor positioning to write a piece about equality. However, it is a significant factor which is embedded in my heart and soul due to the people around me who I love dearly. Therefore, would my silence continue to perpetuate injustice?

As I start to think about composing the schemes of work for some of our modules, I reflect upon the current events across the UK and internationally. My leadership of some of the modules we teach within our degree programme help to support Norland’s quest for social justice. This is something which we are continuously working on to strengthen our programme, not just in terms of its anti-discriminatory content, but also to explore how we can ensure we support students, children and their families in a proactive way.

This year has led me to explore my own white privilege, something which I have been coming to terms with. Yes, I can walk into a shop and buy make up, clothing and plasters in my skin tone without having to look very far. When I am out running during the dark evenings, I am not automatically judged as threatening because of my appearance. When my family leave our home, I know that they are not going to be attacked or commented on, just because of other people’s perceptions of skin colour. Peers won’t refuse to be friends with them because of melanin pigment in their skin. When my children were growing up, they could see themselves represented within education, music, media, and films. They didn’t need to look for their representation within crayons, paints, literature and story books. This has been a small part of my white privilege, and this is something which I intend to find out more about from people around me.

To our students, families and children who have experienced inequity, inequality and lack of inclusion due to being a person of colour, I am sorry for the injustices you have experienced in our world. Thankfully, times are changing. There is now more and more representation in the world, especially in the world of early years. We will celebrate this, we will champion this. I will never know the true extent of your experiences; however, I will learn from you and I stand with you!

June marked Pride month; an opportunity for people who identify as being LGBTQIA+ to celebrate who they are. Why should this be restricted to a month? How you identify and who you love does not define your worth. It should not and must not dictate your accessibility to the automatic rights given to straight men and women. The abolition of Section 28 is something we study in modules and the disparity in legislative support that families and individuals face.

I am aware that I can go out and hold hands with my husband without fear of name calling or reprisals. I can be free in talking about the people I love without fear of offending or upsetting someone. However, I know that this is not the case for all. To love and be loved is a basic human right. No person should be excluded from this right or have to be a suppressed version of themselves to appease others.

To our students, families and children who have experienced inequality, inequity and lack of inclusion due to who they identify as or who they love, I am sorry for the lack of tolerance and acceptance which you may have encountered in this world. We will champion you. We will celebrate who you are as individuals and as families. I will never know the true extent of your experiences; however, I will learn from you and I stand with you!

We are learning more and more. We are learning that it is ok to not be ok. We are learning about how the perception of mental health is also gradually evolving. We have services in place to support students who may be struggling with trigger points throughout the year, such as our Big White Wall.

We look at how we can support families and children who may be impacted by aspects of mental health. We talk about mental health. In our small academic groups, we can share our experiences in sessions, our fears and our questions without fear of judgement or acceptance, and we listen. To our students, families and children, we stand with you!

It is imperative that we learn it is healthy to talk about all of these aspects openly, with respect and acceptance. Even if it feels like it is not our place to do so. After all, it is us that will go out and shape the future of the families and children we work with. We have the opportunity and responsibility to nurture our world into becoming a more aware and accepting place. But until that happens, I will stand with you!"

10 play ideas for under 12 months

Lockdown and social distancing can be daunting for even the smallest of children. Newly Qualified Nanny Abi (Set 39) has compiled a selection of 10 supervised play ideas suitable for children under 12 months.

Sensory bags

Sensory bags are a good way to encourage and give a sensory experience, whilst minimising mess. You can fill sensory bags with basically anything – from peas, pom poms, shaving foam, washing up liquid to confetti! Make sure you secure the bags well using clear zip lock bags or strong tape to ensure babies can’t get into them and nothing leaks out. To work on tummy time you can tape the bags to the floor to encourage babies to hold themselves up to look at the bags.

Taste safe water beads

When your baby is over 6 months and begins weaning, you can introduce taste safe activities, with foods that if consumed won’t cause any harm. A fun taste safe activity is ‘edible water beads’. Instead of buying normal water beads which are commonly seen in early years settings, you can purchase large tapioca bubbles (used for bubble tea) and cook them and use them plain, or sometimes I add food colouring! I purchased these bubbles online and they were so much fun! To encourage exploration I provide spoons, sieves and pots to use with the beads.

Flour play

An activity for babies who have started the weaning journey. With some flour, paper bags and spoons, you can give endless entertainment! My charge loves watching flour fall from a sieve or trying to shake it out of a bag. Flour is such a different sensory experience to most as it is dry and quite tricky to grasp, meaning exploration can be very in-depth and encourage problem solving.

