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This resource is currently free during the school closures.

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The Maths Factor : Homepage - make Carol Vorderman your child's online maths tutor

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Unlock your child's maths confidence with Carol Vorderman's maths site for 4-11 year olds. Kids can watch her maths videos, play games practise and even make their own medals with the 30 Day Challenge!

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If you would like the opportunity to do some work on your spellings whilst the schools are closed Sir Linkalot are currently offering their app for free.

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Astronauts reading stories from Space. A really lovely way to do story time with a difference!

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A great resource for fine and gross motor activities. A great bank to draw from.

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Two weeks free when you sign up for Cosmic Kids yoga. A great way to help kids to relax and regulate.

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Jaime's Fantastically Fun Yoga & Mindfulness

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Hello from Jaime!

"My goal is to create what my generation didn't have when I was a kid - a fun way of discovering yoga and mindfulness! I want kids to be equipped to look after their mental and physical health so they grow into happy adults."

5 fun maps to guide young yogis through 20 of Jaime's favourite yoga adventures. Includes completion certificate!

5 example class plans for kids yoga teachers. Includes scripts and fun game & craft ideas to match the class theme.

Bite-sized interactive activities designed to nourish your little ones' mental health and can be used year-round.

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Cosmic Kids Yoga | The Home of Positive Screen Time

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Screen Time that gives kids SUPERPOWERS! SUPERPOWERS! SUPERPOWERS! Stream it all on the Cosmic Kids app! Your browser does not support the video tag 99% of parents said... Cosmic Kids has a positive impact on the PHYSICAL and MENTAL health [...]

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World Book Online has a huge repository of books available.

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Problem solving, engineering skills and fun!

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Problem solving, engineering skills and fun!

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Some great ideas here and you might have some of the necessary materials around the house already.

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Earth Day is fast approaching (April 22), though there really is never a bad time to celebrate Mother Earth. It's important to teach students the environmental benefits of recycling, like conserving energy and natural resources and reducing air and water pollution, all year long. While recycling breaks down old items in order to create something new, upcyling makes something new from an existing object in its current state. Challenge your students to create something unique and wonderful from preexisting items like magazines, plastic water bottles, tin cans, egg cartons, and more. Check out our list of the best upcycled crafts for Earth Day or any day, and give some of them a try!

1. Make wildflower seed bombs.

Give back to Mother Earth with these easy-to-make seed bombs. Blend together used scraps of construction paper, water, and wildflower seeds in a food processor, then form them into tiny muffins. Let them dry, then toss them in the ground. As the seed bombs receive sun and rain, the paper will eventually compost and the seeds will germinate.

2. Create nature wreaths.

Take your kids on a nature walk to gather interesting leaves, flowers, berries, etc. To make the wreath forms, braid together strips of old T-shirts and form them into a circle. Then attach natural items into the crevices and secure with clear fishing line or hot glue. Attach a ribbon at the top to hang your wreath.

3. Construct a bug hotel.

Create a cozy place for all the creepy-crawlies to hang out. Cut a two-liter plastic bottle into two cylinders, then stuff it with sticks, pine cones, bark, or any other natural material. Make sure to pack the organic material tightly. Then loop a piece of twine or yarn around the two cylinders and hang your bug hotel from a tree branch or fence.

Learn more: Red Ted Art

4. Make a quilt.

Textiles make up a huge portion of municipal solid waste- over 16 million tons per year. Teach your kids to repurpose old material that would otherwise end up in the landfill by putting together a cozy quilt.

Learn more: Teach Student Savvy

5. Use magazines to create a bowl.

We love Earth Day crafts that result in a practical object you can use around the house. This project is best for older students who have the patience and dexterity necessary to carefully roll their magazine strips and glue them together.

Learn more: DIY Joy

6. Create Earth moss balls.

Pay tribute to our lovely planet on Earth Day with these fuzzy moss balls. Kids who love getting their hands dirty will particularly love this craft. All you do is squish pre-soaked sphagnum moss into a tight ball, wrap it tightly with blue yarn or strips of discarded T-shirts, layer more moss and more yarn, etc., until you've created an Earth-shaped orb. Finish with a loop of yarn and hang it in a sunny window. To keep your moss ball healthy, simply spray it with water every couple of days.

Learn more: Mother Natured

7. Create a hanging garden.

Large plastic bottles become beautiful hanging planters in this green-living and green-thumb project. A great way to make a gorgeous hanging garden.

8. Upcycle trash into flower art.

Scraps of paper are the only supplies you need for this recycled-flower-garden activity and lesson. The measurement and math element is an added bonus.

9. "Grow" an egg carton tree.

Save those egg cartons! This simple project only requires a few supplies to make a recycled egg carton tree.

Learn more: Glued to My Crafts

10. Create binoculars using paper towel rolls.

Save those paper rolls so your class can customize their own binoculars! Have a variety of paints, stickers, etc., on hand so your students can really personalize their bird watchers!

Learn more: Today's Parent

11. Create your own flexible seating.

One of our favorite Earth Day crafts has to be upcycling tires into comfy seating for our reading nook.

Learn more: Hanging With Mrs. Hulsey

12. Fashion a pop-top bracelet.

Aluminum beverage pop tops become wearable jewelry thanks to some ribbon ninja work. Put this video onto your interactive whiteboard to give your students the full 411, and then get crafting!

13. Chime the wind.

Go outside for a nature walk and gather sticks, weeds, and pickable blooms, then bring the treasures inside to be showcased in recycled jar lids. With some wax paper and string, your students can craft this surprisingly beautiful recycled wind chime.

Learn more: Hands On as We Grow

14. Paint paper bags.

Brown paper bags become eco-canvases for artwork and a perfect way to adorn fridges for Earth Day. Bonus points if you can source handled bags, because the handles serve as built-in artwork hangers.

Learn more: Small for Big

15. Make a recycled city.

Create an adorable village using little more than paper rolls, paper, scissors, paint, glue or tape, and your imagination!

Learn more: Today's Parent

16. Create pebble art.

Take students outside to collect small rocks and pebbles. Have them arrange the rocks into a creative pattern of their choice. Get creative, and try for as many different designs as you can! Once you're finished, simply leave the rocks where you found them.

17. Use old crayons to make new ones.

This isn't just any recycled crayon. It's a gorgeous Earth crayon! You can make these with your kids using a muffin tin. You just need to sort out the right colors.

Learn more: The Gunny Sack

18. Use upcycled objects to make mazes.

STEM and recycling go together wonderfully! This idea is a great way to challenge kids to make mazes or something else entirely.

Learn more: Hello, Wonderful

19. Make a rope snake.

Recycling projects that use objects you may have laying around your garage or shed are some of our favorites! Grab that old rope you've been saving and create these adorable rope worms/snakes with your students.

Learn more: Make Film Play

20. Feed the birds.

Herald spring with this easy crowd-pleaser: the large plastic bottle bird feeder. This short video will teach kids how to get started constructing their feeders.

21. Get organized with old cans.

Tin cans are easy to get your hands on, and they can go a long way in organizing supplies. Get your kids involved by having them help decorate the cans. They'll really take ownership of this, which will hopefully help them want to keep supplies more organized.

Learn more: Sandy Toes and Popsicles

22. Make papier-mâché pots.

Cut off the bottoms of beverage bottles or reuse food containers and jazz them up with bright-colored paper scraps. Except for the glue, these papier-mâché planters are composed solely of recycled materials.

Learn more: Childhood 101

23. Make a necklace out of junk.

Earth Day art that is wearable is a bonus! Use found objects or some string to create these unique necklaces.

Learn more: The Awesome Childhood Project

24. Make chair fidgets out of old tees.

Give old T-shirts new life with this craft by making chair fidgets. This uses a simple braiding technique, and your kids will love helping out.

25. Collaborate on an aluminum can recycling bin.

Kids can work together to create an aluminum-can recycling center. Watch the video above to get the simple instructions and learn how your school can make recycling fun and rewarding.

26. Create tin can robots.

Recycling projects like these are the best since kids love robots. Be sure to have an extra pair of adult hands around to help with the hot glue.

Learn more: Creative Jewish Mom

27. Fashion fairy houses.

Are these the sweetest Earth Day crafts ever? Plastic bottles from home become homes for fairies, thanks to paint, scissors, glue, and real or faux greenery.

Learn more: Crafts by Amanda

28. Create a giant upcycled art wall.

This is an amazing recycled wall masterpiece. You could set it up on a cardboard backing and then let students add to it, paint it, and create with it whenever they have free time throughout the day.

Learn more: Art Bar Blog

29. Make your own games.

Use bottle caps in a game of tic-tac-toe. They can also be turned into checkers. This would be a great makerspace activity. Give your kids several upcycled items and challenge them to create games!

Source: Reuse Grow Enjoy

30. Make a treasure magnet.

These treasure magnets are just so beautiful! Recycle a bottle cap and glue a variety of gemstones and beads inside. Finally, add a magnet to the back.

Learn more: Hattifant

31. Turn old magazines into art.

We love how this upcycled magazine cut-paper art project can be modified for primary students or used to inspire sophisticated art by high school students.

Learn more: Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

32. Build beautiful terrariums.

A bottle gets a second life as a museum-worthy terrarium as well as a home for an environmental science project. Be sure to add the activated charcoal and moss for plastic bottle terrariums that flourish.

Learn more: Adirondack Girl at Heart

33. Paint with corks.

This is the perfect kind of Earth Day art since you use recycled material (corks) to paint your favorite scene from nature.

Learn more: 30 Seconds

34. Set up a self-watering planter.

Your classroom studies of plant life, photosynthesis, and water conservation will get a boost with this hands-on crafting of a self-watering planter. The base? A good ol' large plastic bottle.

