With the third lockdown in England announced last night, parents are once again facing the prospect of having to entertain their children at home for weeks.
While many will have school work to keep them occupied, it will not keep them busy for the whole day – and certainly not at weekends.
Fortunately parenting experts, bloggers and creative mothers and fathers have taken to social media to share their top tips on how to keep little ones active, entertained and curious while at home during coronavirus self-isolation.
The tips range from ones that can be done online, like exploring a museum through a virtual tour, to art projects like making your own winter wonderland.
There are also details for groups, social media accounts and public organisations that are offering parents vital resources for free during this difficult time.
1. Make a bird feeder
Among a host of fun and handy resources on the National Trust website is a guide to making a bird feeder from recycled materials
Among a host of fun and handy resources on the National Trust website is a guide to making a bird feeder from recycled materials.
The easy three step guide from the team at Wicken Fen Nature Reserve allows nature-enthusiasts to make your own homemade bird feeder using a plastic bottle, toilet roll or chipped cup.
While younger children may need assistance with the more complicated parts of the craft, it’ll offer plenty of fun for a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Be sure to put the feeder somewhere you and the family are able to enjoy it, and help the youngsters spot the wildlife drawn to the craft.
2. Create a winter-wonderland
Anya, who runs the Instagram account @montessorifromtheheart, and accompanying blog , shows how to create a winter-wonderland using household materials like sugar or salt or baking soda
Anya, who runs the Instagram account @montessorifromtheheart, and accompanying blog, shows how to create a winter-wonderland using household materials like sugar or salt or baking soda.
3. Try an online class – for free!
Lots of businesses running after-school and weekend clubs have been forced to move online as they deal with the coronavirus restrictions.
However many have been quick to adapt to the change and are offering online classes, with many being streamed for free.
The Facebook group Online Classes For Kids became a hub for virtual classes during the first lockdown, sharing links to free online classes and workshops, and is doing the same this time around.
Some classes are available for families to stream whenever they want – giving parents a much-needed immediate release for energetic children – but the majority of classes take place at regularly scheduled times.
This has the benefit of giving structure to your day or weekend, you can make sure children get dressed and ready for the class as they would normally, only they are staying indoors for the session.
4. Organise an indoor scavenger hunt
The fun of a scavenger hunt doesn’t need to be dampened by the winter months.
Parents could choose a theme and make a list of interesting items to find within the house.
For example, children might enjoy a colour theme which sees them on an expedition to find items of a specific colour around the home.
You could try different colours for each child, or multiple colours.
Alternatively, try a maths hunt, where children need to find examples of maths and measurements such as a number written in words, a unit of measurement, a coin, an object larger than 10cm, and so on.
The fun of a scavenger hunt doesn’t need to be dampened by the winter months, so why not organise an afternoon of indoors play?
5. Watch a documentary – for free
Dr Amanda Gummer, the founder of the Good Play Guide and expert in child psychology, previously told FEMAIL: ‘Documentaries such as the Blue Planet or Stargazing are great family viewing that can spark conversations and even family projects.’
Fortunately many of these are available on streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, which is free as long as the household has a TV licence.
To continue the family time, ask your children questions after the film has finished to help explore any issues.
7. Enjoy a (free!) daily activity sheet
From word searches to mazes, Orchard Toys daily activity sheets proved to be a hit during the first two Covid-19 lockdowns for younger children.
The brand announced plans to resume the daily newsletter last night, with the sheets for preschoolers and school children delivered directly to your inbox every evening.
Parents have praised the sheets as ‘a gift from heaven’ for entertaining youngsters bored at home.
8. Paper airplane competition
While we may not be able to travel the world at the moment, there’s no reason why the family can’t have fun imagining the adventures you’ll have.
And what better way to enjoy the thought of a holiday than crafting paper airplanes.
Making paper airplanes is a fun, cheap way to not only keep children occupied, but work on basic concepts such as folding and geometry, all the way through to more complicated ones like aerodynamics.
And if the little-ones are really excited by the planes, why not suggest a competition to see whose airplane can fly the furthest?
There are plenty of guides online, but this site has several on how to make a paper aeroplane in six easy steps.
For a fun, cheap and easy way to entertain children of all ages, why not host a paper airplanes competition
10. Spot wildlife in the garden or park
The National Trust website is full of good ideas on how to entertain children outside during winter.
One of our favourite activity pages is the How to spot wildlife page, which shares Spotter Sheets for young children and allows them to tick off the wildlife as they see it.
With sheets available for little ones to enjoy the nature in the garden, on the coast or in the park, there’s plenty to keep kids entertained on a longer wintery walk.
