Learning (and playing) at home
On this page:
This is a library of ideas to visit when you need.
- Class Dojo
- Links to activities and games
- Links to lists of fun things to do
- Reading and maths
- Helen Currie's Story Time
- Listen to stories online
- Podcasts for children
- Cooking together
- Child-friendly workouts
- Arts and crafts
- Screen-based activities
- Book publishers' online activities
- Places (e.g. museums and Mars) to visit online
- Learning help for older children, teens and adults
Class Dojo
We use Class Dojo to join together the ‘playing to learn’ we do in school with what you do at home. When your child starts school with us you will get a username and password.
Links to activities and games
- NHS activities for 0 to 5s - search by age group. Includes help with learning more than one language
- Busy Toddler - indoor activities for toddlers perfect for rainy days
- Childs Play in Action - ideas for talking games you can play any time anywhere
- The OT Toolbox - Play to learn activities for physical development
Links to blogs of links
- Chatterpack blog - comprehensive list of 'free, online, boredom busting resources'
- kids activities blog - 91 free educational websites, courses as well as activities
Reading and maths
- Love My Books All about children's books including search for good books by age, topic, traditional tales and more, and activity to do together
- earlymaths.org maths in the early years
Helen Currie's Story Time
- The Shopping Basket by John Birmingham
- Jack and the Flumflum tree by Julia Donaldson
- The Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson
Listen to stories online
- BBC Jackanory Listen to the story and look at the book
- Storyline online People reading stories
Podcasts for children
Recommended by Waltham Forest Parent Forum:
Some are free, but most require a subscription to Spotify or to the individual podcast:
Barefoot Books Podcast – beautiful stories for small children
Circle Round – folktales for children aged 4 to 10
Peace Out – mindfulness stories for children
Purple Rocket – adventure stories
Sparkle Stories – magic and wonder stories
Story Pirates – pirates stories
Story Time with Yarn Story Factory – FREE stories
Storyformed – celebrate how stories nourish and shape us; for parents/carers
StoryNory – FREE stories; search by American school grade
What if World – all kinds of stories told by Mr Eric
Wow in the world – science and technology stories
Cooking together
- Recipes from the Association of British Dieticians - search recipes by ingredient, meal, cooking time, oven, hob or microwave, fewer than 5 ingredients or 500 calories…
- Abel and Cole recipes - search recipes by ingredient, meal, cooking time, dietary requirements or season
Child-friendly workouts
- The Workout Badges with Hey Duggee & Joe Wicks – under 10 minutes
Arts and crafts
- The Artful Parent – hundreds of arts and crafts activities
Screen-based activities
Learn how to set up parental controls on the NSPCC website
- cbeebies - the amazing source of things to do, play and learn which is the BBC
- National Geographic kids – activities with a science/geography/geology focus
- https://switchzoo.com/ - play games and learn about animals
Book publishers' online activities
- Dorling Kindersley - Activities and games to learn all kinds of facts
- Dog on a log books - printable things to make and do
- Oxford Owl from Oxford University Press - learning to read and books and more
Places (e.g.museums and Mars) to visit online
- This blog lists 25 museums and galleries where you can take a virtual tour: www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/families/article/25-virtual-destinations
- and this one has 17: https://www.familiesmagazine.com.au/museum-virtual-tours/
In particular:
The British Museum - located in the heart of London, this virtual tour allows you to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies
NASA - visit the NASA image gallery
San Diego Zoo - the San Diego Zoo has a website with amazing videos, activities, and games. Enjoy the tour
Yellowstone Park - tour Yellowstone National Park!
Access Mars - explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover.
farmfood 360 - this Canadian site Farm Food 360 offers 11 Virtual Tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows, to apples and eggs.
Learning help for older children, teens and adults
| homework |
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| crafts |
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| geography |
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| history |
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| maths |
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| meditation |
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| thinking |
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| courses |
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| yoga | http://yogawithadriene.com/ - free and donation sessions to try at home in private |