Edible paint

Edible paint is so much fun and a great introduction to messy play! To make the paint I just mix some plain flour with water to make a paste and then add some food colouring. When you first introduce paint it will probably go everywhere, so I often buy a large roll of plain wallpaper or easel paper, cut a large piece and put it on the floor, then give my charge the plastic pots filled with paint. Sometimes I provide paintbrushes, but often I will just let her explore with her hands (and the rest of her body!)

Baking tray treasure retrieval
A fun and simple activity to encourage fine motor skills and problem solving. Simply place some small items (Small World Toys, Grapat rings and other baby-safe objects) in a tin and create a grid of elastic bands, allowing babies to put their hands inside the holes to try and grab items. The bands should be placed tightly to ensure little fingers can’t work them off and, as with all of these activities, parental supervision is essential.

Heuristic play

Heuristic play is the engagement and exploration of ‘objects’, meaning day-to-day objects that you can find in the house. One of my charges is 10 months old and loves this form of play as she thinks it’s a real treat to be able to have items which she often sees me using every day, but she would never normally get to play with. These items include wooden spoons, metal and plastic bowls, measuring spoons and jugs, whisks and silicon kitchen utensils, washing baskets, socks, boxes and containers. This form of play has so many amazing benefits as it encourages understanding of the world, exploration and problem solving. To present the items I usually lie them on a tuff tray or mat, or I will give a selection of items and show my charge different ways she can use them, such as using a wooden spoon to bang on pots and pans.

Water play

Water play is fun for all ages. With babies you can incorporate items such as pouring cups, watering cans, sea animals, ice, edible petals and leaves, and medium sized stones and shells. Water play is so much fun and can encourage both gross and fine motor skills, depending on the resources you provide. It is vital you supervise your baby at all times in the water!

Ice play

Ice play is wonderful for engaging fine motor skills and a fun sensory experience for babies as they do not often experience this form of cold. Examples of things you can freeze for babies are citrus fruits, herbs, washed flowers and pom poms. You can use cooled boiled water to create a clearer ice. I use different sized containers and trays and offer the empty containers as a resource during play so babies can practice filling and emptying containers. Leave the ice out for a little while before giving to your child so that it doesn’t hurt their fingers.

Puppets and story sacks

Using puppets is a recent activity that my charge and I have been loving. You can use finger puppets or whole hand puppets to sing nursery rhymes and tell stories. You could use socks to make simple hand puppets to create different characters or find fun baby-safe props around the house to bring the story to life. Babies love the interaction with the different characters, and it makes for a much more interactive and engaging story time.

Jelly dig

A fun, messy play activity for babies is a jelly dig. Simply make a large batch of jelly and then cover some waterproof baby-safe items in a tray and leave in the fridge to set. If you’ve used a larger or deeper tray it may take longer to set. You can give babies a spoon to dig or they can just use their hands. I use gelatine leaves and food colouring, to make sure there is no sugar in the jelly. You can also use natural food colourings such as beetroot, spinach or paprika.

You can view more of Abi's activities by following her on Instagram. Read more of our blogs on supporting parents and families during the coronavirus pandemic. You can also find out more about Abi's time at Norland by reading her Norland story.

Norland Storytime: The Feathery Hedgehog

Norland students have been recording stories to share with families who are looking for new stories for their children to enjoy.

Flo (Set 41) has recorded herself reading 'The Feathery Hedgehog' along with some resources to bring the book alive!

"I picked this book not only because it’s a very sweet story written by Chris (our very own librarian) but also because the message behind it is so important. We are all unique and our quirks are something we need to learn how to embrace because that’s what makes every single one of us so special!"

Norland Storytime: The Bird Who Believed

Norland students have been recording stories to share with families who are looking for new stories for their children to enjoy.

Holly (Set 43) has recorded herself reading 'The Bird Who Believed', a story she wrote and illustrated herself.

How to make natural dyed dumplings

Norland students are always looking at ways they can make learning interactive for children, and that’s no different in Food and Nutrition. Ike (Set 43) has shared this vibrant Chinese dumplings recipe that children will absolutely love getting involved with as well as eating!

"Chinese dumplings have always been a favourite of mine. Some of my favourite childhood cooking memories were sitting around the table with my family wrapping these delicious dumplings. To me, cooking is all about creating fun experiences with no limits. There’s no wrong or right way to wrap these dumplings as long as it holds your tasty fillings.

