Housebound with your kids. How to entertain them and keep your sanity?
Updated: Apr 26, 2020
We are all in this together! This post has been made by a mum who's learning how to educated two small kids at home, and for all the parents who are doing the same. Throw away the schedules! Lets create a new home learning experience that's realistic and goes beyond worksheets and spelling tests. Education is so much more than Maths, English and Irish. Particularly for primary school kids who learn through play and interaction. Some of us will want to maintain a routine and structure while the rest of us don't know where to start so here's where I can help!
What matters most is our health and wellbeing so take things at your own pace and do what you can within in the constraints of your own environment. Right now kids just want to feel safe and secure, that everything is going to be OK. There'll be days when we do absolutely nothing but play, shout, roar, dance, laugh and mess about and that's OK too!
This list will evolve and grow and I would love for everyone to contribute to it. What works best for you? Do you have any other useful links, resources and ideas I can include? Please send on to info@dublincitymum.ie and share the love!
I've categorised the resources into the following: Live Online Classes, Education, Creative, Exercise + Movement, and Explore.
Live Online Classes
9:00am: The Body Coach Joe Wicks Brilliant workouts for kids and fun for parents to join in too!
9:00am: Rinka Ireland Live kids workouts. Fun family exercise that everyone can join in.
9:30am: Mind Body Ireland Online kids yoga and storytelling
10:00am: Meandthemoon Art workshops that are designed to stimulate children’s curiosity, creativity and confidence - running free live workshops every Friday on Facebook.
10:00am: Play.horray Live Arts and Crafts Monday to Friday.
10:00am: Harmony Yoga Live Zoom yoga classes for toddlers + older kids.
10:00am: Baby Yoga + Sensory Live Zoom baby yoga and sensory classes for babies and toddlers with Born Ready.
10:00am: Maths with Carol Vorderman who makes maths fun! There's something for every kid.
10:00am: Baby + Toddler Music singalong music and stories with Rainbow Phil.
10:00am: Bake Along with Devoted to Cakes. Every Monday.
10:00am: Family Cooking with Siobhan at Mummy Cooks. Tuesday to Friday.
11:00am: How to Save Your Planet From Home! Over the next 2 weeks Change By Degrees will share a series of challenges for all the family based on 6 everyday objects, everything from toilet roll to trainers! Now is a great time to create new habits that are fun and reduce our environmental footprint. First You Tube Live at 11am on Monday 6th April.
11:00am: ClapHandies Sensory classes for babies to toddlers (stays up for 24 hrs in stories)
11:00am: Kids Exercise with Marcins Monkeys Jumping, skiing, hoping and lots of high energy movement!
11:00 am: RTE Homeschool Hub Provides primary school children with fun and engaging daily lessons.
11:00 am: Thecoolfoodschool Deirdre teaches kids the joy of healthy eating.
11:00 am: Storytelling Elevenses with The World of David Walliams. Free audio stories.
12:30pm: Kids Yoga with Anna Walsh Fab yoga Zoom classes just for kids!
1:00pm: Music with Myleene KlassLet me take one lesson off your hands! Curriculum based and most importantly, fun. There’s no need for instruments or to feel intimidated. Any age, any ability welcome.
1:30pm: Diverse Dance Mix with Darcey Bussell DDMIX for Schools team up for a 10 minute shake up on Facebook LIVE just after lunch at 1.30pm every day next week! Keep your kids energised and active during these difficult times.
2:00pm: Teach your kids to Cook with Foodopi every Monday.
4:00pm: Kids Cooking with Theo Michaels Live cookalong Mon, Wed and Fri.
5:00pm: Kids Mindfullness with Bressie Live every Mon, Wed and Fri.
5:00pm: Storytelling @thefamilyedit Live Monday to Friday on IGTV.
6:00pm: Draw Together with Wendy Wendymac Bestselling Illustrator/friendly quarantine art teacher! 10am pst M-F on Instagram Live, stays up for 24 hrs in stories.
7:00pm: Storytelling with Oliver Jeffers Visual artist and author (and one of all time favourite kids writers!)
Other Instagram Lives - various times
Draw with Don! Draw at home with Don Conroy. All you will need is a piece of paper and a pencil and you'll be ready to draw. So let's stay safe and stay creative together!
Kids Language Classes Learn Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian and Spanish with Lingotot Ireland!
Movewithcarla Zumba Kids Instructor and Play Therapist - Join Carla every morning at home - various times.
Kids Cooking Learn to make meals together with Aileen Cox Blundell @babyledfeeding
Kids Yoga with Lydia In this 20 min class (4-9 yr olds) go on a yoga adventure to the mountains and embody a number of sights and animals that we encounter along the way!
Cosmic Kids Yoga Helping millions of kids LOVE yoga and mindfulness!
Science with Professor Brian Cox Robin Ince & Guests
Jamie Oliver Learn how to cook with your kids - great family recipe ideas.
Musiccubs Parent and Child Music - live music classes starting next week!
Playful_clasroom Teacher and Mum - Lover of play, music, tea and all things creative!
theottoolbox Pediatric OT - Tips, tricks, and tools designed to promote healthy development of kids so you can fill your therapy toolbox.
Empowered MamaPre and post natal live yoga classes.
