Give Yourself A Lockdown Break With These Ideas

After several months of being in lockdown, you might be starting to wonder what else you can possibly do to keep the kids entertained.

Well, we've put together a list of some ideas to give you a bit of a break. From finding ways to keep in contact with family and friends to discovering new ways to keep the kids engaged in their school work, read on to find out what you can do to help keep your kids busy.

Caribu

Named by TIME Magazine as one of the Top 100 Best Inventions of 2019, Caribu allows you to connect to your kids and grandkids whilst you read and have fun playing educational activities in a real-time, interactive video call.  From classic games of Tic Tac Toe,  drawing colourful pictures together and having your pick of great bedtime stories featuring your favourite characters like Thomas the Tank Engine, this is a must-have during lockdown.

With the app available to download for free in over 100 countries, it's definitely going down well with families from all around the world.

Zoom

With more than 200 million daily users worldwide in March alone, Zoom is a video calling platform which has rapidly risen in popularity during lockdown. You and your little ones will be able to have a whale of a time chatting and catching up with loved ones in a virtual playdate.

Fancy changing things up a bit? Personalise your video calls by changing and choosing your very own video background. Why not have a fun competition with your friends and family to see who can find or even make the most creative? You could even host a themed event like a virtual tea party - set the challenge of dressing up as pirates or princesses and create the best-themed video call! Zoom is a great choice for your daily catch up, and you can download it for free onto your devices.

Want to find out more about ways to stay in touch with your loved ones? Make sure to have a read of our blog on seven of the best apps available to make you feel that bit closer this lockdown.

With all this time being spent at home, take break and check out what's on offer to fulfil all your children's educational and playtime needs during this time.

Have A Movie Night With Netflix Party

Missing weekend trips to the cinema to enjoy the latest family films? Why not host your own movie night, virtually connecting to friends and family while you all curl up to enjoy a Netflix movie?

Netflix Party is an extension available with Google Chrome which allows you or anyone else that has a Netflix account to remotely watch your favourite movies and shows with your family and friends whenever, wherever! With the ability to chat as you watch, you'll be able to discuss your thoughts and theories whilst entertaining the little ones day or night.

What are you waiting for, grab your popcorn and get yourself ready to enjoy all that Netflix has to offer!

The Big Family Quiz

Want a great way to pass the time whilst testing your general knowledge? Then, why not create and host your very own Big Family Quiz?

A fun way to get all the family involved, all you have to do is to select your quizmaster, create your compelling questions and decide what subjects/topics you'd like to include. What points will you award? Who will get involved? Make it as easy or as hard as you'd like, it's all up to you!

Not sure what to do? You could create a classic pen and paper quiz which you can host over a video call, an amazing PowerPoint or you could even use an app like Kahoot! or QuizUp to create and test your family in real-time. Get your thinking hats on and create the ultimate challenge for all your quizzing enthusiasts!

Want some more ideas for everyday virtual activities? Check out our blog on great games to do with all the family during lockdown for even more fantastic ideas!

Virtual Student Nannies

Created by parents for parents to help with the homeschooling headache, this new remote service you the chance to find and book top university students all over the UK as online study buddies in all subjects for your kids.

From English and Maths to Astrophysics and Zoology, from £10 per hour, you can find a study buddy who is the perfect match for your child's learning needs at Student Nannies. Get expert help to explain all those tricky bits, answer questions to help boost confidence and encourage your children during their dedicated learning time.

With Student Nannies becoming more popular, make sure to book quickly to guarantee a comprehensive, expert learning session to give yourself a break from all the stress!

Twinkl

Twinkl is an online learning platform which you can use during lockdown to help engage and supplement learning for your kids during schooling hours.

With access to over 500,000 resources, and an amazing extensive website full to the brim with activities and engaging content like videos for Key Stages 1 to 4, you'll have no problem trying to find things to do to keep the kids occupied with fun, educational and teacher-made activities.

With so many ideas and so much to do online and virtually, you'll have no problem finding time to wind down, sit back and relax as the kids are kept busy with all these activities and more.