Coronavirus: How to keep children happy, learning and entertained at home

In a previous incarnation, just before my first child was born, I left my job in the media and trained as a Montessori teacher. The plan was that I would be able to incorporate my work and home life without too much upheaval, and this proved to be true.

Three sons later, I returned to my writing role and began working on a freelance basis – with three children under the age of six at home with me.

So as parents up and down the country are facing, with trepidation, the prospect of at least two weeks at home with their children – indoors for much of the time and without the welcome distraction of playdates or playgrounds, as we are being advised to avoid these to slow the spread of coronavirus – I want to share with you some of the entertainment tricks I have used while working from home for the past 15 years.

Toddlers

Toddlers like feeling useful, so clear some cupboard space and fill it with your child’s plastic eating utensils, wooden spoons and an inexpensive, pot, pan and mixing bowl. Make sure it’s at child-level so they can access it at will, along with some pasta they can ‘cook’ with. Leave cloths, dustpan and brush within easy access so they can ‘help’ you clean and allow them to ‘wash’ clothes in a basin.

This age group has a keen eye for the smallest things, so if you are not self-isolating, a trip to the park, woods or beach will keep them amused for hours as they hunt out shells, bugs and other treasures. If you’re staying closer to home, the same can be done in the garden.

Another curious toddler interest is sorting stuff – laundry into piles, different coloured/shaped pasta into groups, toys into categories, cutlery drawer, shoes into pairs – so root out (or create) jumbles of items and get them to order it.

And when the TV needs to be turned on, you can’t beat old favourites like Sesame Street and The Muppets and the more recent The Best of Toddler Fun Learning (all on You Tube).

Top tips for toddlers

• Allocate jobs
• Use educational TV
• Keep them active when indoors by having jumping, skipping, dancing sessions – it will tire them out and give you a bit of a workout too.

Ages four-six

This age group is still wonderfully curious and aside from the usual baking activities, my guys also “helped” with dinner – with plastic utensils, they chopped and peeled, stirred and mashed. This not only kept them busy and by my side while I was cooking, but it also gave them a sense of achievement and the motivation to eat what they had prepared.

I would encourage everyone to relax the rules over the next few weeks and allow kids to spread out their playing space – setting up various worlds involving dinosaurs, soldiers, dolls, trucks, farm animals, whatever, can take hours and even if the actual game only lasts 30 minutes, trust me, they will spend forever setting the scene.

Dens in the living room or bedroom are always fun and once set up can be a magical place to bring books and treats.

Drawing pictures, or printing outlined images off the internet for colouring in are always good for keeping busy, and when you need a solid hour to finish some work, there are some great educational programmes on Netflix and You Tube such as The Magic School Bus and Ask the Storybots.

Top tips for ages four-six

• Making dens and forts
• Colouring in/creating worlds for their toys
• Help with meals

Ages seven-nine

Bill Nye the Science Guy and Octonauts are good shows for this age group but of course there’s only so much screen time they can and should have. I found that “nature/treasure hunts” were a big hit, and wrote lists of things to find in the garden, such as “2 long twigs, 4 daisies, 3 smooth stones” (Substitute words with drawings for the younger age group). This, armed with a “picnic” (some snacks) will keep them busy for ages.

If you haven’t got any outdoor space, get them to find different things around the house and bring to you for inspection (make sure it’s a long list).

The nature haul can be turned into an art project (outdoors if possible but with newspaper over the kitchen table, if not). Stones can be turned into ladybirds, twigs painted to make a display, flowers pressed and bugs photographed and returned to the wild.