You can also experiment with your fillings! Do you pack them with protein? How about making them completely vegetarian? Or could you have a mix? The options are endless with dumplings. What I love the most is once it's all cooked, these are the type of food that you can put in the middle of the table and will disappear within minutes. 

With this recipe, children can engage their senses. Feeling the soft dough, smelling the different ingredients, looking at how the food naturally changes the colour of the dough, listening to the cracking noises when you're frying them and tasting the end product!

Recipe

Green dough

·         120g of spinach

·         1 cup of flour

Purple dough

·         3 whole cooked and peeled beetroots

·         1 cup of flour

Yellow dough

·         2 tbsp of turmeric powder

·         ⅓ cup of hot water

·         1 cup of flour

Orange dough

·         1 large carrot

·         1 cup of flour

The filling - dry ingredients

·         3 spring onions

·         ¼ white cabbage

·         ½ a large carrot

·         3 cloves of garlic

·         1 baby lettuce

·         60g of ginger

·         150g mushrooms

·         Handful of parsley

·         200g pork mince

·         150g prawns

This filling will be just as delicious without the meat and fish if you’re vegetarian.

The filling - wet ingredients

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce (optional)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste (optional)
• 2 tbsp Worcester sauce
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce 

Method

Green dough

Add the spinach into boiling water for 5 minutes.

Then strain the spinach and pop into a blender.

Blend the spinach until it’s a runny liquid and pass it through a sieve making sure you have a bowl underneath to collect all of the liquid.

Combine the liquid spinach into a bowl with the flour and knead for around 5 minutes until you have a soft and smooth dough.

Cover your dough in cling film and set aside to rest.  

Purple dough 

I bought whole peeled and cooked vacuum sealed beetroots. This meant that half the job was already done.

Simply blend the beetroots and pass it through a sieve catching all of the liquid underneath.

Place the liquid into a bowl and combine it with the flour.

Knead the dough for around 5 minutes until it's soft and smooth.

Wrap it in cling film and set aside to rest. 

Yellow dough

For the yellow dough use the same cup that you are using to measure the flour and add ⅓ of boiling water.

Then stir in the turmeric powder and add into a bowl with the flour.

Combine the two ingredients and knead for around 5 minutes until soft and smooth.

Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest. 

Orange dough 

Chop the carrot into cubes and boil until they are soft.

Then strain the water and add the carrot into a blender.

Blend the carrot until all solids have gone. Next pass the carrot through a sieve with a bowl underneath to catch the liquid.

Then add the liquid into a bowl of flour and combine.

Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it's soft and smooth.

Wrap the dough in cling film and set aside to rest. 

All of the doughs need to rest for a minimum of 45 minutes. You can also store them in a fridge but make sure you take them out 1 hour and a half before using it.

The filling

To create this delicious filling, finely chop all the ingredients apart from the carrot which I always love to grate.

Then add in the wet ingredients and combine well. 

The great part about this recipe is that you can experiment with what filling you want to use. I created this filling with what I had in my fridge.

It is also a great way to combine lots of healthy vegetables.

Creating your dumplings 

After you have let your dough set, flour your surface, and mould your dough into a doughnut shape making sure all sides are equal.

Then cut your doughnut so you are left with a long equally sized tube.

Next cut your tube into equal pieces and place under a towel to keep them from going dry. 

For the classic dumpling shape take one of your pieces of dough from under your towel and roll it into a ball.

Use the palm of your hand to squash it as hard as you can, making sure you try to keep a circle shape.

Then using your left hand to rotate the dough and your right hand using the rolling pin you want to work your way around your circle rolling out the edges. It's important to not roll the dough from the centre as you want the edges of your circle to be thinner to help your dumpling seal together. You want your wrapper to be around the size of an adult hand or 6-7cm in width.

Place your circle in your hand and place around a teaspoon of filling in the centre. Make sure you don't add too much or you won't be able to seal your dumpling well.

To seal the dumpling bring the bottom of the wrapper to the top to create a semi-circle.

Lastly pinch your dough together at the edges and pleat all the way along. It's important you don't leave any gaps and you've sealed it well.

Cover your finished dumpling under a towel to stop them from going dry. 

Cooking your dumplings

There are many ways to cook your dumplings. Personally, I love to shallow fry them because it gives them a lovely golden finish to them, leaving you with a pleasant crunch. 

Most importantly, make sure you have a dipping sauce. This could be soy sauce or, in most Asian supermarkets, you can buy a classic ‘dumpling sauce’.

