HOME LEARNING
KEEPING ACTIVE
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THE GO-TO GUIDE - WHEN YOU CAN’T GO ANYWHERE!
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Digital Special—MAY 2020
Welcome to our special ‘Stay at Home’ edition of Raring2go! Well, Spring 2020 hasn’t turned out quite how I imagined it would! Whilst the current situation is very strange, there are still plenty of ways to keep boredom at bay. It can feel like we are being bombarded with ideas to entertain the kids or help with their school work so I have tried to bring them together for you in one place.
I am looking forward to sharing some fabulous ideas for you and your family once things return a little more to normal but in the meantime, stay safe!
Nicola Editor
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Look out for interactive, clickable content
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We asked you to share your ‘rainbows’ and tell us about the amazing job your teachers have been doing while you’ve been at home!
“ An amazing teacher that has pretty much
saved us during lockdown…..Amazing, inspirational and so humble about it….He needs recognition for saving our family. re: Mr Hughes at Peterbrook School “ Knowle Primary
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Academy ...have been awesome. Kind, friendly, School. The Head, teachers supportive and very and staff have all been understanding to amazing. From supporting parents working from key workers’ families to those home. and at home.…. “Lighthall Under 5’s working supportive and helpful, “St. Andrews RC did a Pre-School have video links, fun and educa- lovely video message for been posting things tional lesson plans plus so pupils. to do and even had much more. a video band St Augustine’s RC practice they “ Cranmore Infants did an Primary definitely deserve a awesome loo roll video and the kids enjoyed it! mention.
“ St George & St Teresa
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fab video with them all in, doing their bit to say we miss you and stay safe to the Widney Junior family.
We loved these videos……….. Balsall Common Primary School
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“ Shout out to all the staff at Widney who compiled a
Olton Primary School
click here Click here
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Keeping Active Our local clubs have been brilliant at adapting to offer new ways for children to stay active
Click here
Aspire Sports have created the Aspire Active Hub. It is a free, easy to use, online timetable full of activities, resources and physical challenges for your Primary School aged child to have fun whilst continuing their learning at home.
Click here
Complete Cricket have launched individual and group coaching sessions online. Individuals can focus on developing technical, tactical and mental skills. Groups sessions will offer opportunities to learn from the very best in the game with some special guests!!
Click here
ASN Coaching are missing their junior players. One of their coaches, Steve, has put together a series of challenges which you can do in the garden at home to keep you busy and active! Toddler Tennis is running online lessons for ÂŁ10 a month. An exciting programme for 2-6 year olds will improve agility, balance and coordination through tennis based activities. Sometimes you might need a partner (brother, sister, mum, dad) but most importantly, make sure you bring bags of energy! Get in touch for a free 30 minute trial lesson. Click here
Click here for more about these and many more ways to keep active during the lockdown! 4
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Music & Dance Music lessons don’t need to stop just because we are at home If your family love a boogie together there are all sorts of online dance activities out there now - aside from just TikTok! Many tutors are adapting to offer lessons via Zoom or Skype.
click here
Have some fun thing with Fairytale Choir and make a video of yourself or your family singing a chorus of our song "Happiness" and send it to fairytalechoir@gmail.com. The best videos will be included in our video montage. Learn the song with the sound track on the YouTube link above and then use this link to record the chorus, which you'll send us.
Oti Mabuse is dancing at home, without all the sequins. See her daily dance workshops, live on her Facebook page at 11:30 each morning. Mylene Klass has free music lessons on her YouTube Channel. BBC Ten Pieces is a new initiative for the summer term 2020 and aims to connect UK music students with musicians, for online workshops – offering children the chance to meet a musician, hear them perform and ask them questions. To find out about these and more, click here to read our online feature.
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Fun Outdoors Laura, the founder of Wellie Tots, a preschool class focusing on gardening, nature and everything outdoors, has shared a couple ideas to try and keep your little ones occupied during this difficult time.
I hope you find these ideas helpful, engaging and fun, using things you have lying around the house. Make a bird feeder out of an empty juice carton or a fairy garden with things you found on your daily walk.
Click here to make a bird feeder
Click here to make a fairy garden
Dealing With Anxiety In Children For children, lockdown is one big holiday? Children are finding this easy? No! If you think you are finding this hard, for a child it is harder. For them it was a novelty at first but now we are a month in the novelty has worn off and reality has set in. They don’t know when they will be able to play with their friends again. They are missing their activities and believe it or not they are missing school. Have you ever said “your school years are your best – make the most of them”? Here they are missing months of school. 8
By Kymberley Fearn, Clinical Hypnotherapist Hypnotherapy by Kym
Big life changes disrupt emotional wellbeing and increase anxiety.
Click here to read the full article if you want to find out more raring2go.co.uk
Quiz Time Click here
Click here
Raring2go! has teamed up with some of our local museums and attractions to produce a Local History Quiz and a Science and Nature Quiz. Will you take on the challenge? Who will get most questions right in your house? See if you can spot your family’s favourite place to visit.
Get Reading You might not be able to head out to your local library or bring a book back from school but there are loads of resources out there from e-books, audio books and celebrities reading bedtime stories Audio Books Audible are offering a free 30 day trial. You can download David Walliams’ “The Beast of Buckingham Palace” for free at the moment.
Click here to find out more
Click here
If you’re bored of the same old books have a look at these book reviews from Kenilworth Books. 9
Online Classes for Babies and Toddlers Clubs and classes are often the highlight of the week for pre-schoolers in normal times. With these regular activities are no longer taking place, many of the amazing people who are running our local clubs have put together online versions which you can join in with! Bilinguasing are running online Spanish classes via a closed Facebook group. There will be 3 scheduled classes per week: for different age groups. based on a weekly theme.
