NSW Covid: How to keep children entertained in lockdown

From live-streaming tigers to online interactive workshops, here are the exciting activities to keep the entertained and avoid hearing the dreaded “I’m bored” every five minutes in lockdown.

With Greater Sydney’s Covid-19 lockdown well into its eighth week and no foreseeable end in sight, parents are having to come up with more ways to entertain young children.

From online workshops to rock-painting, there is an array of activities that can keep the kids busy throughout the day, with child psychologists urging parents to keep them stimulated during this current lockdown.

Psychologist Dr Kimberley O'Brien, from The Quirky Kid Clinic, said parents need to focus on getting children outside for the purpose of exercise at least one hour per day.

“Although it’s not safe to gather in groups and we can’t go visit friends and family, you can still get out to do exercise,” Dr O’Brien said.

Teachers at Early Start Discovery Space are offering at-home learning for children.

“If kids are faced with challenges such as police tape across playgrounds, it can be really confusing for them, so parents need to be supported in setting boundaries that they may not even agree with themselves.”

Dr O’Brien said one of the most important things for parents to do during lockdown is to give structure to each day.

“A good way for young children can be to use visual aids and pictures,” she said.

Dr O’Brien suggests parents use a piece of butchers paper and plan out the day with their children, drawing a picture of a breakfast bowl, followed by a laptop next to some play-doh, so the children know what they can be doing throughout the day.

“Kids are usually familiar with the idea of visual structure and it works well for parents when they’re feeling stressed,” she said.

While Dr O’Brien acknowledges it may be hard for some parents to keep up structure and routine while managing children and working at home, she said keeping up social activities is very important.

Parents who work full time are having to balance work and homeschooling or entertaining young children. Picture: Brad Fleet

It is vital for children to remain in touch with family and loved ones to keep up their social confidence.

“It’s important not to become too much of a recluse and to remember to have zoom calls with family even if it feels a bit draining,” Dr O’Brien said.

“Just so parents are modelling good social skills to their children that are watching.”

Primary education professional and Manager of the University of Wollongong’s Early Start Discovery Space Josef English has also pushed the importance of structure in children’s lives.

Mr English said building routine and structure is beneficial for children to learn stability in “what is quite an unstable, uncertain” time.

“It could be unique for the family context but it could be a visual representation of the day where they have input into what they’d like to do in that day and have things to look forward to,” Mr English said.

“There could be lots of different ways to represent a structure to the day and it’s really important to make time for play, and finding creative ways to be physically active outside or inside the home.”

The UOW Early Start Discovery Space is offering at-home experiences since Greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast first went into lockdown on June 26.

Psychologists are urging parents to keep structure and routine for children. Picture: Sean Davey

The Discovery Space is offering Discovery at Home sessions, which are prerecorded readings of quality children’s literature designed by the education team based on research and evidence.

These sessions are readily available online, alongside creative arts based activities parents and children can do at home with resources, science experiments and explanations of scientific concepts.

“They’re all free and readily accessible through the Early Start Discovery Space website,” Mr English said.

Early Start also offers Discovery To You, which are one-on-one video conference sessions between a child or a family and an educator for 30 minutes.

“They’re aligned with our early years learning framework as well as the NSW curriculum and cover activities such as music, creative arts, literacy, numeracy and STEM experiences,” Mr English said.

Mr English urges parents to keep their children stimulated by reading quality literature to them as it can “take children to new worlds”.

“They learn about new concepts, it can start conversations among different things,” he said.

Parents are having to take on homeschooling, full-time work and keeping children entertained.

ACTIVITIES TO KEEP CHILDREN ENTERTAINED IN LOCKDOWN

1. Exercise

Dr O’Brien suggests parents get their children outside and wear them down with exercise while getting fresh air.

“Kids can ride bikes, swim and surf, as long as they are with their family or groups of two,” she said.

Exercise can burn off energy and while playgrounds are shut in some areas such as Blacktown, children are still allowed to kick a ball around and ride bikes through parks.