Learn more: ehow

35. Form flowers from water bottles.

Upcycled water bottle flowers are an easy craft that can be sourced directly from your recycling bin, with the help of some paint.

36. Build cardboard castles.

Gather all your recyclables and put those tiny engineers to work. You'll be amazed by what they create!

Learn more: Fun-a-Day

37. Make these newspaper owls.

Old newspapers find their spirit animal when they become recycled newspaper owls. All you need are markers, watercolors, and paper scraps to make them come alive.

Learn more: I Heart Crafty Things

38. Construct a plastic bottle recycling bin.

Water bottles come together, as do your kids, to make this water bottle recycling center. This project combines teamwork with respect for our environment, a double win.

39. Create genius ideas out of cardboard.

Cardboard is one of the easiest, least expensive materials you can get your hands on. Grab a ton of it and challenge your kids to make awesome creations. You never know what they might come up with.

40. Make an instrument.

There are no limits to the recycling projects you can create using paper rolls. We especially love that this DIY instrument will teach kids about vibrations and sound.

Learn more: No Time for Flash Cards

41. Create a spinning top.

Do you have a bunch of CDs lying around that never get played anymore? How about a box or drawer of markers that barely write? If you answered yes to these questions, then this is the perfect project for you.

Learn more: Artsy Momma

42. Fashion lady bugs from bottle caps.

These little ladybugs are so cute and yet so, so simple. Grab some bottle caps, paint, googly eyes, and glue and get ready to make some adorable friends!

Learn more: Love and Lollipops

What are your favorite Earth Day crafts? Share in the comments below!

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42 Earth Day Crafts and Classroom Activities That Use Recycled Materials

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Raid your recycling bins for supplies and then try one of these eco-savvy Earth Day crafts that is sure to be a hit with students.

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Lots of fun experiments to try!

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Science Kids is the online home of science & technology for children around the world.

Learn more with our fun science experiments, cool facts, free games, activities, lesson plans, quizzes, videos, photos and science fair project ideas.

If you're looking for a specific topic then head over to our topic section.

Find resources on a range of different science topics covering everything from plants to space, animals, chemistry, biology and more!

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Find out more about the scientists who changed the world we live in thanks to their research and discoveries.

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Enjoy our space facts and learn the truth behind some of the mysteries that relate to distant stars and galaxies.

Check out some amazing science and technology videos that feature the best experiments, processes, chemical reactions, projects, facts and general information that science has to offer.

These entertaining videos will help you learn while having fun at the same time!

Check out this amazing video of an intelligent dolphin as it plays with bubble rings, performing a number of impressive under water tricks.

Enjoy this fun egg experiment video which involves an egg being sucked into a bottle, do you think you can figure out why it happens?

Take some time out to enjoy the lighter side of science.
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Perfect for science lessons, projects and presentations, the images are free to use however you please.

Find science pictures covering everything from chemistry to space, experiments, biology, weather, animals, technology and more.

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Science for Kids - Fun Experiments, Facts, Games & Projects

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Enjoy learning about science with a wide range of fun experiments, facts, games, activities, quizzes, videos and projects that are perfect for kids.

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You can’t go wrong with National Geographic Kids.

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This site covers a huge range of topics and is sure to engage the kids.

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A fantastic site for any budding scientists.

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NASA encourages you to visit NASA Kids' Club and use its games and activities to inspire the next generation.

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Some great, creative, art ideas for children from the artful parent.

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The Artful Parent's favorite kids' art projects! These art ideas are easy, fun and work for a wide age range of children. Updated December 2023
For years now, we've had this list of favorite art ideas for kids. Every time we try a new art activity, or even revisit an old favorite, it gets measured against this list in our head.
To get included on our list of best art ideas, it needs to fit the following criteria:

The process is fun and open-ended.

It's easy to do.

It's the kind of activity that kids want to do over and over again.

Plus, the end result looks pretty great, too.

Who wouldn't want to do those art projects?!?

Here are our top 10 favorite kids' art ideas. If you're looking to kick the new year off in a creative way, try one of these!

Art Ideas for 2024

This is an all-time favorite that is loved by kids of all ages. Plus, it uses materials you already have! Glue, salt, and either liquid watercolor paint or food coloring. This activity is so fun for seasonal variations too!

Watercolor resist techniques are so fun for kids to explore! The simplest version is to draw with crayons on watercolor paper, then paint with watercolors to see how the wax resists the paint!
If your kids love this, be sure to try salt resist painting, tape resist art and alcohol resist painting.

Make beautiful tissue paper suncatchers to hang in the window! Or try a nature suncatcher by using flowers and leaves and a paper plate as the frame for a lovely spring or summer decoration.

This twist on watercolor painting uses Q-tips instead of paintbrushes, and is one of our standby, super-easy-yet-interesting activities. Kids love making dots with paint, and then connecting them and seeing how the colors blend. You'll find even more fun ways to make art with dots HERE!

The best, easiest, and cheapest DIY marbled paper is done with shaving cream marbling. It's fun and mesmerizing to watch paint swirl and transfer from the shaving cream to paper!
If your kids love this, be sure to try one of our 6 Easy Paper Marbling Techniques including Marbling with Oil + Food Coloring.

Blow painting with straws is simple and yet lots of fun for kids of all ages! Use a straw to blow liquid paint around on paper, creating interesting designs.

Here are some of our favorite creative playdough ideas for kids, including making fantastical creatures, using poke-ins, trying playdough mats, forming letters, and pretend play.
Here are our favorite recipes for no cook playdough and cooked playdough.
This is also known as symmetry painting, blotto painting, smush art, squish painting, and more.

Regardless of the name, kids of all ages love it. It's easy, fun, and the result is unique every time. Create butterflies, hearts, or just fold a piece of paper, drop a few blobs of paint and fold over the paper!

Spin painting is a favorite kids art activity that can be done with a salad spinner or with a kids spin art machine.

Splatter painting is exactly what it sounds like! This action art activity is a big-time favorite with all the kids we've known. Super easy, super fun, and super messy, you've got to try it!
How about you? What's on your list of top 10 all-time favorite art activities for kids?
By the way, if there are some art activities on the list above that you haven't tried yet, we promise you they are good ones that are worth exploring with your kiddos. And if there's something on that list that you have done, perhaps it's time to revisit it?

More Ideas for Creative Families
Want even more creative ideas? Pin It for Later

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Our list of our favorite kids art projects! These art ideas are easy, fun and work for a wide age range of children.

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Babbledabbledo.com have a great range of art activities to keep creative little hands busy!

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If there is one age that I patiently waited for my kids to reach, it was 3-4 years old, the preschool years. If you are a creative type, you probably are also excited about these years because it's the age kids can really start trying projects, particularly ART. Engaging art at this age sets the stage for a lifetime love of creativity, in fact I believe the best preschool art projects are the foundation for creative thinking, exploration and problem solving.

I urge anyone working with kids this age whether they are your own or those you teach or care for to make sure that when choosing art projects for 3-4 year olds you select ideas that are open-ended with plenty of opportunities to explore. What you really want to foster at this age is a love of play and creating, avoid projects with complicated steps or things that are too crafty, instead try process art, and art projects with a science twist to make them even more magical.

Top Tips for Art with Preschoolers

Embrace the mess. The best way to be able to embrace messes is to plan for it. Cover work surfaces in butcher paper or take really messy ideas outside. No one will enjoy a project if you are stressed about the mess which at this age is inevitable and should be a welcome part of the exploration.

Step Back. Adults should set up the projects and facilitate them as needed but please take step back and let the children explore on their own. Let them take chances and play with the materials at hand. In fact doing this often yields off-shoot projects that are just as fun!

Keep it short! Preschool aged children are like whirlwinds of energy and interests. Don't expect them to sit still for long so choose projects that can be accomplished quickly.

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Some of these projects are best suited for older preschoolers because they involve more advanced fine motor skill development; I have noted them Pre-K.

(Pre-K) These suncatchers have a magical outcome for a minimum of effort! All you need are glue, food coloring and a little patience...

A great introduction to process art, gather up an old sheet, paint and rollers plus some textured items and stencils and have fun!

This super simple project doubles as a lesson in color mixing and absorption.

I cannot tell you how worth the prep and mess this is! My whole family had a blast with it!

(Pre-K) A fun use for dyed pasta- turn them into colorful suncatchers.

The next time a large branch falls in your yard, save it! This is a wonderful group art project and lasts for years if you use acrylic paint (just be sure to wear smocks or messy clothes as acrylic permanently stains clothes). You can substitute washable paint for a non-permanent version.

Paint your patio! Or the driveway! This will work on concrete as well and washes off in a few good rains.

(Pre-K) Totally irresistible... Adults will need to prep the tops, but kids can help mix the paint and spin the tops for some crazy spin art fun!

(Pre-K) My daughter invented this project! You can do this in groups by spreading a thin layer of salt on the bottom of a tray.

A classic art project for a reason! This process makes lovely marbled paper.

This produces a massive amount of art very quickly! I love how it encourages children to think about creative ways to make art.

Pulled string art is one of the coolest classic art projects you'll ever try! And it doubles as a wonderful math art project for kids.

This doubles as a snack idea! First use your fine motor skills to cut and create mosaic piece of art, then eat it!

A classic art project that is always a hit with kids!

Everyone LOVES this project! Kids can create art without even touching the paper! See the picture above.

(Pre-K) Using oil pastels makes this easier to apply the two layers of color. This is fun for all ages!