How children can get involved

The best thing about this recipe is that it's so fun when you have the whole family getting stuck in. Children can help pass the ingredients through the sieve and look at the vibrant colours coming out into the bowl. Let children press the blend button and watch the solids turn into liquids. They can also get their hands messy by kneading the colourful dough. With supervision, let children practise their fine motor skills by chopping the vegetables. When you are weighing out any ingredients count out loud to introduce meanings to numbers. Lastly, allow children to have a go at wrapping the dumplings. 

If you like this recipe I have lots of recipes on my Instagram account where I also have a demonstration video on how to wrap these delicious dumplings. There are also lots of fun ways to wrap dumplings on YouTube." 

Other students have also been sharing their recipes during this uncertain time. Rosy shared her fish pie recipe, Malandra showed us how to bake cookies without flour or eggs and Laura showed us how to make soup with left over and short-dated vegetables. 

Stay in touch with Norland on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest advice and support. 

Lorna's Q&A about volunteering with Twins Trust

During National Volunteers Week, Twins Trust has spoken to a Norlander who volunteers with the organisation.

Lorna (Set 38) has taken part in a Q&A with Twins Trust about what kind of support she offers, how she's supported families during the coronavirus pandemic and why she loves volunteering so much.

"I volunteer either on weekends, evenings or in my spare time (annual leave - you must think I’m crazy but I absolutely love helping the Twins Trust families!)

I absolutely adore volunteering for Twins Trust."

To read the Q&A, please visit Twins Trust's blog.

To find out how students, staff and Norlanders have been supporting their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit our voluntary response page.

Homebased activities part two: 22 more activity ideas to help keep your little (and big) ones busy

If you are starting to run out of activity ideas or need some more inspiration, look no further. Lucy Rogers (Set 33), Newly Qualified Nanny (NQN) Consultant and a Norlander, has compiled 22 suggestions to help keep little ones entertained at home. Lucy has split these into morning and afternoon activities, to help you incorporate them into your day, but of course you can do these at any time to fit the natural rhythm of your child and what’s needed in the moment.

“Before we start, a quick reminder. It’s important when we go out for exercise, and as lockdown restrictions are eased, that children continue to understand the importance of washing their hands properly. It is tricky to know sometimes whether older children are washing their hands when they have their own independence and privacy. This BBC CBeebies video showing how soap keeps germ away is a useful visual reminder that I would recommend showing toddlers, children and even teens. Singing while you wash your hands together is a helpful tip as children love catchy songs! Here’s a simple how to wash your hands song from the NHS or you could try making up your own words to your child’s favourite tune.

Fun activities for the morning

1. Wake up and shake up!

We are not moving about as much as we normally would, which is not good for us. Some schools run a daily morning wake-up activity to get children going and ready for the day ahead. Try out this wake-up dance by Out of the Ark at the start of your day and you are certain to end up with the song in your head by the end of the dance!

2. Recreate PE lessons

Exercise is important both for our physical and mental health. Have a look online for a routine video that you can participate in together. The Body Coach Joe Wicks, for example, is running free PE classes from his YouTube channel on Mondays to Fridays at 9am. Or try out one of the many child-led Zumba videos online together. I would highly recommend joining in as children really enjoy doing this with adults, and if you are as uncoordinated as I am, then they will also find it very funny!

3. 'In every job that must be done there is an element of fun, you find the fun and snap, the job’s a game!’

With many of us still at home, there are more chores that need doing and these should not just fall to one person to do. It is important to help each other out and know that not everything is going to be done for you. Sometimes it can be difficult to encourage children to tidy up or help out with chores. Try turning cleaning into a game or adding a fun element to it to inspire children to help out. For example, use fun music to dance to while cleaning, sing a clean-up song to a familiar tune, or race to see how quickly they can put all the toys away. Cleaning is a great way to get moving, so you can have fun cleaning up and exercising at the same time!

4. Write a letter

Writing a letter is something that you don’t see very much, it is a lot easier to send a message, pick up the phone, facetime or email our friends and family. These are great ways to stay in touch with your family, but there is nothing like receiving a handwritten letter, it is so personal. Asking children to write a letter or draw a picture to send to a family, friend or neighbour will help them feel less alone during isolation. It is also a good way to get children to practice their letter formation or develop their fine motor skills by giving them a specific aim.  If the child is too young, role model by writing it for them.