2. Interactive workshops with Early Start Discovery Space

The Early Start Discovery Space is offering Discovery To You 30 minute interactive Zoom sessions for children aged three and up, such as play-doh sessions.

Topics change fortnightly and are scheduled up to the week of September 16.

Children can learn about Australian birds and make a bird feeder, or discover fun facts about rainbows.

Tickets cost just $12.50 per session.

Mr English said the Discovery Space is also offering free live events, such as mini and me workshops for parents with children aged zero to two years old.

“We also have virtual excursions for the early childhood centre, which is all up on the website,” Mr English said.

“They have excursions in our discovery space with educators and researchers who are delivering those programs that are all readily freely accessible to the community.”

3. Australian Reptile Park live streams and educational videos

The Australian Reptile Park is offering children the chance to stay busy with different steams and educational sessions every week during lockdown.

The sessions commenced on August 16, offering kids fun and exciting videos at 10am and 2pm every Monday – Friday on the park’s Facebook and Instagram, as well on Tim Faulkner & Aussie Ark’s pages.

The Australian Reptile Park is offering live streams and educational videos.

4. Taronga Zoo live streams

Taronga Zoo in Sydney and Dubbo have 24/7 live cameras on multiple animal exhibitions, allowing people to tune in and see what goes on behind the scenes.

Children can tune into both zoos directly from their living room and see their favourite animals, meet zookeepers and learn what goes on in the day-to-day life.

You can see lions, elephants, otters and tigers.

The live streams are available at tarongatv.com/.

5. Virtual Playgroup

Playgroup NSW is delivering Virtual Playgroups to members the current school term, allowing children to join in and see what the fuss is about.

Children can join in on fun and games online, as long as they book a spot in one of the many workshops available each week.

General Virtual Playgroups and Playstrong Virtual Playgroups: https://bit.ly/332dXoI

Baby & Toddler Virtual Playgroups: https://bit.ly/306LTyZ

PlayBaby Virtual Workshops: https://bit.ly/3mPoXOj

6. Baking

Donna Hay has been holding regular cooking with kids sessions since lockdown began, with the next one Thursday at 4.30pm.

Children can get creative in the kitchen.

The session is themed around movie snacks such as pizza, popcorn, chocolate peanut slice and coconut popsicles.

You can also share recipes with loved ones and have a “bake club” over Zoom or Facetime.

7. Penrith City Library’s free online workshops

Penrith City Library is offering families the chance to build a miniature box theatre stage with puppet characters in two free online workshops in September.

Following the workshop, children will receive a unique code word to enter the Shakespeare Time Traveller Activity Booklet Competition and go in the draw to win one of five amazing prize packs thanks to Critical Stages, The Listies and Allen & Unwin Books.

Visit the Facebook page to book.

Penrith City Library is offering families the chance to build a miniature box theatre stage with puppet characters in two free online workshops in September.

8. Get creative

Kmart and Amazon have simple and large paint-by-numbers canvases which can be finished together as a family.

Children can also freestyle it with pieces of cardboard or canvas, and create an artwork for the family, while creating galleries with everyone’s individual lockdown pieces of art.

The Australian Maritime Museum has art and craft activities online, with YouTube videos to follow along.

The Museum of Contemporary Art also has five free art activities on its website for kids aged 4 to 8, with each featuring step-by-step images and instructions.

Children can raid the recycling bin to see what can be created from leftover materials – coffee trays can be turned into castles and small boxes and paper towel tubes into houses or robots.

Children can also unleash their artistry on the street (or footpath), with #ChalkYourWalk artworks popping up in Sydney suburbs. Make sure to always stay safe and socially distance.

9. Tie Dye, recycle old clothes

Have some old clothes you don’t know what to do with? Let the children breathe new life into some of the garments with tie dye kits or fabric dye, a bucket and elastic bands.

10. Kitchen experiments

Want to see how lettuce can turn a different colour, or make your own rock candy?

Paging Fun Mums has rolled learning and fun into one and shared easy ideas on how to wow kids in the kitchen.

Check out all the experiments that can keep children stimulated during lockdown here.