A simple color mixing experiment featuring science!
Get the recipe for ice chalk here
18. Ice Chalk Painting

You will also need squeeze bottles filled with a mixture of vinegar and water. SAFTEY NOTE: Vinegar can sting the skin so be sure to let your children know to only squeeze the vinegar/water onto the chalk.

We placed an old white sheet on a table and the kids dissolved the ice chalk using a mixture of water and vinegar. Bonus: When everything is melted the chalk turns into oobleck!

(Pre-K) To make this easier to prep, substitute inexpensive air dry clay for the wood blocks.

(Pre-K) A great way to develop fine motor skills. WARNING: You'll probably start hoarding styrofoam trays just for their awesome textures after this....

Not only are these three paints taste safe, kids can help make them. The pudding paint makes a wonderful homemade finger paint!

A great STEAM project for preschoolers that asks them to problem solve. Set out some clothespins and assorted materials and ask them to make and paint with homemade brushes. Check out some of the fun materials we tried here.

Sidewalk chalk on black canvas. A wonderful alternative to the typical blank white canvas.

(Pre-K) A simple introduction to sewing using shoelaces and burlap.

One of our favorite ways to explore color mixing! Squeeze the primary colors onto a coffee filter, spin them in an old salad spinner and BAM you have new colors!

I hope this list of preschool art projects gets your children interested in creative exploration.
In fact join the Babble Dabble Do community and I'll send you 5 secrets to connecting with kids through creative projects.
You have been waiting for this age, time to start making! And don't be dismayed if your kids aren't interested in a particular project, it doesn't mean they don't enjoy art.
Send me awesome creative project ideas!

Join over 14,890 parents and educators who want connect with kids and nurture their creative process through magical, easy projects you can do TOGETHER.

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Colorful and engaging art projects perfect for preschool aged children.

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Lots of scope for developing maths skills, collaborative skills, problem solving skills whilst providing a sensory experience that's a lot of fun... plus the tasty baked goods at the end are sure to be a winner too!

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Have fun with our easy, kid-friendly recipes. Fairy cakes and sponge cakes are simple to make and fun to decorate. Muffins and scones are still a treat, but typically contain less sugar. Bread is often a big hit - little ones love playing with the dough!

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Some of the good old fashioned games that we used to play...

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When I was a kid, we played outside with the other kids in the neighborhood with most of our free time. We also made the most of recess at school. We kept ourselves quite occupied without any of today's modern technologies. Listed below are some no-tech games that you may have enjoyed as a kid. I sure did. Some can be done indoors. Some can be done by yourself or with just one friend. But most of them are best when done outside with a group of people. Also, most of these games can be changed or improved by making up your own rules. Use your imagination!

Hide and Seek

Everyone has played this one. Most parents have played with their kids, since hiding and finding is a common interest of small children. I've heard of all kinds of variations on this game. Sometimes you count to twenty, sometimes ten, sometimes one hundred. Sometimes there is a home base that you can run to and tag, becoming "safe," sometimes you just wait to be found. The general idea is that one person is "it," that person closes his or her eyes and counts to a certain number without looking and then he or she tries to find the others. Number of Players: Ideally at least three. Equipment: None.

Kick the Can

This game is a variation of tag and hide & seek. One person or a team of people are designated as "it" and a can is placed in the middle of the playing area. The other people run off and hide while the "it" covers his or her eyes and counts to a certain number. "It" then tries to find everyone. If a person is tagged by "it", they go into a holding pen for captured players. If one of the un-captured players manages to kick the can, the captured players are released. The game is over once all the non-"it" players are in the holding pen. Number of Players: Ideally at least three. Equipment: A metal can.

Capture the Flag

This game is most fun when played with a large group. Split the group into two teams, each team having a flag or other marker at the team's base. The object of the game is to run into the other team's territory, capture their flag and make it safely back to your own territory. You can tag "enemy" players in your territory, sending them to your jail. They can be sprung from jail by a member of their own team running into your territory, tagging them and running back, with one freed person allowed per jail break. It is sometimes played that all the people in jail could hold hands and make a chain back toward their own territory, making it easier for members of their team to tag them. We also played a similar game called Steal the Sticks. It had almost the same rules, but several sticks were used instead of one flag. Number of Players: A large group. Equipment: Two flags or other markers.

Parachute

Fun for kids of all ages, this game involves a large round parachute, preferably with handles, with people holding the parachute all around the edges. It helps if someone is in charge telling people what to do. Players can just ruffle the parachute up and down a little bit, they can go all the way up and all the way down, or all the way up and then run underneath, sitting on the edge of the parachute, which can create a bubble of air with everyone inside. Players can also place light objects such as wiffle balls or beanbags on top of the parachute, and make them jump by ruffling the parachute. Also, one person can sit in the middle of the parachute and everyone ruffles it near the ground. If there is a smooth floor and a light child, the child can sit in the middle on top of the parachute and everyone else can walk partway around still holding the parachute edge. Then everyone pulls backward, spinning the child. There are countless variations. Number of Players: Depends on the size of the parachute, but usually eight to ten. Equipment: A play parachute. These aren't as hard to find as you would think. Try here and here.

Traffic Cop

This game works best on a street with little to no traffic, or in a large paved area of some kind. You need bikes, wagons, pedestrians, scooters or whatever is available. One person directs traffic to make sure kids don't run into each other. It is more fun than it sounds, and helps kids learn about waiting to cross the street and about traffic safety. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: Bikes, wagons, scooters, anything on wheels.

Four Square

This ball game is played on a square court further divided into four smaller squares, numbered one through four. One player stands in each of the squares, with the highest ranked player in number one, lowest in number four. You bounce the ball among the players, bouncing once in the other person's square before that person catches it. When I played this as a kid, we had countless additional rules to choose from. The person in square one got to choose the rules. Anyone who violates the rules will have to move down in the ranking, or be eliminated with another player rotating in to square four. Number of Players: Four, unless you take turns. Equipment: A four square court or sidewalk chalk, a playground ball.

Hopscotch

Use some sidewalk chalk and make a hopscotch grid. Number the squares from one to nine. Pick a rock that is good for tossing. Small ones can bounce too much, and larger ones are hard to throw. Start by tossing the rock onto Square 1. Hop over the rock and hop with a single foot or both feet (to follow the hopscotch pattern) all the way to the end. Turn around and come back, stopping on Square 2. Balancing on one foot, pick up the rock in Square 1 and hop over Square 1 to the start. Continue this pattern with Square 2. And so on. If you toss your rock and miss the correct square, your turn is over. This game can be played with any number of people, but only one person can go at a time. If it's raining or dark or too cold, you can get indoor hopscotch mats or foam pieces, or just find a pattern on the floor to follow, perhaps using a beanbag instead of a rock. Number of Players: One at a time. Equipment: Hopscotch grid, rock or beanbag.

Jump-Rope and Double Dutch

One of the biggest ways I spent my recess time as a young girl was jumping rope. I got quite good at it for my age, both in speed and in skill. It was fun to jump by myself, but it was even more fun to have a long rope and jump with a couple of friends. That's where jump-rope rhymes come in. They turn a simple exercise into a fun game, to compete against yourself and others. Then there's double dutch. I was always in awe of the older girls who could do double dutch. The first time I tried it, I got tripped up almost immediately. However, once you understand how to do it, it isn't as hard as it looks. Number of Players: One for single jumping, three with a longer rope or for double dutch. Equipment: One or two jump-ropes.

Chinese Jump-Rope

This game requires three people, or just one or two people with really good chairs. It is easily done inside, assuming a sturdy floor. This game resembles regular jump rope in that you jump. A lot. But you jump in a pattern. Two people (or chairs) put their feet inside the rope and stretch them out, standing far enough apart for the third person to jump between them. The third person, or jumper, faces one of the people holding the rope and jumps in a pattern of left, right, inside, outside and on the ropes. What pattern you use is up to you, but all the players should use the same one. The game is started with the rope around the ankles. Once the jumper does the jump correctly, the rope is moved up to the calves. Then to the knees, then the thighs. Usually it doesn't get any farther than that. Once you miss, it is someone else's turn. Number of Players: Preferably three, but it can be done with one or two. Equipment: A stretchy-type rope or 5 to 6 meters of rubber bands tied together in a circle.

Jacks

This game can be played on any flat surface, indoors or out. The player scatters the jacks on the playing surface, often by just tossing them out of one hand, as if rolling dice. The ball is then tossed up, is allowed to bounce once, and is caught before the second bounce. The player tries to scoop up jacks and catch the ball with one hand before the ball's second bounce. The number of jacks to be picked up goes in order. First you pick up one ("onesies"), then two ("twosies"), then three and so on. There are many variations to the rules of this game including things like "pigs in the pen" and "double bounces." Jacks is one game I wish I had played as a girl, but it was much more common when my mom was a child. Number of Players: Any, taking turns. Equipment: A set of jacks and a small rubber ball.

Marbles

The general rules specify that you draw a circle in the sand or on the sidewalk, and then take turns trying to knock each other's marbles out of the circle with your one large marble. As with the other games, there are countless variations. I haven't played this game at length, though, because I always seem to hurt myself flicking the large marble into the ring! You can also use a marble mat which contains different point zones. Number of Players: At least two. Equipment: Chalk, large and small marbles.

