Daily free ideas and activities for families at home

Pic: Twinkl

Activities for Day 34

1.Watch We Are Stars – an incredible, immersive planetarium animation released for free for the first time!

An incredible space show, We Are Stars, has just been made available for free - the first time it's being shown outside of a planetarium. Now the film has been released by the National Space Centre in Leicester, on their YouTube channel.

Lord of the Rings actor, Andy Serkis narrates, as he whisks you back in time, 13.8 billion years, and takes you on an exploration like no other. It’s an animated documentary, with the most mesmerising colours and graphics, and filmed in such a way, that it feels like 3D and it puts you in the film.

The movie is 25 minutes long and covers subjects such as 'What are we made of?' (We're mostly made of cheese right now, yes?) and easy ones such as 'Where did the universe come from?'.

Why not arm yourselves with popcorn, draw the curtains, and soak up some science in this truly spectacular film. Here's a sneak-peak trailer to whet your appetite.

3. Watch a FREE Royal Albert Hall jazz workshop for kids

Premier music venue, The Royal Albert Hall, has launched its own hash tag #RoyalAlbertHome, bringing selected performances directly to families at home free of charge.

Today at 2pm, you can catch jazz supremo Arthur Lea, performing a 30-minute set, specifically created for children, to introduce them to the world of jazz music.

Arthur Lea will showcase a range of jazz styles, from blues to mambo to Gershwin classics. It’ll be a fabulous medley of tunes to dance along to, as you (as well as your kids) toot on your imaginary saxophone around the living room. Turn it up, make it loud and introduce your kids to jazz.

If you miss the broadcast at 2pm, you can play it on catch up later.

Activities for Day 33

1. Go Campolining tonight - transform your trampoline into a cosy tent!

Take your garden camping to a whole new level by trying Campolining for the evening. We spotted this brilliant idea on the Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas Facebook group shared by mum of 2, Claire, and which several families have described as surprisingly comfortable.

With dad, Simon, and their boys, Alex and James, Claire's family transformed their 10ft trampoline into a super cosy tent.

If you have a garden trampoline, here's how to do it:

1. Grab some fleecy blankets to peg around the sides and layer at the bottom
2. Add duvets, blankets, cushions and pillows around the edges for extra comfort
3. Lastly pin a large king-sized sheet over the top, and decorate with external fairy lights (if you have them) for a finishing touch

For more camping activities you could make s'mores with chocolate digestive biscuits and toasted marshmallows or snuggle up to watch a family film on a tablet or mobile, before bedtime.

Claire says, "We were woken by the dawn chorus at about 5.30am then went back to sleep until 7am-ish! It was lovely and cosy and fairly comfy too!

"Even though temperatures were approx 4ºC, our boys Alex, aged 9, and James, aged 3, loved it and we will definitely do it again."

Have an outdoor garden scavenger hunt

As part of your camping activities, you could also put together a garden scavenger hunt for your kids.

Pick some different objects in your garden from flowers to leaves, rocks or insects and get them to see if they can locate them. As it gets darker, give them a torch to help with their search.

This is a great one to get the whole family involved in to see who can be the first one to tick off all the items on their scavenger hunt list.

2. Watch live! It's a one-off virtual Andy and the Odd Socks concert

Little fans of Andy and the Odd Socks can tune into a live virtual concert this afternoon where the band will be performing 7 songs from their upcoming second album.

Head over to the band's Facebook page today at 4pm to catch the live show from all five band members, who'll all be performing from their homes.

Practise singing along to Andy and the Odd Socks

Get ready for the live concert by dancing and singing along to some of the band's top hits on this video playlist.

And don't forget to download Andy's free printable activity pack with colouring, a wordsearch, spot the difference, a quiz and the chance to share your artwork on Andy's Facebook page.

3. Have a dinosaur day - origami dinosaur printable template, hatching dino egg, quiz and dino games for preschoolers

The Natural History Museum is the original home of the UK's most famous dinosaur, Dippy, and has a wealth of dinosaur learning resources to explore..

We love the brilliant step-by-step instruction for this origami T-rex which comes with a printable coloured paper template.

Plus there's an amazing hatching dinosaur egg which can be simply made with some card and a clothes peg.

Are you a gentle giant dinosaur or a fierce carnivore?

Why not take this quiz to find out what type of dinosaur you are!

Inside dinosaurs - and how their skeletons moved!

These stunning videos show how dinosaurs plodded, thundered or sprinted across the prehistoric landscape by looking inside dinosaur bodies and revealing how the skeletons of different dinosaurs would have moved.

Dinosaur fun for pre-schoolers!

