Depending on how old your kids are, will depend on what you are doing to entertain them while the schools are shut. If you have school-age children (we have one) then the likelihood is you will have received a pack for them to work their way through. We will, of course, be working with Junior ESLT to ensure she does the academic things required of her. However, lockdown is no fun for anyone, especially children. With this in mind, we want to inject some fun into our new normal. Our children have never shown interest in laptops, pads, kindles etc making screen time not really an option for us. Therefore, because Mr ESLT and I both love to travel and are enthusiast about others learning about it and loving it too we have put together a list of 5 travel activities to entertain kids at home which if you are a travel lover too, may provide some inspiration to keep your little one entertained.
Grab A Globe
Junior ESLT has always been fascinated by the globe in office since she came to live with us 9 months ago. However, I have always discouraged her from touching it for fear she would break it (it was a present). However, over the past couple of weeks, we have actively encouraged her to ‘play’ with it. She points at a place on it and we tell her where it is. She then repeats it and moves on to somewhere else. We then point to the same places and ‘test’ her to see if she remembers.
Sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn’t and that’s fine. The likelihood is we will be at home for a long time. Therefore we are trying to do this for 15 minutes a day. Who knows maybe by the end of it she will know all 197 countries in the world, their capitals and where they are. Mini ESLT is at the moment too little to really take it all in. However, she actively listens. Therefore, proving you are never too young to learn about this wonderful world of ours.
Read Some Travel Tales
The likelihood is if you love to travel you will have travel guides and books from your previous travels. We have a large supply spanning the continents. We are of course reading the school-issued reading books. But we are also mixing it up with some travel guide reading too. Junior ESLT picks one book a day. We spend around 20 minutes flicking through it and looking at the photos. We then select the most important points such as currency, key attractions, the capital city and talk about it for a bit.
If we have visited the place the book is about we also tell personal little anecdotes which she really likes to hear. There is nowhere so far that she has said she wouldn’t like to visit. Therefore we now have a list as long as our arm of where we would like to visit with the girls when this is all over. If you don’t have access to travel guides, but do have access to the internet, Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are good places to start.
Sign Up To A Subscription Box
As we have found even if your kid(s) have every toy under the sun, they can still get bored very quickly and need new stimulus. At the moment we are allowed to leave the house, providing we abide by social distancing rules. Therefore we are still able to pick up things if we need them. However many people are already in isolation and self-imposed lockdown making it impossible for them to get out and about. If this sounds familiar have you considered a monthly subscription box which will be delivered to your door (if possible?). So of them include some great travel activities to entertain kids at home.
UOpen have a range of subscriptions boxes for all ages, including a great selection for kids. Junior ESLT received a gifted Geo Journey Box (RRP £13.00). It was full of interesting, informative and educational bits and pieces all related to the City of York in England. Every month a new box with things relating to another city somewhere else in the world is delivered together with a stamp to stick in the Geo Journey passport you receive with your first box The longer you subscribe for, the cheaper each box works out to be. Use the code ESLT10 to get 10% off your Geo Journey or any other UOpen subscription box.
Play A Game
Homeschooling is fun isn’t it (insert big fat eye roll!) Teachers are special creatures and we have so much admiration for them. How they keep a class of 30 under control is beyond us, we’re struggling with just two. Now as experienced homeschoolers (we’re two weeks in, although it feels much longer) we’ve learnt that all work and no play makes me, Junior, Mini and Mr ESLT miserable (and frustrated). So what better way of mixing up colours, phonics and basic calculation, than learning through play? Whether that be on their own or with everyone to incorporate family time too.
Depending on the age of your children will depend on the games on offer for them to play. Whether it be online games or bog-standard board games, there is something out there for all ages. As our children are only small we are focusing on board games suitable for littles. Some of our favourites include Orchard Toys ‘Landmark Lotto Mini Game’, Hasbro’s ‘Junior Monopoly’ and also Hasbro’s ‘Scrabble Junior’ with a travel word only theme. We offer a nice treat (usually chocolate-based) for the winner which keeps them interested in the game.
Cook Up A Storm
Along with educational learning and learning through play, learning practical things is also really important. That is why cooking with kids is a great way of not only teaching them new skills but also getting to spend time with them in the kitchen (even though we spend most of our time telling them to get out of the kitchen). Having never really allowed them to be part of the cooking or baking process (apart from box mixture cupcakes), we thought lockdown was the perfect opportunity.
We have been lucky enough to order some great fruit, veg and meat boxes from local businesses in our town. And we always have a well-stocked freezer, larder and condiment cupboard. Therefore, we have not had to brave the shops yet and have a lot to make yummy dishes. We are also lucky that our kids aren’t fussy eaters and will give anything a go that’s put in front of them. So far we’ve made an indulged in some Italian, Mexican and Portuguese food.
We hope these travel activities to entertain the kids at home are helpful and keep your little ones distracted. Well for at least 5 minutes!
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