Red Light, Green Light

With enough room, this game can easily be played inside. One person is the traffic light at one end, and the other players are at the other end. When the traffic light faces the group, he or she says, "Red light!" and everyone must freeze. The traffic light then turns his or her back and says, "Green light!" while the group tries to get as close to the traffic light as possible. The traffic light turns around quickly, again saying, "Red light!", and if anyone is spotted moving, they have to go back to the starting place. The first person to tag the traffic light wins and gets to be the next traffic light. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

Mother, May I

This game is set up in the same way as Red Light Green Light. One person in the group asks the person in the front, "Mother, may I take steps forward?" The person at the front then says, "Yes, you may." or "No, you may not." You can vary your requests by including options such as taking baby steps, spinning steps, leaps or whatever strikes your fancy. Again, the first person to tag the person in the front wins and is the next person in the front. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

Simon Says

This game can be played anywhere, even in a car or other small space. One person is Simon and starts by saying, "Simon says, '[insert action here]'. " Everyone must then do the action. However, if Simon makes an action request without saying, "Simon says" to begin the request, anyone who does that action is out. The last person still playing in the end will be Simon for the next round. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

Tag

It seems that everyone knows how to play tag, but just in case it wasn't in your childhood game playing repertoire, here is how you play. A group of kids decides who will start out as being "it." That person chases the other people around, trying to tag one of them with their hand. The newly tagged person is now "it." There is often the rule of "no tag-backs" where you can't tag the person who just tagged you. The game ends when everyone is tired of playing. Number of Players: Any size group. Equipment: None.

Shadow Tag

In this fun version of Tag, you tag each other's shadow with your feet instead of tagging their body. Thus, it must be played on a sunny day. The closer to noon, the greater the difficulty. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

Freeze Tag

This is a variation of Tag where if the person who is "it" tags you, you have to freeze where you are. Another participant can tag you to unfreeze you. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

TV Tag

A variation of Freeze Tag where the person unfreezing the frozen player has to call out a TV show title. That show then can't be used again during that game. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

Marco Polo

This variation of tag is played in a swimming pool. Whoever is "it" closes their eyes and yells "Marco!" The other players then yell "Polo!" The "it" person has to tag one of the others, and then that person is "it." Be sure to play in a pool that is not too deep for any of the players. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: A swimming pool.

Blind Man's Bluff

A favorite game in Tudor and Victorian England, this game is yet another variation on tag. The person who is "it" wears a blindfold and tries to tag the other players. Be sure to play this in an area safe from obstructions and other hazards. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: A blindfold.

Red Rover

Divide everyone into two teams, each forming a long line, holding hands, facing the other team. The two teams should be around 20 or so feet apart. The teams take turn calling out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, let come over!" That child leaves their team's line, runs as fast as they can toward the other line and tries to break through the held hands. If they break through, they get to take someone back to their team. If they don't, they join the new team. When a team only has one person left, that person tries to break through the other team. If they do not, then their team loses. If they do, they gain a player and play continues. Number of Players: Any decent size group. Equipment: None.

Heads Up, Seven Up

Dating back to at least the 1950s, this game is one we played in elementary school. In my experience, it was usually done in the classroom with everyone at their desk. To start the game, seven players go to the front and the teacher says, "Heads down, thumbs up!" Everyone still at their desk puts their head down, extends an arm and stucks their thumb up. The seven kids that were at the front go around and each press one person's thumb down. Then they all go back to the front of the room and the teacher says, "Heads up, seven up!" The players at the desks raise their heads and the seven whose thumbs were pressed down stand up. Each in turn names the person they think pressed down their thumb. If they are correct, they change places with the presser. Then the game can start again. Number of Players: Minimum of 14. Equipment: Desks at which to sit.

Spud

This outdoor game is a lot of fun. Every player gets a number and crowds around the person who is "it" for that round. "It" then tosses the ball straight up and the other players run away. As the ball reaches the top of its toss, "it" calls out the number of one of the other players and then runs away also. The player whose number was called must run back and catch the ball (or chase after it if it is bouncing around). Once that person has the ball, they yell, "Spud!" Then everyone else must freeze. The person with the ball must try to hit one of the players with the ball. If they do, that new person gets a letter (first S, then P, then U, then D) and is now "it." If they miss, the person who threw the ball is "it" for the next round. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: Playground ball.

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

Played inside or outside, the group sits or stands in a circle and holds their hands together in front of them. One person takes the button and goes around the circle, pretending to put the button in someone else's hands. They actually deposit the button in one person's hands, but then continue the rest of the way around the circle, pretending to put it in everyone else's hands. Then going around the circle, each player tries to guess who has the button now. Before each person's guess, the group asks together, "Button, button, who's got the button?" Then the player can state their guess. Once the player with the button is finally guessed, that person distributes the button during the next round. Because a button is used in this game, be sure that all the kids playing are old enough so as to not choke on the button. In another version of this game (and the one that I am more familiar with), one child stands in the middle of the circle, and the button gets passed around the backs of the rest of the group. Those without the button pretend to pass it. When the passing stops, the player in the middle has to guess as to who actually has the button. Number of Players: Any size group. Equipment: A button.

Cat's Cradle

This incredibly portable game can be played anywhere. If you are playing alone, you can make various string shapes on your own hands. With two people, you can play a bit of a game, transferring the shapes back and forth and creating new ones. Learn from someone if you can, but otherwise there are some good books on the subject. Make your own string, or buy a book on how to do it, which often comes with a string! Number of Players: One or two. Equipment: A string, approximately 36 inches long, tied in a circle (length varies, so find one that works for you!).

Hand-Clap Games

The first hand-clap game most people have played is Pat-a-Cake with their parents. Songs and patterns get much more complicated from there. Usually there are two people involved, doing a series of clap patterns on their own and each other's hands while singing or chanting a rhythmic song. There are many rhymes listed online, but if you can learn from someone else or see it in a video, that is best, so that you can get the notes of the song and the rhythm of the clapping. From "Miss Mary Mack" to "Miss Susie" to "Say, Say, My Playmate," there are countless hand clap games to learn. Number of Players: Usually two, but creativity can allow for a third or fourth person. Equipment: None.

Crack the Whip

Though often played on ice while wearing skates in the winter, this game is much safer, though possibly less fun, when played on grass. All the players hold hands in a line. The person at one end of the line skates or runs around, changing directions quickly. The tail of the "whip" of players tends to get moved around with a lot more force than players closer to the front. The longer the tail, the harder it is to hold on. If the players at the end fall off the end of the tail, they can attempt to get back on, perhaps in a position closer to the front. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

Musical Chairs

In a circle, arrange chairs facing outward to total one fewer than the number of players. An additional player needs to be in charge of the music. When the music starts, the players walk around the chairs. When the music stops, players sit down in the nearest chair as soon as they can. The one player who does not have a chair is out. One of the chairs is then removed, and the game continues in this manner. The player that sits in the final chair is the winner. This game is traditionally played inside, but it can also be played outside with outdoor furniture and a portable music player. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: Music player or person making music, chairs.

Telephone

This game is one in which most people end up laughing quite a bit, so if you're in the mood for silliness, give it a go. Players sit in a circle. One person thinks up a sentence or phrase and whispers it to the next person. That person repeats it to the person on their other side. This continues around the circle. When it finally reaches the last person, that person says the sentence out loud. Hilarity ensues. The ending sentence is usually quite changed from the beginning sentence, since errors tend to compound as they go around the circle. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.

Freeze Dance

Choose one person to be in charge of the music. When the music starts, everyone else dances, the crazier the better. When the music stops, the dancers must freeze in their position. Anyone caught moving after that is out. Play continues until there is one person left, the winner. Number of Players: Any number. Equipment: Music player or person making music. You can find more activities in The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls, as well as some jump rope and hand clap rhymes.

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From perennial favorites Hide and Seek, Telephone and Capture the Flag to the less common Blind Man's Bluff, Spud and Crack the Whip, this list has something for everyone.

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I cannot recommend this site enough! Some really catchy songs to get the kiddies dancing and moving. I adore it. The videos are also available on YouTube if you don't have an account!

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Free activities kids love and teachers request.

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Indoor Gross Motor Activities for Play school and Kindergarten

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Indoor Gross Motor Activities for Play school and Kindergarten

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If you are limited in space and our good old Irish weather stays true to form these activities might come in useful for regulating and burning off energy!!

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This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Looking for simple gross motor activities you can do indoors? This is the mega list!

I know how the winter goes - whether you're experiencing it now, or you're in the southern hemisphere and looking forward to it in a few months. You need things for your learners to get those wiggles out, or you're going to go a little crazy!

Here's a list to keep on hand! These are perfect for both the home and the early childhood classroom.
1 - Toss bean bags into baskets
Provide laundry baskets. Then get your learners in several rows, and have them take turns tossing bean bags into the target.

2 - Move on paper plates

Buy some colored paper plates. Then get creative! Place them in a row (red, green, red, green) and have students step on just the red ones. Or have them get down on all fours and "skate" with a plate under each hand. Put the plates in a row to get your students moving around the classroom. Put the plates far apart for biiiig steps. Or put them close together for tiny steps.

3 - Learn with a ball toss

If your learners are able to catch a simple toss, put them in a circle. Then think of a way to incorporate learning with a ball toss. For example, you can throw a ball to a student and name a word. Then s/he names a rhyming word and tosses the ball back to you. Toss it to another student with a new word for him/her to rhyme.

4 - Play "f ind and tag it"

This is a versatile game that can be used to review many different skills. Just tell your learners to find something and tag it. For example, "Find and tag something blue." Or "Find and tag something that starts with /s/."

5 - Move like an animal

You'll need some open space, but this is a great way to get kids using new muscles. Here are some ideas:

Move like a bird (run with arms outstretched)

Move like a snake (wiggle on tummies on the floor)

Move like a bear (walk on all fours)

Move like a frog (get down on haunches and hop)

Move like a kangaroo (take big leaps with arms in front of chest)

Move like an elephant (with heavy stomping)

Move like a penguin (waddle with ankles close together and arms pinned to sides)

Need more ideas? Check out 15 animal walks for sensory input, from Lemon Lime Adventures

6 - Have f un with painter's tape

Painter's tape is one of the best inventions ever. It goes on (and comes off) easily - whether you've got a smooth floor or a carpeted one (but be sure to test it first just to be sure). And there's so much you can do with it! Put it on the floor like a ladder. Then have students see how many rungs they can jump. Can they jump farther with a running start?