Education
The Educational Company of Ireland Access Primary, Junior and Leaving cert e-books for free!
The Learning Academy Never leave home to attend a class! Classes are delivered online using their state of art virtual classroom.
CJ Fallon Committed to providing Irish teachers with the highest quality teaching resources in print and digital.
Twinkl Instant access to inspirational lesson plans, schemes of work, assessment, interactive activities, resource packs, PowerPoints and teaching ideas
Gill Explore Digital education resource platform providing easy access for teachers and students.
Khan Academy For every student in every classroom. A nonprofit with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.
Scholastic Find the best books, literary resources and educational solutions for kids, a leader in publishing and education for nearly 100 years.
Phonics Play Free phonics for kids.
Nasa Stem Engagement All ages fun STEM activities.
Wordshake Free fun spelling game.
Wild Maths A collection of mathematical games, activities and stories, encouraging you to think creatively.
BrainPop Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology.
Outschool 8000+ video chat classes for K-12 science, art, mindfulness, english, social studies, life skills, and more!
Beast Academy Offers a challenging curriculum for students ages 8‑13
Discovery Education Inspires educators to go beyond traditional learning with award-winning digital content and professional development.
Tynker Learn to code and mod Minecraft with its easy-to-learn, visual programming courses.
Geek Gurl Diaries Science, coding and other cool stuff!
Typing.com Learn how to type.
Additional Needs
SEN Teacher Allows you to create, adapt and share teaching resources for a wide-range of abilities.
Muinteoir Valerie Home Learning Pack for Pre-Verbal ASD Children.
Creative
#ImagineNation Playbook The #ImagineNation playbook is overflowing with activities for primary school children in drawing, writing and mindfulness exercises from leading creatives including Niall Breslin, Fatti and John Burke, Don Conroy, Sarah Crossan, Sheena Dempsey, Jennifer Farley, Chris Haughton, Shane Hegarty, Yasmeen Ismail, Oliver Jeffers, Chris Judge and many more!
Children's Books Ireland Endless list of resources and creative projects for kids. They are a not for profit with the principal aim of encouraging every child to become a reader and fall in love with books!
EPIC Easter Rising Pack What comes to mind when you think of Easter for kids? Chocolate, bunnies, egg hunts? How about haircuts, proclamations and cake dances! If you're looking for a creative way to entertain the kids this Easter, liven things up with the first in a series of EPIC's 'History-at-home' packs.Â
My COVID-19 2020 Time Capsule Print here! Includes lots of great activities to record and document how we're feeling and what we're doing.
Artful Parent Easy and fun kids art, family crafts, children's creativity, and process-oriented kids arts and crafts.
Happiness is Homemade 50+ Quick & Easy Kids Crafts that ANYONE Can Make!
Me and The Moon Facilitate Process Art workshops that are designed to stimulate children’s curiosity, creativity and confidence. They have created some fantastic workshop ideas to help families plan art activities at home.
John Boyne Short Story Competition NOW CLOSED! Help foster creativity among Irish children and teenagers during this current crisis, they are running a SHORT STORY COMPETITION, aimed at 6-18 year olds, with lots of book tokens to give out as prizes.
Green Slime! How to make green slime for Beginners at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum!
The Best Ideas for Kids Craft ideas for kids of all ages.
Education.com Free printables for Arts and crafts and educational work sheets.
Activity Village Free printables for Arts and crafts.
Highlights Kids The place for children of all ages to play games and discover new jokes, surveys, answers to science questions, and fun crafts and recipes.
The Spruce Crafts Free tutorials and printables for fun kids' crafts, holiday crafts, DIY gift ideas and more!
DIY.org Huge library of hands-on projects, how-to videos, and an awesome kid community.
Garda.ie Children's Corner For younger members of the public who like to colour-in, have some fun and find out more about An Garda SÃochána along the way!
Crayola Colouring Pages.
Exercise + Movement
Go Noodle Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. Available for free at school, home, and everywhere kids are!
KIDZ BOP Records kid-friendly versions of today’s biggest pop music hits sung by kids, for kids.
The Body Coach Joe Wicks Brilliant workouts for kids and fun for parents to join in too!
Cosmic Kids Yoga Yoga, mindfulness and relaxation designed specially for kids aged 3+, used in schools and homes all over the world.
Super Troopers Encourages children and their families to live happier and more active lifestyles. Through short burst, fun daily activities around physical activity, wellbeing and nutrition, this programme helps to promote healthy minds and bodies.
Explore
Arts and Culture Explore the world with Google - visit the Taj Mahal, The Eiffel Tower and so much more. Endless exploration of the world from your ipad!
Boredpanda Go on a virtual tour of these 12 famous museums and pretend to travel the world!
Family Days Tried And Tested A comprehensive list of virtual tours you can take with your children, adventure all over the world from the confines of your own home.
Kids National Geographic Games, videos, learn something new about the world!
Dublin Zoo Check out the animals live at Dublin Zoo!
Zoos all over the world! Check out the animals live at Zoo!
One Globe Kids Spark a child’s global imagination with beautifully photographed, interactive stories by and for children around the globe.
We are all in this together so please help! This list is by no means exhaustive. If you have any suggestions for additional online resources please send them on and I'll pop them in.
Thank you
Avril