11. Make a window scene
With Christmas decorations coming down, and twinkly lights being bought in from outside, you could put artwork in your window to brighten up your street
With Christmas decorations coming down, and twinkly lights being bought in from outside, you could put artwork in your window to brighten up your street.
Treat it as an activity morning, where you can brainstorm ideas for what to paint or craft for the window, before getting started.
Maybe you could draw your favourite cartoon characters, a nature scene or even family members you’re missing!
12. Dive under the sea with an aquarium cam
Holidays overseas might be out of the question at the moment but the wonders of the deep are still just a click away thanks to live and recorded video streams offered by aquariums around the world.
One of our favourites is the Monterey Bay Aquarium, in California, which offers streams of a number of its tanks and enclosures, featuring sharks, jellyfish and turtles.
13. Have your own Junior Bake Off
Parents could draw inspiration from the Great Junior Bake Off, which returns to screens on Monday, and introduce children to different foods and get them involved in the kitchen
Cooking and baking with children is a great way to introduce them to different foods and get them involved in the kitchen.
14. Take a virtual trip to a museum
Explore from home: Many museums, art galleries and public spaces will be closing their doors, but that doesn’t mean their treasures are lost. Families can take virtual tours of museums and galleries, including the Natural History Museum in London (pictured)
Many museums, art galleries and public spaces will be closing their doors, but that doesn’t mean their treasures are lost.
Families can take virtual tours of museums and galleries, including the British Museum in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Guggenheim in New York City, thanks to Google Art and Culture.
One of the highlights is Britain’s Natural History Museum, which offers virtual self-guided tour of the galleries, an interactive experience about Hope the blue whale and audio guides narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
The stunning visuals will keep your little ones entertained – and there are plenty of interesting facts to pick up along the way, too.
With the Great Junior Bake Off returning to screens on Monday, why not suggest a family bake off with your household?
Parents and children could divide into teams for different challenges – You could even do kids vs adults if your little ones are old enough!
Try choosing a recipe all together and then diving off to make the cookies. The challenge will add an element of friendly competition to the day.
If your kids are still too young to cook on their own then bake alongside them, asking them to do simple tasks like pouring flour or helping to use the scales.
15. Create artwork using autumn leaves
Gathering leaves can be such a fun and easy way to start off an afternoon of crafting.
Craft blogger Manisha, who runs @talesoftnt Instagram account and blog shows how a few leaves can be used to create a simple wintery craft.
With a simple hedgehog drawing, children can stick down the leaves to create their own adorable spikey friend.
16. Walk a little, every day
The weather is colder and the nights are longer but it is still important to try and get your little ones outside for a little bit every day.
A good way to do this is to incorporate it into your daily routine. If your house is super organised in the morning then maybe you can find time for a quick 20-minute stroll before home schooling begins.
On rainy days wrap up in raincoats, grab an umbrella and dart out for a walk around the block or to the local park.
If you have welly boots – and can stand the mess – why not add to the fun with a puddle-jumping competition.
17. Check in on animals at the zoo (without leaving home)
World renowned San Diego Zoo is thousands of miles away for many British families, but you are still able to ‘visit’ thanks to a number of animals cameras set up across the sprawling site.
Highlights include the koala cam, polar bear cam and tiger cam, which will offer children the chance to see some of their favourite animals.
There are also handy activities, crafts and colouring pages available for free on the zoo’s website, making it a one-stop shop for a day full of animal-themed activities.
You’re going to the zoo! World renowned San Diego Zoo is thousands of miles away for many British families, but you are still able to ‘visit’ thanks to a number of animals cameras set up across the sprawling site. Pictured, the entrance to the California zoo
18. Learn science with Operation Ouch
Dr Chris, Dr Xand and Dr Ronx explore the ins and outs of the human body in a variety of eye-opening experiments on BBC’s Operation Ouch.
But Dr Chris and Xand have announced they will be launching a new science lesson every day which will stream live on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook at 2.30pm.
Revealing the news yesterday, they said the first topic will be bones, adding: ‘There is homework!’
20. Tune into storytime
Throughout the pandemic, celebrity authors from Sarah Ferguson to David Walliams have been taking to social media to share stories with youngsters.
The Duchess of York has been delighting little-ones for months with her StoryTime With Fergie And Friends series, which sees her reading a different children’s book every day.
In recent months, she has been sharing arts and crafts ideas with her audience as well.
Meanwhile Save the Children’s Save With Stories campaign has led to a whole host of a-listers reading some of their favourite children’s books.
Royals including Princess Anne and Meghan Markle took part in the campaign, as well as celebrities like Benedict Cumberbatch and Alexa Chung.
The full back catalogue can be found on the charity’s YouTube channel.