See how many rungs they can stretch - or how far they can go on one foot. Need more ideas? Check out this post at Hands on As We Grow.

7 - Play indoor hopscotch

I really think painter's tape is the way to go on this one. Create a simple hopscotch board with numbers. Then have students toss a bean bag on a space and jump to get there. Another idea is to use cardboard squares that you can pull out at any time.

Tip: Change the skill that learners review with hopscotch; instead of putting numbers on the squares, consider letters, shapes, or sight words.

8 - Use balloons

Blow up enough balloons for each of your learners (plus extras, because you know you'll need them after the inevitable popping). Have them put a balloon between their knees and walk like a penguin. Or they can toss the balloon and catch it so that it never hits the floor.

Can they balance the balloon on a part of their body (like an outstretched arm) and walk a few steps - or across the room?

9 - Alphabet action cards

Print our free alphabet action cards - then get active while reviewing the alphabet one letter at a time.

10 - Copy me!

This is where you can get in your workout for the day. Simply do a series of exercises or silly actions, and have your students copy you. Jump like a kangaroo. Scratch like a monkey. Run in a place. (Whatever it takes to get that heart rate up!)

11 - Create a wiggle jar

Print action cards and place them in jar. When your students need a movement break, pull a few cards for everyone to do. Here are some ideas for a preschool wiggle jar:

Jog in place while you sing the alphabet.

Touch the sky and then your feet five times in a row.

Pretend you're playing the drums.

Fly around the room like a bird.

For wiggle jar ideas, visit Homeschool Share.

12 - Tape balance beam

This is ultra simple, but surprisingly fun! Grab several rolls of colorful painter's tape, and set it on the floor in different lines; make the lines zigzag, curvy, straight, or shaped like a circle, square, or other shape.Then challenge your learners to walk each colored line from beginning to end.

13 - Dance like this

If your learners like to dance, put on some music - but give them instructions to dance a particular way. They can dance slow, fast, in a circle, silly, etc.

14 - Roll and move

Grab a large soft die (like this one), and write a list of simple exercises on cards. Have one learner draw a card, and another roll the die. The die tells you how many times to do the exercise. Here are some ideas for the exercise cards:

Touch your toes

Do arm circles

Run across the room

Hop on one foot

Jump forward

Take big steps

Take tiny steps

15 - Be an athlete

Have your learners pretend to do one of these sports. Think of it as heart-pumping charades!

16 - Be the weather

Children can use their bodies to be different kinds of weather, such as:

17 - Learning scavenger hunt

Write things your students are learning on sticky notes - they may be letters, numbers, shapes, sight words, etc. Put the sticky notes in various places around the room (some hidden and some obvious), and see how many your learners can find and identify.

18 - Sing active songs

Sing one of these classic songs, and add some actions!

I'm a Little Teapot

If You're Happy and You Know It

The Hokey Pokey

Ring around the Rosie

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around

Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush

19 - Do alphabet yoga

If you have nap mats or towels, pull them out and challenge your learners to do a yoga pose for various letters of the alphabet.

A - Airplane (hold still and move arms to the side)
B - Bicycle (lie on your back and pedal your feet)
C - Cat pose (get on all fours; then round your back while tucking in your chin; release)

For a list of yoga poses from A-Z (and how to do them!) visit Pink Oatmeal.

And for even more gross motor ideas, check out 3 Dinosaurs' gross motor printable list.

We hope this list gets your learners moving and saves your sanity at the same time!

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Indoor gross motor activities for preschool and kindergarten - The Measured Mom

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It's hard to know what to do with active kids on a rainy day! Thankfully, this post has a huge variety of indoor gross motor activities for preschool and kindergarten. No more crazies! #grossmotor #preschool #kindergarten #rainyday #largemotor

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This is great fun to make! Hours (sometimes minutes) of sensory fun! This needs to be supervised!

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Have you tried making fluffy slime yet? This one is a must try! The texture is so fun to play with. Kids will love stretching and squishing this fluffy slime. And we have to say, we think this is the best fluffy slime recipe you will try.

RELATED: How to Make Slime with Contact Solution

We made this recipe with unicorn colors - pink, teal and purple. We love how colorful and pretty it looks too! And if you want a sparkly unicorn slime be sure to see this unicorn slime recipe.

Fluffy slime is really just regular slime made with shaving cream added. The amount of shaving cream you add will change the texture and consistency of the slime. The more you add, the "fluffier" it will be. If you just want it to be a little fluffy, then this recipe will walk you through how much shaving cream to use. The fun part about making slime is experimenting with different amounts to see how the slime forms.

If you want to make sure your slime turns out - be sure to read the instructions carefully. The type of contact lens solution you need and glue is very important! Substituting these ingredients for other brands may result in your slime not working. We also do not recommend substituting the brands we recommend.

Fluffy Slime Recipe

If you're looking for a general slime recipe, our base slime recipe can be found here: How to Make Slime With Contact Solution. We like to use contact lens solution instead of pure borax in our slime recipes. We recommend you try this basic recipe to start if you haven't made slime before. It is easier to make than fluffy slime and will give you an idea on how much you need to knead and work the slime for it to form.

Fluffy slime is a lot of fun for kids to play with - however we recommend adult supervision and that adults should make the slime. See more safety tips at the bottom of this post before making your slime.

Once you have your fluffy slime made, have fun stretching and squishing it. Fluffy slime will leave indentations when you press on it which regular slime won't do as easily. It's a bit harder to stretch as it gives a fluffy consistency instead.

How Long Does Slime Last?

The fluffiness will only last a day. So if you do plan on storing it for future use, just note that the shaving cream settles and the next day it won't be as fluffy. You can still continue to play with it after the first day but it will turn into a consistency more like regular slime. Store in an air tight container and it should last at least 1 week.

Fluffy Slime Ingredients

If you want a large batch - triple the below recipe. Or make 3 batches with 3 different colors like we did and turn your slime into Unicorn Fluffy Slime!
Per batch:

2/3 cup of Elmer's White Glue - we like to buy this gallon size of white glue as it's a lot cheaper and you can continue to use it to make more batches.

Note: we made this with Elmer's white glue. Do not substitute with other glue as the make-up may not be the same and the recipe may not work

2-3 cups Shaving Cream - note: do not use shave gel.

1.5 Tablespoons Contact Lens Solution - *Important: your brand of contact lens solution must have boric acid and sodium borate in the ingredient list. This is what interacts with the glue to form the slime. We recommend only using Renu fresh or Equate brand. Do not substitute with other brands.

SEE: How to Make Slime With Contact Solution for more tips making slime with contact lens solution.

Liquid Food Coloring - comes with all kinds of vibrant pinks, purples and blues.

Watch the Video Tutorial

How to Make Fluffy Slime
1. Add your white glue to a bowl.

2. Add you water and baking soda and then mix.

3. Add your shaving cream and mix.

4. Add your food coloring until you are satisfied with the color. Mix.

5. Now slowly add in your contact solution.
** Important: your brand of contact lens solution must have boric acid and sodium borate in the ingredient list. This is what interacts with the glue to form the slime. If slime does not form it is typically due to the contact lens solution not having these ingredients. Check your label and see the recommended brands above in our ingredient list.

We like to add in 1 tablespoon, knead for 5 minutes and then add in the 1/2 tablespoon after kneading for some time. The slime will be very sticky when you're kneading - and that's normal!

The first tablespoon you add will let you start to knead it. And the last 1/2 tablespoon will bring the stickiness down and it shouldn't be sticking as much to your hands.

Note- fluffy slime is MESSY when you're making it. It is normal that it will stick to your hands as you're kneading.

If you find it still too sticky - add some baby oil or lotion to your hands. You can also add more contact solution if it's still too sticky, just a little bit at a time. If you add too much contact solution the slime may become too hard and won't be as stretchy to play with.

Now repeat the above recipe for each color you'd like to make. Note: Once you mix the colors together they will eventually mix into one color like play dough does. So you can keep them separately or mix and see what happens! If you make all 3 colors it may turn to gray so if you want to end up with purple just mix the pink and purple together.

Now you're done and you can play with it!

The slime will keep for at least a week in an air tight container. As mentioned above, you'll lose the fluffiness factor after the first day, but it is still fun to play with!
Print off the full slime recipe here:
Slime Safety & Precautions

Note: Making slime is a science experiment and safety precautions should still be made when creating slime. By making this slime, you agree to our site terms which you can read here.

Adults should handle any chemicals and products

Adults should make the slime

Always read and follow the labels of products used. If contact lens solution is accidentally ingested, seek medical attention immediately.

This project is not suitable for children under 4.

Slime should not be placed in the mouth. Always wash hands before and after playing with the slime.

If you notice any skin irritation, discontinue use immediately. If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves while making and playing with the slime.

Slime is a science experiment and should be made and played with in moderation. Do not allow children to make their own slime and do not play with slime for an extended period of time.

Try these other slime recipes:
See these other fun slime recipes!

Unicorn Glitter Slime - this is so fun and pretty!

Galaxy Slime - fun to learn about galaxies and mix up some slime for sensory play!

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This fluffy slime recipe is easy and fun to make! No borax and made with contact solution and shaving cream.

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A few play doh recipes to make with the children - they love doing this and it's such a fabulous sensory activity.

