Your remote learning mega-guide for lockdown 3.0: Tips, tricks and plans for lessons at home

From maths lessons with Carol Vorderman to storytime with Oprah, Jake Helm and Katie Strick pick the homeschool heroes to see your children through lockdown 3.0
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School’s out for the foreseeable - but don’t panic. We’ve been here before so we (technically) know what we’re doing, Joe Wicks is back (hurrah!) and this time, there’s more help at hand than ever. 

Even if teachers aren’t always available on Microsoft Teams, the online timetable is packed - homeschool heroes from Myleene Klass to David Walliams are hard at work to keep the little ones educated (and entertained). 

The even better news? Video lessons aren’t the only option available if you’re all sick of screen time or taking it in turns to use the iPad. This time, there are science podcasts to play while you’re making breakfast and audio books that’ll take care of the bedtime reading on nights that you’re too stretched. 

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AFP via Getty Images

English

BBC Bitesize

From using exclamation marks to comprehension practice, BBC bitesize offers children numerous educational tasks and games related to the English language. 

Free, bbc.co.uk

Classroom Cereal

Classroom Cereal gives students daily practice with reading and grammar. The website offers a series of short stories with grammatical errors for students to correct.  

£22 yearly subscription, classroomcereal.com

Spelling Shed

Designed by a team of teachers, Spelling Shed aims to make spelling fun for students. With over 4,000 spellings, the platform allows kids to play spelling games and create their own weekly word lists. It’s ‘dyslexia friendly’ with an ‘open dyslexic’ font and three levels of difficulty. 

£4.99 monthly subscription, spellingshed.com

Teach your monster to read 

Covers everything from letters and sounds to reading full sentences, the game helps young children learn to read. Designed in collaboration with leading academics, the game allows kids to create a monster and take it on an adventure through a magical world. 

Storyline Online

Storyline Online

The platform features actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. From Oprah Winfrey to Kevin Costner, the Emmy-nominated children’s literacy website has celebrities reading nursery rhymes and fairy tales. 

The Story Starter

To inspire children’s imagination, story starter generates the first sentence of a story which children then have to continue.

Maths

The Mathsfactor

The Maths Factor

Set up by Carol Vorderman, Mathsfactor offers online lessons, for children aged 4 to 12. The website has feature videos, games and rewards to help children get to grips with numbers and mathematics. 

£4.99 a month, themathsfactor.com

Bedtime Math

Bedtime Math offers 10-30 minute mathematical exercises that you can do without using a phone or tablet. It gives instructions about a maths-related game which children can play using household items, food and printable treasure maps.

Math Playground

The website offers videos and games that tackle complex mathematical issues, from division to line plots.

Lessons with Rachel Riley

Amazon has made a video with Countdown presenter Rachel Riley covering maths topics such as prime numbers, factors, and mental maths

Free, YouTube

Children attend school lessons at home in Milton Keynes
Reuters

Science

Mysterydoug

Every week, Doug emails a video with a question such as can a turtle live outside its shell. In the video, Doug then solves the mystery, pausing for kids to think about their own responses to Doug’s investigation. At the end of the video, Kids can vote on what can be explored in the following week’s session. 

Ask Dr Universe

Dr Universe answers all the questions about the world that kids want to know. Children can input their own questions or access a selection of answered ones.

Maddie Moate

Maddie Moate

Maddie is a television presenter who demonstrates daily science experiments you can try at home. Suitable for KS1 and KS2 children, Maddie offers easy-to-follow experiments such as dissecting daffodils that range from three to thirty minutes long.

Free, YouTube

Access Mars

Access Mars allows kids to explore a 3-D replica of Mars as it was recorded by the Curiosity rover.  

Melscience

Monthly subscription service that delivers safe and exciting chemistry experiments directly to your doorstep.

Monthly subscription, melscience.com

Geography

National Geographic Kids

With quizzes, puzzles and games, the national geographic is offering kids the chance to explore the world from their bedroom and learn about the environment.  

Art

Tate Kids

Alongside offering kids inspiration to paint, draw, and sculpture at home, this website has art-related quizzes and games.  

Art for Kids Hub

Art for Kids Hub

From painting to origami, Youtuber Rob and his family are offering creative tutorials. The lessons are simple and involve basic tools such as paper, crayons, and felt tips.

Free, YouTube

Google Arts and Culture

Explore the artistic world with google. This website allows kids to discover exhibitions and museum.

History

60 Second Histories

60 Second Histories

From ancient civilisations through to WWII, this website offers over 300 history film clips in bitesize chunks. They also have interactive quizzes. 

Historic Royal Palaces

This website has quizzes, games and interactive videos about their historical sites. It’s packed with  content for both KS1 and KS2.

Music

Myleene’s Music Klass

YouTube

The Hear'Say member is helping kids expand their musical knowledge.

Free sessions and no instruments needed, YouTube

Ragdolly Music Live

Younger kids can join this free live singalong session on Facebook Live. Every day at 10:30am.

Other

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

Zookeepers at Whipsnade zoo have launched a series of virtual bedtime stories. The Facebook page is called Tune in to Tails from the Zoo, and they are running each weekend from Saturday 16 January - Sunday 21 February.