Rhythm Time have 4 week blocks of multisensory music classes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers via a closed Facebook Group for just £22! Keep your child active with FREE click here Little Kickers Classes Online! A new class that you can do at home is posted each day in their YouTube channel. Suitable for children 18m - 6yrs to help develop children's coordination, balance and early learning goals such as colours and numbers. 10
Twirling Toddlers are running live online dance and movement based classes for pre-school girls and boys from 12m upwards. Available to anyone who would like to join. Drama Tots have six weeks of adventures planned and you can gain access to this for only £25 per family – equivalent to just over £4 a class!
click here
Toddler Tennis has set up a free YouTube channel
with some pre-school activities for
you to try. Click here to find out more
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Ideas for a ‘Virtual’ Birthday With many of us celebrating birthdays at home during the lockdown, we asked our Raring2go! readers what they have been doing to make birthday's special during the restrictions. "The local fire station came to wave outside as my son is obsessed with fire engines and being a firefighter! “
"Our son was 5. We had a picnic in the garden with party food. Pin the tail on the donkey, a scavenger hunt etc. He had a group call with his school friends and video messages."
Rachel Sarah
Nicola Fisher
Click here for more readers’ ideas to make their day special and companies offering ‘virtual’ party entertainment
The Chocolate Shed team want to help you survive lock down. We understand how difficult it is to find activities to entertain and keep children happy when it's not possible to go out at the moment (the majority of us are parents and so know this first hand!). Hence we have racked our brains and are making up home chocolate making kits, complete with full instructions and our signature high quality (and ethically sourced) ingredients.
For those with birthdays, no need to cancel a celebration when you can host your own mini party as a family at home! More activities are being added regularly and we would be delighted to put together something bespoke, just for you if desired contact us info@thechocolateshed.com. Click here
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Get your crayons out! Colouring Sheets and Craft Ideas Colouring in can be quite therapeutic, can’t it? We’ve all enjoyed making rainbows for our windows, but if your family still have the colouring bug, then have a look at all the different colouring sheets on the Kids Zone section of the Raring2go! Click here to download your favourites and start colouring!
Fun in the Kitchen Cooking and baking If baking is something your children enjoy, then we have all sorts of recipes for families on the Raring2go! website. Click here to see what you fancy trying today and get baking!
Jamie Oliver has turned his skills to a series of TV programmes on how we can all use store cupboard ingredients to whip up a tasty meal and even a treat or two.
The BBC Good Food website is a brilliant source of recipes from basic baking to more complex dishes. 14
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WIN! Tickets to Sealife Centre In a UK first, two rescued Alaskan sea otters have become residents in our brand new £multi -million marine rescue facility. After their epic journey from Alaska to Birmingham, the pair have been settling into their new home. After their time in quarantine, this cuddly pair are now ready to meet the public! Click here to enter
WIN! Tickets to LDC Birmingham LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre is designed for children 3-10 years old, and great fun for the whole family to have fun together under one roof! Featuring more than two million LEGO® bricks, children and adults will have Click here to enter
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A family ticket to the British Motor Museum
Explore this family friendly motor museum in Warwickshire and its impressive Collections Centre to discover the fascinating story of the British motor industry. As lock down continues, we have worked hard to put together some exciting activities for you to enjoy together at home. Click here to enter
WIN! A Eurocamp Holiday Win a 7 night holiday for 2 adults and up to 4 children (aged 17 and under), or 4 adults at a European parc of your choice. We build holidays around you. Not us. And with over 175 parcs in wonderful locations throughout Europe, each offering its own unique recipe of active adventures and peaceful treats, we're sure we've got the perfect place for you. Click here to enter 15
Can you help? The Covid-19 crisis has hit our local attractions hard, with many now fighting for survival. Let's try and support them if we can, so that they are still standing when the restrictions are lifted, and we can enjoy them once again. Click here
Spotlight on local charities The Lily Mae Foundation is continuing to provide vital support to brave parents and their families following the loss of a baby during the COVID-19 crisis. You can continue to support them in several ways. You could use ‘Amazon Smile’ and nominate them to receive a percentage of your net purchase as a donation at no extra cost to you or join one of the Foundation’s fortnightly Facebook Live quiz evenings or enter the al media pages on Facebook and Instagram. Entries for the 7th Balsall Common Fun Run are also now open. Book your place in what will be another fantastic event.
We wish we could put terminal illness on hold but we can’t. Marie Curie Nurses and frontline staff are needed more than ever to provide vital care, expertise and compassion to dying people and their families, in their homes and our hospices across the UK. We rely on the generosity of the public to deliver our care. But along with so much else, most of our fundraising activities have been put on hold. We’re facing a devastating loss of funds. Please help Marie Curie Nurses and hospices care for dying people at this unprecedented time of need. Helping Hands normally run soup kitchens and drop ins to help feed and support people in need. We also support local families in need through out House2Home Project. At the moment we are delivering meals, emergency household packs of food, cleaning and household items to those in refuges, temporary accommodation, hostels and mother & baby units. The items which we desperately need for our food distribution set up can be found on our Amazon Wishlist. Alternatively, you can donate so that we can buy things as the need arises. Please get in touch if you are a caterer or chef with the ability to cook meals which can be delivered to us to pass on to those in need or email us at helpinghandslwkdonation@gmail.com if you have food which is in date which we can use to feed people or use as ingredients.