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The BEST homemade playdough recipe - I Heart Naptime

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This is the BEST homemade playdough recipe - make it in less than 5 minutes for under a $1 and have it last for months! It is so soft and squishy and cuts perfectly with cookie cutters.

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Keep those kiddies moving! A few ideas to burn some energy during the school closures.

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Let us help you live a life you love. Find tools to help you have fun and make the most out of each and every day.

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Fine motor tasks from Prekinders.com - a variety of ideas to keep little hands busy!

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Here are ideas for improving fine motor skills in Pre-K/ Preschool children. Find additional fine motor activities here.

Find more fine motor ideas on the Fine Motor Skills Resource Page

Fine Motor Skills is one of the main areas I sought to improve in my Pre-K classroom this past year (2008-09). I think fine motor is an area which is often overlooked, yet it is so important. Fine motor skills are the foundation children need before they learn handwriting, in order to have proper pencil grasp and control of a writing instrument.

My goals were to increase the fine motor materials available in our classroom environment, and to plan activities and materials that are interesting and fun so that children would be motivated to use them and would choose them during their free choice time. Most of these activities use "found materials" that can be borrowed, donated, or purchased inexpensively, rather than commercially produced and sold in an educational catalog. Below are several of the fine motor skills activities my class did this year. A few of these ideas were borrowed from Montessori (and I've noted those below).

Water Drops with Suction Cups

The little suction cups on the bottom of these bathtub shapes become mini bowls when turned upside down and used in this activity. (These were purchased at the Dollar Tree.) Children use a finger grasp to squeeze one drop of colored water into each little bowl on the dish. [Idea borrowed from Montessori]

Beads with Suction Cups

These are the same bathtub shapes as in the above activity. Children use their thumb and forefinger to grasp each little bead and place it on a bowl on the shape. The beads are pony beads purchased from a craft store. [Idea borrowed from Montessori]

Clothesline

Children use their fine motor muscles to squeeze the clothespins to clip each piece of clothing to the clothesline. I tied a piece of thick string to the handles of a wooden tray to make the clothesline, and used mini clothespins (although the regular sized clothespins can be used as well). The clothes are Barbie doll clothes purchased at a dollar store. As an alternative, you could cut out shapes of shirts and pants from felt.

Clothespins on a Box

Children squeeze the clothespins and clip them to the sides of the box. To make the activity more interesting, I wrote letters on dot stickers and placed the dot stickers around the sides of the boxes. I wrote letters on the clothespins so the children would match the letters on the clothespins to the letters on the boxes. Other skills could be used, e.g. colors, numbers, beginning sounds. This is similar to activities where children clip clothespins to a paper plate or cardstock circle; however, in my experience, those were flimsy and awkward to use, which is why I like the box better. Any sturdy box could be used (shoe box, postal box). The boxes in this picture were stacking gift boxes that held chocolate covered nuts (a Christmas gift), and they worked out perfectly.

Nuts & Bolts

These larger nuts and bolts can be purchased individually at hardware stores. The cost is usually no more than $0.40 to $0.50 each. Children use their fingers, hands, and wrists, coordinating both hands while grasping and twisting the metal nuts onto the bolts.

Sewing/Lacing Cards

These can be purchased or made with poster board and a hole puncher. Use shoe laces or plastic lacing. Tie one end of the lace to one hole of the card. Children lace the string through each hole. These can be made to match different themes or holidays.

Plate Sewing

Tie lengths of yarn to plastic yarn needles, and knot the end. Children "sew" the yarn on a styrofoam plate by pushing the needle in and out through the plate.

Stringing Cut Straws

Cut plastic drinking straws into small pieces, about 1-inch. (Cutting the straws is another great fine motor activity for kids.) Tie yarn to a plastic needle, or use plastic laces, and knot the end. Children string the straws onto the yarn or lace.

Stringing Beads

Children string pony beads onto pipe cleaners.

Bean Gluing

Children draw a simple picture on a piece of construction paper with a pencil. They trace the pencil lines with glue and glue the beans onto the design. Gripping the beans with their fingers is good fine motor practice.

Seeds and Tweezers

Children pick up different types of seeds with tweezers and sort them by type into the cups.

Unifix Cubes or Interlock Cubes

Children push the cubes with their hands to hook them together. Unifix cubes connect on one end and can make a long "train". Interlock Cubes connect on different sides and can make different things, for example the dogs the children were making in the photo.

Mosaic

In advance, cut construction paper into 1-inch long strips. Children "snip" the strips into smaller pieces and glue them onto their paper to make a mosaic. This activity is great for children who are not yet skilled with scissors, but need cutting practice because they can snip the paper with one cut.

Eyedropper Art

Children use eyedroppers to drop liquid watercolor onto a coffee filter or paper towel. (I use Colorations Liquid Watercolor from Discount School Supply.) If liquid watercolor is not available, you can color water with food color. Also see my blog post for adapting this activity for holidays or themes.

Paper Clips

The children in my class are always wanting to use paper clips because they see me use them, so I set up this activity in the fine motor center. I cut squares of colored construction paper and placed them on the tray along with colored paper clips. Children stack the papers (all of the same color) and clip them with the matching colored paper clip. This was challenging for some children to manipulate the paper clip, but they loved doing it, and it gave them an opportunity to use paper clips with permission.

Dot to Dot

I printed out the Geoboard Dot Paper from the Math Their Way website for this activity (I used the size on the second page). I added Pip Squeak markers, which are great for young children because they are short. Children draw lines with the markers to connect the dots on the paper.

Toothpick Punch

To do this activity, cut squares of construction paper (I cut mine 6×6 inches). Draw a numeral, letter, or simple shape with a Sharpie. I placed a stack of these papers in the fine motor center, along with toothpicks and a carpet square. Children place the paper on the carpet square and use the toothpick to punch holes all along the black lines. When they are done, they can hold their paper up to the light and see the light shining through the holes. Kids enjoy it and it's great fine motor practice!

Pinching Sand

Sand art is a great fine motor activity because children can pinch the sand with their fingers to apply it to their art work. Provide a simple outline (or have the children draw one), a small bowl of white glue, a small bowl of colored sand, and a "glue brush". I buy the cheap paintbrushes with stiff bristles that are sold in a package for $1 at dollar stores. These brushes are not a good enough quality for painting, but they make great glue brushes. Children paint the glue on their paper with the brush, pinch some sand with their fingers, and sprinkle it over the glue. Place a pan, tray, or paper plate on the table for children to shake off the excess sand.

Insect Wrapping

Children wrap the plastic insects with pieces of white yarn ("spider webs"). When they are finished wrapping all of the insects, they unwrap them and place the yarn back in the bowl. We do this activity during a study of bugs and spiders.

Birds Eating Worms

Cut pipe cleaners into smaller pieces and shape them to make several "worms". Place the worms on a brown carpet square (this represents the dirt). Children use a clothespin as a bird beak and catch the worms with their beak. As they catch worms, they place them in a basket until all of the worms have been collected.

Marbles and Melon Scoops

Children scoop the marbles with melon scoops and place them in the ice cube tray. This ice cube tray was found at a kitchen discount store. Also posted at Fine Motor in the Sensory Table. See my blog post for a Halloween adaption to this activity.

Pouring

Children pour something from one bottle to another. I started out having them pour popcorn seeds. They can later try pouring sand, and then water.

Color Mixing

Children mix primary-colored water to make secondary colors. The bucket in the middle is for dumping the water when finished, or to start over. Also posted on the Sensory Table page.

Knobbed Puzzles

Children exercise the fingers used for a pencil grasp when picking up puzzle pieces that have knobs or pegs.

Legos

A bit obvious, but should not be forgotten.

Play Dough

An old stand-by. Also see my webpage for more play dough activities.

Peg Boards

Another old stand-by.

Additional Fine Motor Posts

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Here are ideas for improving fine motor skills in Pre-K/ Preschool children. Find additional fine motor activities here. Find more fine motor ideas on the

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A great bank of fine motor tasks from the Imagination Tree!

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Maths games across a range of levels - something for everyone!

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Target boards are amazing for practising a range of maths skills. This resource is interactive and is great for developing mental maths skills.

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Interactive Maths - The Interactive Way to Teach Mathematics

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Below is a QuickQuestions Interface © with a difference.
There are 60 squares on the board, and each time you press "New Board", the squares will be populated with a different set of numbers (up to the maximum you choose).
You have to select all the numbers of a certain type, and then check your answers with the buttons below.
If you got it right, it will turn green. If it was wrong, it will stay red. If you missed it out, it will go yellow.

Ideas for Teachers For some more excellent ideas for this activity see
With the same controls as the 100 Square Types of Numbers, this activity mixes the numbers up and gets pupils to look for the different types of numbers. Great as a starter, put a board up on the projector and ask students to find all the square numbers in the board. Once they think they have found them all, click on the button to instantly check.
You could get different groups to look for different numbers (inclucing multiples or factors of different numbers), and just press clear to remove the selections, but retain the same board.
this post from William Enemy.

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This activity generates a random board of 60 numbers. You have choose what types of numbers you are going to find, and highlight them all, and then check your answers. Did you miss any?

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If your child wants to try something new to stave off the boredom ... or is currently learning languages at school this app might come in useful.

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This app allows children to identify plants and flowers... might be useful on all those long walks to burn off excess energy!

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LeafSnap Plant Identification – Apps on Google Play

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Instantly identify your plants. Disease diagnosis & care reminders

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There is a cost involved in downloading these apps but Tiny Hands apps are incredible and provide lots of opportunities for skills development.

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This is the second app released by Cambugs and it will help develop your child’s phonic skills and their ability to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes.  These early exercises are the first steps to help children reinforce phonic blends and sounds in reading and writing.