5. Craft a picture with objects from your garden or local park

If you are lucky enough to have a garden or access to a park, get the children to go out and find some natural objects to create a picture, such as leaves, flower petals, small twigs and grass. Please be aware of any plants that are poisonous and keep an eye on your children. Once you have collected your objects you can arrange what you have collected to create a collage picture using child friendly PVA glue. Seek inspiration from the artist Andy Goldsworthy and you’ll be surprised at what’s possible. If you can’t get outside, try creating a new picture from torn up magazines or flyers.

6. Homemade bread

Making soda bread is an easy baking activity to do with children, and you should have the ingredients in your cupboard. If you’re having difficulty getting hold of flour, you might find that wholemeal, spelt or rye flour is more readily available. Soda bread does not need yeast, which means it is easier and quicker to make. Children really enjoy baking and it is a good life skill. Learning to cook at an early age will help children gain confidence and prepare them for when they are older and having to fend for themselves as young adults. There are plenty of simple recipes online. I find this BBC Good Food recipe simple and easy to follow.

7. Make a cotton bud picture

Try using cotton buds to create pictures with paint. You could draw an outline or cut out a shape for children to fill in, or you could trace letters for them to fill. Think about seasonal objects, or a favourite animal or character from a book. Remember to keep a close eye on children using cotton buds. If you don’t have any cotton buds, you could always have a go at thumb printing.

8. Meditation

Being able to relax is important during stressful times and it is a good technique for children to learn as it will help them in later life. It is good for adults too. Search for an online meditation exercise to try out together. Alternatively, there are many helpful free apps out there that can help guide children through meditation, for example Calm, which offers a one-week free trial, or Breathe Kids.

9. Create a cosy corner

Create a cosy corner together where your children can have quiet time. We all need parts in the day where we can enjoy five minutes peace. Try placing a sheet over a table to make a calming den, add a blanket, duvet, some cushions, and books and toys that can be played with quietly. Ask your children to select these items, explaining that this is a cosy corner for them to enjoy when they want to have some quiet time. Children love a place to hide and make their own; creating this space themselves will also help to spark their imagination and creativity.

10. Express your artistic skills

Art is a great way to express yourself and relieve stress. Of course, you can get the colouring books out or paint and let your children express themselves. Or if you would like to turn it into an art lesson, you could look at different artists and choose one to try and recreate the pictures. Abstract art featuring bold, bright shapes of colour is fun to copy, or you could have a go at trying to create your own picture in the style of the artist.

11. Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic

There is nothing better than a picnic lunch, especially if you can bring along your favourite cuddly friend or favourite toy. It doesn’t have to be sunny outside, it doesn’t even have to be outside, just get out the picnic rug and enjoy a picnic! Children can help to make sandwiches and set out the picnic spread ahead of time as part of the fun.

Fun activities for the afternoon

          1. Mud pies

If you are lucky enough to have a garden or a patio with some pots and soil, this is a great space to use where you can. I would advise appropriate clothing as this is traditional messy play! Take out some pots and spoons, collect some soil and hold a competition to see who can make the best natural mud pie. You can add bits of grass, leaves, twigs and stones. Depending on age, you will need to be careful that the mud pie or anything that goes in the mud pie doesn’t get eaten! This activity will get their creative juices flowing, and it is also a great sensory activity. You can talk about different textures and how it feels, which will help younger children with their language development. You could follow up this activity by making an edible mud pie or brownies!

 2. Band practice!

For this activity you don’t need to have any instruments! It’s all about using your imagination and finding things around the house you can make noise with. So, get out the pots and pans, wooden spoons, tins, boxes, lunchboxes, plastic cups and so on. You could also have a go at making your own instruments from your recycling. Fill clean empty bottles with a little bit of rice or put some elastic bands across a tissue box or jar lid. Carefully glue some bottle caps on a folded piece of cardboard, and you have a castanet. See what you can make before getting the band together for a good old sing song! Play to the beat of the song, sing songs that you know and make up new songs!

3. Make pizza

Pizza is really simple to make, and you’ll find a lot of the ingredients in your kitchen cupboards. There are plenty of recipes online. You can get really creative with your toppings, depending on what you have in the house, and you could use bread as your pizza base if you’ve run out of flour. If you’re feeling really creative or would like to extend this activity, you could make a pizza menu and pretend you’re going to a restaurant and use some money or make some pretend money and price the pizzas. You could use weighing the ingredients and counting money as a fun way to do maths. 

