Resources
Free / low-cost activities for you to do at home with your children, or for them to explore on their own. Whether you’re at home or on the move, there’s loads to keep them busy.
Activity Links
Medway Council – Child Resources
Get advice and tips on looking after your child’s mental health. Medway offer lots of free support, activities and opportunities for your whole family.
Medway Council - HAF Documents
Please click each document to view and download:
Medway Libraries
Medway Libraries for You: Join a local library near you for free or explore the online library services they have on offer.
Libraries in Medway run many services for the whole family, from books clubs, toddler groups and even Lego club!
Art & Design
Painting and drawing aren’t just things you have to do in art class; they’re great activities for helping you to flex your creativity and vent your thoughts and feelings. Whether you’re drawing a sketch of your friends or painting a landscape, you can create something that gives you a sense of accomplishment when you make art, even if you’re not the best artist in your class.
BBC Bitesize
BBC Bitesize is a free online study support resource designed to help with learning, revision and homework! Bitesize provides support for learners aged 5 to 16+ across a wide range of school subjects. It also supports children and young people’s wellbeing and career choices.’
Change 4 Life
Kids need to be active for 60 minutes a day. From our fun 10 Minute Shake Up games to information about active hobbies and sports, here’s everything you need to get your family moving!
Words for Life
Provides parents, children and young people with activities and support to improve their language, literacy and communication skills from home.
Literacy Trust
We provide a range of evidence-based training, interventions, programmes and resources to support teachers and practitioners to enable children to move forward and develop their skills.
National Numeracy
National Numeracy is an independent charity established in 2012 to help raise low levels of numeracy among both adults and children and to promote the importance of everyday maths skills. We aim to challenge negative attitudes, influence public policy and offer practical ways of helping adults and children improve their numeracy -in the community, the workplace and formal education.
Things to do outside with kids UK
After more than a year of ‘stay at home’, we now have a summer of ‘be outside’. And we’re all pretty chuffed the weather is playing ball –especially parents. Nearly four in five think playing outside will be really important for their child’s wellbeing this summer, given more than half say their kids have been more lonely during the pandemic, according to a survey by the NSPCC. That’s why it couldn’t be more important to get outside while the weather is behaving. Here are a few things that could keep you (and your kids) busy.
10 minute shake up
Change4Life and Disney have teamed up to bring you play-along games inspired by your favourite Disney and Pixar characters. These 10-minute bursts of fun will really get your kids moving and count towards the 60 active minutes they need every day!
Indoor activities for kids
Stuck at home with the kids? Don’t worry, it will be fun! We’ve come up with 100 awesome indoor activities for kids that you can do without leaving the house. From the good, old, classic indoor games such as Charades and Hide and Seek, to fun crafts at home, and a whole lot more, there’s enough here to keep your little ones entertained for days on end.
Cosmic Kids
Every week, millions of kids do our yoga and mindfulness sessions on video in class and at home. And thousands of teachers that we’ve trained lead classes in their own communities. We’re doing what we can to make yoga and mindfulness fun for kids -so they can enjoy the physical, mental and emotional benefits early.
Body Buddies
The Body Buddies are here to help to combat child obesity –
We are the Body Buddies. We are the Super Heroes that live in your bodies and keep you strong, fit and healthy. We’re going to show you what jobs we do and how you can keep us happy. The happier we are the healthier you are! Support our kids to live a healthier life.
Support from place2be
We work with schools to support children’s and young people’s mental health. As part of this, we offer advice and resources for parents and carers to help support their child or young person’s wellbeing. Our new site full of practical advice and tried and tested tips for parents and carers of primary-age children.
FullTime Meal
No child should ever go to bed hungry. We are stopping hunger in its tracks. Fun easy recipe videos for children created by Marcus Rashford and Chef Tom Kerridge
Natural History Museum: Try this at home
A trip to London might not be an option, but it doesn’t mean children can’t still enjoy the benefits of this famous old museum. Take a virtual tour, letting David Attenborough guide you around the enormous Hintze Hall, getting a good look at Hope, the blue whale suspended from the museum’s ceiling, or simply digitally browse the library books.
There is also a range of downloadable activities and lesson plans available too, each helpfully labelled with the learning stage they apply to. We particularly enjoyed the Dino Directory which boasts images, facts and figures for some 300 dinosaurs. The “try this at home” section is wonderful too – especially as it teaches little ones, amongst other things, how to make a volcano.
DK Find Out
The simple design of this site means children can easily navigate this colourful learning hub. Covering 14 subjects including Maths and English, as well as space and sport. There’s plenty to get stuck into, but we think this is best suited for children who are already confident readers. Alternatively, this is a great resource for parents of younger children to explore together – you could get wonderfully lost here for hours, drinking in the history and heritage of the Incas or brushing up on the times tables. The images used are plentiful, bright and clear.
Tate Kids
We are pleased to show you what Tate Kids has up its digital sleeves to help children learn about artists and the process of making all different types of art.
The “make” tab talks you through making friendship bracelets, painting like JMW Turner or embarking on some experimental photography. While the “games and quizzes” section gives children the chance to challenge themselves and put themselves within an art context.
The Book Trust
The UK’s largest children’s reading charity is a hub of comfort, fun and security for families. Here bookworms will find reading recommendations, including “gentle books for troubled times”, and so much more.
There’s an entire section dedicated to what authors and illustrators are offering online for children – from illustration classes, read alongs and even “story starters” to encourage youngsters in their creative writing . There are quizzes, competitions and even book-based recipes to work on – as well as print out activities meaning there is something for all children to enjoy – even those who think they hate reading!
Easy art activities for kids to do at home
Encourage creativity and artistic expression with these fun, easy art activities for kids, including watercolour paintings, craft stick projects, simple stamped art, and more.
Ted Talks
TedTalks is a collection of educational video, which offers a wealth of videos to watch – from a couple of minutes up to 20 minutes long, catering to all ages and covering all sorts of topics. Everything from “the hidden life of Rosa Parks” to “the bug that poops candy” and “how vaccines work”. Each video is marked with its length and what area of learning it relates to, from health to science and technology. While this is geared towards children, we bet parents and teachers will get just as much out of it.