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Learning Rating

Cambugs Phonics has the same layout as Cambugs Letter Sounds. You first have to create a profile for the child and then start using the 3 learning activities and one reward activity:

Sorting: This first activity will show you how many sounds your child is recognising and will help the app personalize the next activities around the unknown phonic sounds. On the screen you will see flash-cards each with a digraph (a pair of letters used together to represent a single sound) that can be dragged to one of the two piles at the bottom of the page: on the left side you have the 'Known Sounds' represented by a green bug and on the right side the 'Unknown Sounds' with a red bug. You can also tap the 'Sound Hint' button to hear the correct pronunciation of the letter sound.

Learning: At this stage the app focuses on delivering the learning of the unknown digraphs that are mixed with the ones that they already know. Note that 'oo' and 'th' letter groupings can make two different sounds (e.g. that and three). You can tap on the 'Sound Hint' twice to hear the different audio pronunciations. You can either tell your child the sound or play the recording and then ask them to repeat it. Repetition is essential for students to learn and retain sounds indefinitely in memory and it is one of the most common methods used for sounds and vocabulary acquisition. For each sound the app offers example words that can be found in the 'Tutorial' page, easily accessible by clicking on 'Teacher' button. Once the cards are finished, the parent or the teacher can decide if the child learned or needs to go back (press 'Retry') and study the letter group. For each sound learned the child wins a new bug to add to their collection.

Timed Testing: The student will have to go through a flash-card stack of digraphs and say the sounds correctly. Grown-ups have to drag the cards away or just pres 'Next' immediately after the child says the sound. If they don't know the correct sound you can encourage them to try again or tell them the sound and continue the test. Learning apps that use limits and timers are good because children will like the challenge of beating their scores and times. All the data gathered from the tests are available in the 'Statistics' section and for both teachers and parents this is very useful as they will have a clear view of their students' progress.

Bug Collection: This is where children can see all the bugs they received and arrange them in the background (for e.g. all the bugs with wings should be put against the blue sky). The canvas extends if you swipe to the right and kids could be tempted to create stories around the bugs. It would have been nice if you could at least rotate them or add names to each of them.

Cambugs Phonics is a complete phonics program that teaches all the phonics sounds for those using British English. The sound hints are very accurate and very useful if the child just wants to practise on his own. But this is mainly a tool that is designed as a teaching aid where grown-ups and children work together. We recommend this app for educational environments (preschool institutions) where children have a variety of different reading readiness levels. For just £1.99 you can be sure you're getting accurate content and an app that is adequate on its learning outcomes.

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Cambugs Phonics Review - EducationalAppStore

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This is the second app released by Cambugs and it will help develop your child's phonic skills and their ability to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes. These early exercises are the first steps to help children reinforce phon...

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Epic is an incredible digital library of books available in an app. There are lots of different options available - your child can read the books, have the books read to them or read along. This is a great app.

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Mash.ie are currently offering their ASD Bundle free of charge. They have downloadable and printable materials that may come in useful.

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Description

This bundle includes all of my ASD resources available on Mash at a reduced price.

Included;

24pg Booklet - Supporting Children with ASD in the Classroom

10pg Booklet - Speech and Language development in children with ASD

Two different sized token board systems

A no access token board to reward children who struggle with accepting when something is not available or being told "no"

First-Then board

Choice board and 12 PECS of common reinforcers

Autism awareness brochure for kids

Place names for student's desks

Visuals for 'Fun with food' sessions - encouraging a sensory approach to new foods

Monthly feedback sheets for parents - template to add photos and notes to send home to parents each month showing what their child is working on in school

'I can calm myself down ' board - I can take 5 deep breaths; visual support to teach deep breathing to children with ASD

Template to record children's most preferred and least preferred items on day one

Toilet Training Presentation

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This bundle includes all of my ASD resources available on Mash at a reduced price.

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This website is offering their premium content free at the moment. Lots of great interactive maths games.

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This website offers one months free subscription - it offers a variety of maths activities across a range of topics.

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Trusted by teachers in over 60% of U.S. School Districts and more than 3 million parents.

Our K-6 curriculum is research-based, common core aligned, and comprehensive - with over 300,000 math problems and explanations. But even better, students will feel like they're playing a game.

Teachers create math content

Our teachers work hand in hand with our designers to make sure math problems and videos are instructive and help students develop ways of thinking about math.

Game designers make it fun

Our game designers add interactivity and incentives, and create a world in which math feels like play. Points, badges, cute monsters...who knew learning could be this enjoyable?

AdaptedMind was created with the simple idea that each child is unique. Our algorithm identifies each student's strengths and weaknesses, and customizes a learning plan accordingly.

Pretest

Each student starts with a quick pretest. The pretest determines the best starting point in the curriculum for the student.

Customization

As students continue to practice on AdaptedMind, we adjust the difficulty of the math automatically. We use data to find and address learning gaps.

Ongoing Assessment

AdaptedMind automatically administers formative assessments on new and old skills, assuring that students' mastery of topics is robust.

If a student ever misses a problem, one of our teachers explains it to them in a video.
This ensures your child can work independently without ever getting stuck.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

AdaptedMind has over 15,000 explanation videos.

With AdaptedMind, it's easy to see student progress. Our reports are simple, intuitive and actionable.
And if you'd like, we can send them straight to your inbox.

Classroom reporting for teachers

Over 95% of AdaptedMind members improve math confidence and ability.

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Trusted by teachers in over 60% of U.S. School Districts and more than 3 million parents. Our K-6 curriculum is research-based, common core aligned, and comprehensive - with over 300,000 math problems and explanations. But even better, students will feel like they're playing a game.

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Khan Academy provide amazing resources for learners and have a page dedicated to support parents and children with remote learning during the school closures. This is well worth a look.

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This is a great basic coding app/website. I download it onto my class iPads and the children love it. Great for problem solving and critical thinking.

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A huge THANK YOU to all the contributors who've helped with translating Lightbot!
All translations are provided by Lightbot fans!

Russian by Ishkildin Ruslan and Larisa Yaroslavski

French by François Lolom

Brazilian Portuguese by Rodrigo Real

Spanish by Paul Núñez Morilla

Slovenian by Gregor Anželj

Nogwegian by Torgeir Waterhouse

Romanian by Mihai Secașiu

Indonesian by Med Irzal

German by Pattrick Hüper

Polish by Marcina Nowaka

Danish by Dirk Bucka-Lassen

Croatian by Daniela Cvitanović

Greek by Youla Sigourou

Italian by Francesca Mazzoni

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A huge THANK YOU to all the contributors who've helped with translating Lightbot! All translations are provided by Lightbot fans!

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This app is great fun and allows some fine motor practise too (although I'd use more hands on fine motor activities on a daily basis to strengthen little hands). This app is always a winner... the kids can make their cookie dough from scratch using a range of recipes and then cut them out, bake them and even eat them!

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‎***** 2011 Parents’ Choice Recommended Award winner - Parents’ Choice Foundation ***** ----------------- Reviews ----------------------
One of “Our Favorite iPhone Apps for Kids”
Marthastewart.com - 08/20/2010 “Cookie Doodle is a great value, with hours of entertainment and learning”
Examiner.com…

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Math Splat is an app that my own children love and I've used it in my classes for a number of years now too. Great for practising number facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

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Learning Rating

Overall Maths Splat engages children with the game play, but more importantly allows children to customise and select their skills, targeting learning. Well worthy of a 5* rating.

How can the Math Splat app improve learning?

Upon opening this splat math game, children are first presented with two simple choices: "level mode" or "custom mode". "Level mode" initially asks children to enter their name, this allows Maths Splat to retain all their achievements and times. This area is split into four different levels with each level then subdivided into four different skills: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with an additional section which combines all four.

Level mode

Once a level is selected in Splat math game, children are presented with a 3 by 7 grid of random numbers along with a question at the top, to which the answer is in the grid. A correct selection 'splats' the chosen number, while an incorrect selection makes a negative sound and a life is lost. Incorrect answers prevent children from accessing the next question and are logged as an error on the apps scoring system. This ensures that children understand and achieve the correct answer and by recording the mistakes, children are able to see which skills they need to repeat and continue to practice.

Times are also recorded, allowing children to see their best times so they can use them to improve. Completing the main four skills unlocks the final section - a combination of all four skills. Once complete this section reveals a certificate, which is cleverly designed so that children able to take a photograph and then print this out. Returning to the main "level mode" children can progress through four different levels, presumably these map to different levels of difficulties; it would be nice for the developer to explain how these skill progress.

Custom mode

The second option in Splat math game is "custom mode". Within this area children are able to precisely practice a selected skill at their desired level. This area is truly customisable allowing a child, their parent or teacher to direct the level of learning. There are hundreds of possible combinations from the six main areas: the four operations, "number bonds" and "doubles". Addition and subtraction permit almost any combination of whole numbers added or subtracted, similarly the multiplication and division section allows practice any number from 1 to 20. "Number bonds" included the basics: 5-10, then 20, 50, 100. While "doubles" included 1-5 and 1-10. With the range on offer, almost every skill a child will need for their number skills can be covered. Again, times and errors are recorded at the end. From a mathematical perspective, the ability to precisely customise these skills is the apps unique feature: it allows meticulously targeted learning, perfect when children have gaps in their knowledge.

Splat Square - An interactive hundred square for exploring number patterns. The children love the splat sound!

What could the Math Splat app improve on?

Finally, there are limited additional buttons within the homepage: music; rate; and further apps. It should be noted, that as an adult using the Splat maths system, the transition between pages felt time consuming and the developer might consider how to speed up these, however, as a young child using the system they might not notice this. Additionally, the developer might also consider further features to prolong engagement, for example, a multi-player approach using different colours for each child.