4. Can you floss it? Yes, you can!

Learning a new dance move, or even learning a whole dance to a song, is great fun. There are lots of videos of dance crazes online that you can use for this, from the floss to the moon walk. If you want to try and limit the time spent looking at a screen, you could teach some old school simple dance moves of your own, such as the Macarena, YMCA, Cha-Cha Slide, 5-6-7-8, Las Ketchup, Eye of the Tiger, Gangnam Style, Cotton Eye Joe, Oops Upside Your Head, the Fast Food song, the Twist or the Mash Potato, and many more!  My seven year-old nephew particularly enjoyed learning all the dance moves to Eye of the Tiger, and then he taught the moves to the rest of the family. We all had great fun doing it and he loved being the teacher! Dance is a fun way to exercise and release those all-important endorphins.

5. Story time
Story time is lovely time where you can cuddle up with your children’s favourite stories and spend quality time together. Stories can help expand your child’s vocabulary, interests, imagination, develop literacy skills and many more developmental areas depending on what you are reading.

6. Spa time

Self-care is important and is a great way to relax and unwind from the stresses of everyday life. This is a useful calming and bonding activity ahead of bedtime, or you could add it to your bath time routine. All you need is some hand or body cream. Then you can rub it into their hands or feet if they want you to. You can talk about the different smells and describe the texture of different lotions, and then ask them to choose the one they’d like to use. You could take turns brushing each other’s hair or use different items in the house to gently brush their skin, such as a clean makeup brush or a soft toy. Ask them to describe how it feels, soft, tickly etc. Let them gently brush your skin as well.

7. Make a papier mâché bowl

All you need for this activity is newspaper or paper along with a mug of plain flour and a mug of water… and that’s it! Simply tear your paper into strips, soak in the flour and water mix, then create your masterpiece. Once it has fully dried you can paint it. Then you can fill it with bits and bobs. If you are feeling really creative, you could make some masks using a bowl or balloon as a mould.

8. Bake some scones

Scones are easy to make and will use up some staples you might have, such as soured milk. You may not have clotted cream, but a warm scone from the oven with a bit of jam is a lovely afternoon teatime treat. If you want to avoid sugar, try out a savoury scone recipe with cheese or herbs instead. These are delicious warm with a little bit of butter. Weighing the ingredients helps with numeracy, and everyone can get involved rubbing the butter in, stirring to make the dough and then cutting out the scones with different dough cutter shapes.

9. Create a home cinema

Putting on a film is a nice way to spend some quiet time together. A film normally lasts an hour and a half which means that you can sit down with your children and rest too. To further this activity, the children could make cinema tickets, you could pop some popcorn or prepare a different snack together for your cinema experience, for example, fruit kebabs, homemade lollies, cupcakes, vegetable sticks and dip. Don’t forget to talk about what happened in the film afterwards together to help with language development or ask the children to draw pictures of the characters afterwards, to extend the activity.

10. Kim’s game

For this game you need to find lots of random objects from around the house and put them on a table or tray. Give your child one minute to memorise all the objects before covering them up. Then spend another minute trying to remember as many objects as you can. For younger children, use fewer objects. For older children, add more objects to make it trickier. 

A similar game that doesn’t require objects is ‘I went to the shops and I bought a…’. For this game, each player has to come up with an object or food that they bought from the shops using each letter of the alphabet. The first person will say ‘I went to the shops and bought an apple.’ Then the person has to repeat everything the last person says and add their own, for example ‘I went to the shops and I bought an apple and a banana.’ Take it in turns working your way through the alphabet until you get to z. The longer this game goes on the harder it is to remember all the items that came before!

11. Make up a story bag

For this activity you will need to choose some random objects and put them in a bag or box. Then make up a story by pulling each object out of the bag. For example, you could have small world characters and other toys. The story could be ‘Once upon a time there was a little girl who found a magical key that led her to a secret kingdom where she found a talking unicorn…’ Or you could collect some objects that link to a story and make a story sack. You could also try making story stones by finding and cleaning some large, smooth stones or pebbles and drawing simple pictures on them. Then draw these out of a bag one by one as you create your story (be careful if using with younger children as these could be choking hazards).

I hope that you find these activities and ideas helpful for keeping you and your little ones busy. If there is nothing here that you think will interest your child, please check out Pinterest. It is a great resource with thousands of activities that you can tailor for your child’s age and stage of development. Remember keep safe during these uncertain times and make the most of this time together to have as much fun as possible!”

There are more activity ideas on our ideas for entertaining children at home and 125 seasonal activities posts.

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