Free, Facebook

Storytime with Sarah Ferguson

YouTube

The Duchess of York is reading stories on YouTube for free.

Free, YouTube

Podcasts

Stories Podcast

This series offers a new story every week, from retellings of classics like Snow White to original stories. Episodes range from 10 to 20 minutes. Available on google and Spotify.

Google, Spotify, storiespodcast.com

Brains On

Science podcast aimed at kids. From vaccines to going to the toilet, this series informs, while making science cool.

Apple Podcasts, brainson.org

But Why

This American series aims to answer kids’ questions about everything from nature, and politics to culture and science.  Children can submit their own queiries.

Apple Podcasts, npr.org

Everything Under the Sun

Everything Under The Sun podcast

Each Friday, Molly Oldfied answers kids’ questions about life on earth. The QI question writer and author is joined by various experts, such as Neil Gaiman and Richard Branson, to tackle children’s most pressing questions.  

Apple Podcasts, Acast

You’re Dead to Me

Historian Greg Jenner delves into the past with this series. From hot chocolate to Blackbeard, Jenner brings together historians and comedians to make history fun.  

BBC Sounds, BBC

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls podcast

Following the hugely successful bestselling book of the same name, the series tells stories about one extraordinary woman told by another such as Greta Thunberg's story read by Jameela Jamil. They are 20 minutes long and are described as “fairy tale audio adventures”.

Soundcloud, rebelgirls.com

Audiobooks

Audible

Audible is offering an extensive range of free stories for children.

Harper Collins Children’s Books

The publisher is offering a free, handpicked selection of audiobooks for children.

The World of David Walliams

The World of David Walliams

David Walliams’ website has books and audio books, read by the Britain’s Got Talent judge and children’s author, for free.

Exercise/fitness

The Body Coach

Lockdown fitness star Joe Wicks is holding 30-minute PE session live on his YouTube Channel at  9am every other day. The live workouts will take place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A range of mobility and beginner classes that last 10-20 minutes are also available on his YouTube channel.

Free, YouTube

Morning Live, BBC One

Starting from 9.15am on January 25, presenters Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh will be joined every day by a popular Strictly Come Dancing professional on BBC One. 

Free, BBC One

Oti’s Boogie Beebies

BBC

Strictly’s Oti Mabuse will get infants dancing in their homes .

Mark Wright

From January 25, Mark Wright will be leading a series of fitness sessions on weekday mornings on BBC Two. 

Free, BBC Two

Computing and coding

Dance Mat Typing

A free online programme that uses animated animal characters, graphics and sounds to develop children’s typing abilities.

Educational board games

Orchard Toys Shopping List Game

A memory game for toddlers to help learn their basic vocabulary of food and shopping list items: milk, bread, apples, oranges, etc.

Scrabble Junior

The famous board game, simplified for younger kids. Great for teaching kids how to spell.

£19.25, amazon.co.uk

Zingo

Zingo is a matching game that encourages early readers to match the pictures and words to their challenge cards. Aimed to improve children’s language skills.

The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game

Aimed at pre-schoolers, this game involves coloured acorns to develops colour matching skills.

£21.92, amazon.co.uk

Activity books

Ada Twist’s Big Project Book for Stellar Scientists

This book contains a mix of experiments and science activities to carry out at home. The blurb states that the book offers budding scientists a change to “solve everyday mysteries and come to think more critically about the world around them.”

£7.12, Amazon

Bond Brain Training

Bond Brain Training

With over 100 puzzles, this book aims to develop children's ability with logic and reasoning through problem-solving. From Bond, the market leader in 11+ test preparation, the book will improve children’s skills such as shape recognition, group sorting and coding.

£4.99, Amazon

How to Tell the Time

A colourful book intended to helps kids understand the basics of telling the time. Aimed at early learners.  

£11.59, dk.com

Dinosaurium Activity Book

From Chris Wormell, this book offers hours of facts and puzzles for dinosaur lovers.

£8.19, Amazon

How to Write Your Best Story Ever!

A book brimming with instructions for sketching animals, people, plants and food.

£7.29, amazon.co.uk

Activity boxes

Foodini Club

Foodini Club

Food subscription boxes for kids. For £11.50 a month, they’ll send children a box containing pre-packaged dry ingredients, such as flours, spices, seeds etc, alongside one sweet and one savoury recipe.

£11.50 per month, foodiniclub.co.uk

Mister Maker Club

Produced in partnership with the BBC, each box contains materials kids will need to build projects inspired by the Mister Maker TV show. Delivered every two weeks, usually £5.95.

£5.95 a fortnight, signup.mistermakerclub.com

Semmalina Starbags

London-based children’s toyshop is delivering ‘STAY AT HOME BOXES’ filled with hand selected toys. The kits include activity books, crayons, games and toys. They are available for girls and boys, and cater for ages 3-5, and 6-12. 

Stay social

Teleparty

Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party) is a new way to watch TV with your friends online. It synchronises video playback and adds group chat to Netflix, Disney, Hulu and HBO, allowing kids to watch something in real time with their friends.

Virtual board games

- Monopoly is an iOS (£3.99) and Android (£3.99) app and has a online multiplayer mode.

- The Risk: Global Domination app – free to play on iOS and android, and you can play online.

- UNO! – App for free on iOS and Android, can play with friends online.

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