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Download Math Splat App - EducationalAppStore

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Read our Math Splat app review and learn how this app can help your child develop a love for math! Download Splat maths game now!

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Teach Your Monster to Read is a fabulous app and one that I have used for years. It allows your child to move through the different stages of phonological awareness as they teach their very own monster to read!

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These podcasts might be worth listening to during the closures. I'll add to this as time goes on.
But Why
What if World
Book Club for Kids
Why in the World
Tumble
Story Time
Smash, Boom, Best!
Brains On!
Be Calm on Ahway Island
Ear Snacks
Stories Podcast
Six Minutes
The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian

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This website gives some great tips and supports for parents - lots of advice across a range of topics.

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Copyright © Understood for All, Inc.

Understood is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax identification number 83-2365235). Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Understood does not provide medical or other professional advice. The health and medical related resources on this website are provided solely for informational and educational purposes and are not a substitute for a professional diagnosis or for medical or professional advice.

Use of this website is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Copyright © 2014-2023 Understood For All Inc.

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Understood.org is the resource that helps the 70 million people with learning and thinking differences anticipate the challenges, barriers, or opportunities in life and confidently reach their potential.

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Thisreadingmama.com has some amazing resources that will be certain to keep the little ones busy during the closure.

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Oxford Owl are offering free access to teachers and parents. It has an ebook library of over 250 books, they also have some vocabulary and comprehension activities for most of the books. A really great resource.

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@WillSliney on Twitter is going to share  'how to draw' videos to keep the kiddies entertained during this unprecedented time!

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I created a little gif on how to draw The Amazing... - Will Sliney

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I created a little gif on how to draw The Amazing Spider-Man's webs.

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Twinkl are very kindly offering parents and teachers month long subscription free of charge during the school closures. Twinkl has a wealth of resources across all primary class levels. Plenty of bright visuals, presentations and activities.

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Schools across the globe are responding to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. In some cases schools have closed or are making preparations for a potential closure.

At Twinkl, our mission is to help those who teach and we are therefore taking steps to support continued learning at home.

We've put together a simple, step-by-step guide about how to use our site during Coronavirus. This guide is not designed to supercede or replace any official guidance, but is intended to advise on using the Twinkl website during this period.

How can I help parents to use Twinkl independently?

We have a number of really helpful guides, designed for parents, for different areas of the curriculum. You can direct parents towards our dedicated Parents' Hub which contains hundreds of educational activities designed for use at home. Or, browse this area yourself and hand-pick individual resources to share.

For parents with children in EYFS, take a look through our EYFS for Parents area to find some really useful guides and activities to share.

For primary-aged children, take a look at our 5-11 area. Again, this was created with parents in mind so it's filled with guides and information about what children should be learning in each year group, for each curriculum area.

For parents with secondary-aged children (for ages 11 to 16), take a look at the Beyond area of the website. Resources are available for English, Maths and Science, as well as languages, art, humanities and other curriculum areas. Lots to keep older children occupied.

Our Parents User Guide and general Twinkl Membership guide are both useful documents to refer to for general information about the site, our content and how to find it.

What can I do to support learning at home?

There are a number of simple ways you can curate and share content from the Twinkl website, as well as many useful areas that parents can easily use.

Using our Home Learning Packs

We've put together Home Learning Packs from Year 1 to Year 6.

Our EYFS Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our KS1 Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our KS2 Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our Secondary Home Learning Packs can be found here and here.

Our SEND Home Learning Pack is available here.
These packs are available as ZIP files. For guidance about how to download and open this type of file, take a look at our FAQ.
We're also putting together Interactive Learning Links resources. These are interactive PDF resources which link to other helpful materials on the Twinkl site that you can use without a printer:

We've also added a new feature to our app, where you can annotate PDFs in the app with any info you like.

Sharing from the Site

Share a resource directly using our sharing tools, found at the top-right of a resource preview. You can share to a class Facebook group or send via email to multiple addresses. Or simply copy and paste the URL and pop it into a class blog. Use our Save For Later feature to organise resources into folders on site to make sharing resources linked to a topic or theme easier.

Using Google Classroom

Google Classroom is designed to upload resources, create deadlines, mark work and start discussions with your class online. This way they're still learning and not falling behind whilst not in school. We've made it easier for you to work with Google Classroom by including a Google Drive Button next to all our resources, where available. This allows you to download the resource straight to your drive, which can then be uploaded into Google Classroom.

Read our guide to Google Classroom here.

Creating Lessons in Twinkl Go!

Twinkl Go! is a really useful tool that can be used to curate our interactive content. Within the Twinkl Go! area of the site, you can find online games, self-marking comprehensions, audiobooks and more.

If you're teaching a particular topic or area of learning, you can group together all related activities in a lesson, then share this lesson with parents using a code. It's really easy to do and a very efficient and effective way to create online lessons for your pupils. Again, lesson codes can be shared through class blogs, email, your website or printed out to send home at the end of the day. A video tutorial for how to do this can be found here and we also have a Twinkl Go! user guide for further information.

We've also put together a selection of lessons within Twinkl Go! for different age groups. Check them out here. Really useful, really simple and available to anyone who has full access to the site.

Using Twinkl Originals

Parents may feel more comfortable and confident in using books as a starting point for learning. Our Twinkl Originals books were created to encourage a love of reading and enhance curriculum-wide learning through accompanying teacher-created resources. Each book is available in different formats - PowerPoint, eBook or audio book (available through Twinkl Go!) - and has been written using age-appropriate vocabulary and themes. Books are available for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and each comes with ready-made resources to support writing, maths and other curriculum areas. Once you've found a book within the Twinkl Originals page, click to see all supporting resources. If you're covering a particular topic at school, this is a great way to continue this learning at home.

Imagine

Twinkl Imagine gives you a different photo every day with a range of activities for KS1 and KS2 children designed to be done independently or with an adult. Activities cover English, Maths, Art and Design, research challenges and engaging discussions. There are also topic webs with ideas on how each topic can link to a child's learning across different subjects.

With over 400 photos to choose from, there are lots of different topics to explore.

Lapbooks and Workbooks

For parents who may prefer a topic-led approach, we have a fantastic range of lapbooks to choose from. Browse the options online - again, these might align with topics being learnt at school. There's also a helpful guide which explains how to make a Twinkl lapbook. Super simple and a really enjoyable activity for children and parents alike.

Our maths workbooks offer a really simple solution. They're organised by age group and topic, and are available with answer sheets for easy marking. Use ready-made workbooks from the site, or create your own to print out and share with parents.

Other Useful Resources

Twinkl Boost offers step-by-step lessons and interventions. Designed for use in class, there's lots that parents could select for their children at home.

Our Maths Mysteries are incredibly popular, self-led activities. Perfect for use at home.

For hands-on, fun science activities, take a look at our Awe and Wonder collection.

How can we discuss Coronavirus with children?

Inevitably, children will have questions about the Coronavirus and want to find out more. To support parents and teachers with these conversations, we have a range of suitable materials on site. Discuss good hygiene and hand washing using our display packs, or take a look at our child-friendly news reports in Twinkl Newsroom - designed for use in KS2 (ages 7 to 11) with new stories added each day. Or search 'coronavirus' on the Twinkl site to find other related materials.

As ever, if schools, teachers or parents have any questions, we're always here to help. Contact TwinklCares using the help icon at the bottom of the page to send a message to our experienced team of teachers. Our Facebook communities are a fantastic source of ideas, knowledge and support for parents and teachers alike. Furthermore, we'd love to hear any other ideas you might have which we can share with the wider Twinkl network.

In unexpected times, we all play our part in helping in whichever way we can. The help we are offering would not be possible without the continued support of our members - thank you. We're hopeful that we've been able to make a challenging situation a little easier and our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected.

Jonathan Seaton

Twinkl CEO

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How to Utilise Twinkl during the Coronavirus Shutdown: A Guide for Schools

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Schools across the globe are responding to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. In some cases schools have closed or are making preparations for a potential closure. At Twinkl, our mission is to help those who teach and we are therefore taking steps to support continued learning at home.

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The lovely people at Nessy are offering their services free for a period of time because of the school closures.

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Improve Your Spelling, the latest book written by Nessy founder Mike Jones, explains the rules of reading and spelling. It will help teachers teach, and parents to understand how to help their children.

By the end, you'll be a master speller!

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You've found Nessy; World leader in helping children who learn differently. Founded and run by educators and dyslexia specialists, our award-winning programs are guided by the Science of Reading.

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The amazing people at Dabble Doo are offering parents a month long subscription to their excellent music resources.

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Music at Home

Radio Shows

Each month we choose a new theme to discuss and select our favourite music. We cover topics from musical instruments to our favourite artists and genres. Expect chat, quizzes and loads of great tunes!

Tin Whistle Lessons

Learn the basics of Irish tin whistle with expert musician and teacher Thomas Johnston. This video course will take you from learning basic fingering to playing your first tune.

Artists in the Classroom

This video based course features some of our favourite artists performing in schools across Ireland. Enjoy everything from classical guitar to techno.

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Music at Home Radio Shows Each month we choose a new theme to discuss and select our favourite music. We cover topics from musical instruments to our favourite artists and genres. Expect chat, quizzes and loads of great tunes! Tin Whistle Lessons Learn the basics of Irish tin whistle with expert musician and teacher Thomas Johnston.

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Shared by @adoreynolds
Custom handwriting practice worksheets.

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This resource was created by @niamhbrady

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Junior Infants - 2nd Class (KS1) Home Survival Kit - Wakelet

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Here you will find a list of websites to support your child's learning.