Whilst we're all at home...

The situation with COVID-19 is constantly changing here in the UK at the moment but the reality is that many of us will be spending more time at home in the coming days and weeks. Many schools may have their own resources in place, but we've done a quick round-up of some resources that you may find useful for educating and entertaining children whilst at home:

BBC Bitesize is packed with educational activities for primary, secondary and post-16 students. And for younger children, BBC's Cbeebies website is a fun resource.

Scholastic also have some great learning ideas to explore on their website.

Roy the Zebra is a great website aimed at emerging readers. There are free resources including printables and online games as well as a subscription option.

Oxford owl also has some free e-books available upon registering to be able to log into the site.

On the science side of things, The Curiousity Box has been developing a family toolkit to explain coronavirus in child-friendly terms along with other ideas and information to help kids get excited about science.

If you want to have some fun making electricity circuits check out Learning circuits.

Maths practice can be done at Xtra Math and Maths is Fun, like this section on angles.

Topmarks have a range of subjects covered with fun games.

For Geography, this unique Globetracker resource follows the adventures of fictitious duo Geo and Meri - although primarily U.S. based, it still offers useful learning to all.

The red cross have a great resource on learning first aid for children here.

There are literally thousands of blogs out there, many of which will have child-friendly recipes to make together or fun craft ideas. One particularly good one, packed with ideas, is Teach Beside Me.

To visit some museums virtually from the comfort of your own home, check out this round-up of museums with virtual tours.

There are many many apps that have huge educational value. A shout-out to a couple of our favourites here -

• Squeebles from Key Stage Fun has apps for times tables, division, spellings and more!
• Monster physics (App Store only) is a fun way of learning about the laws of physics by experimenting with your building skills.

Keep an eye out for reduced rates and free trial periods as many online resource organisations are trying to help at the current time.

Whilst it may be tempting to feel the pressure to "keep up" with education at home, remember that learning can take all sorts of forms so it's a great opportunity to perhaps bake a cake together, or do some gardening or junk modelling. Getting the LEGO out or playing board games together as a family can all prove to be both fun and play an educational role.