Make your own Dinosaur feet - and play the Dino Walk game

Download these dinosaur feet for two games:

I've got dino feet! - Printable dinosaur feet from the Natural History Museum, which you can colour and then add string and tie to your pre-schooler's feet for some great stomping

Follow the dino - Print out these cute footprints and create a dino trail of footprints around the house or in a safe outside space. Add a toy dinosaur, if you have one, at the end of the trail.

Learn the Dinosaur ABC

This fun dino video by the YouTube channel Toddler Fun Learning is a great activity for children who are learning their alphabet, incorporating the names of different dinsoaurs as they go from A to Z.

Activities for Day 32

1. Live Zebra day today - join Paradise Wildlife Park for Hooves & Humps!

It's Hooves and Humps week at Paradise Wildlife Park, and today, you can join their Facebook live event at 10.30am and meet their zebras. If you enjoy this event, then come back again this Saturday at 10.30am, for their final live Hooves and Humps broadcast of the week, and you can meet their Tapirs. If, like us, you are wondering what a tapir is, it’s like a cross between a big pig and an anteater. A very strange animal indeed.

Here's a tapir in case you were wondering...

So why do zebras have stripes?

Your one-stop-shop for everything you ever wanted to know about zebras is right here at National Geographic Kids. They've got all bases covered and facts galore, apart from the one question scientists can't answer; why do zebras have stripes? Because they don't want to be spotted, of course.

And if your child fancies themselves as a bit of an animal expert, get them to test their knowledge with the Nat Geo Kids animal quiz.

2. Stick art - brilliant toddler fun with these simple stick-based activities!

Something that’s not in short supply right now are sticks. They’re everywhere! And even better, they’re free! So on your next walk with the kids, raid the trees and forage the ground, and you too can turn those woody splints into some awesome stick art.

We spotted Kayleigh and her son Harrison's amazing T-Rex (above) with twigs and sticky tape on Family Lockdown Tips and Idea group.

And look at the incredible creations from Michelle and her 4-year-old son...

Michelle told us how they created these magnificent T-Rex and Stegosaurus pics. "While on our daily walk, we picked up some sticks, bark, moss and flowers. I didn’t have any paint at the time, so used flour and water with food colouring and glued it down with a hot glue gun.”

Make a stick fairy house

If you find you’ve an abundance of sticks, and are feeling really creative, follow Francheska's idea to make an incredible fairy house...

1 Find an empty plastic milk bottle

2 Cut it so it it's a little bit wonky

3 Cover with sticks

3. Try monster meditation with the Cookie Monster and Headspace!

The first in a series of new videos for younger children, Headspace's Mr Andy (he’s an expert in mindfulness and meditation) joins with the one and only Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, to play a game of I-Sense, which will help teach your kids about their 5 senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight) while also discovering how you can make waiting more fun!

Want a call from the Cookie Monster?

Want more Cookie Monster? Check out the free Cookie Monster app on Google and Apple, which lets Cookie Monster call your phone, and act like he's talking to you (or your child, obvs). We're holding our hands up right now. We know it’s a kid's app, but it makes us laugh every time.

Make cookies - these only have 5 ingredients!

For some reason, if you, like us, now can’t stop thinking about cooooookies, here’s a really simple 5 ingredient recipe from our sister title, BBC Good Food, to whip up a batch of classic choc chip cookies. All you need is butter, caster sugar, plain flour, choc chips and cinnamon (and that's optional). Get cooking!

Activities for Day 31

1. Join a live kids cook-along today with Joe Wicks' nutritionist - make tasty banana and blueberry muffins (no eggs required)!

For a fun way to get the kids in kitchen AND make a store cupboard favourite, join nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed for a live cook-along today, as she whips up some delicious banana and blueberry muffins. Charlotte has recently been working with Joe Wicks as the nutritionist on his bestselling weaning book, Wean in 15.

Head over to Charlotte's Instagram page at 12pm, where she'll also be joined by her son, fellow mini-chef Raffy, to find out how to make the tasty sweet treats together.

Charlotte's breakfast muffin recipe has no added sugar, and is egg-free and dairy-free and uses store-cupboard staples. Here's what you'll need so you're ready to cook along...

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 150g blueberries
• 75ml olive oil
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ white wine vinegar
• 100ml oat milk or a milk of your choice
• 1 lemon
• 100g plain flour
• 50g rolled oats (plus a little extra for topping)
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

How to make speedy pizza with your kids

If you don't have the time to make your own pizza dough, why not make our speedy cheat's pizza instead? Your children can mix and match their favourite toppings, creating little pizza masterpieces, before you pop them under the grill to cook.

Ingredients

• 4 white or wholemeal bagels
• 1 can tin tomatoes (400g)
• Splash of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 100g mozerella
• Variety of toppings

2. Live drawing session - learn how to draw unicorns, knights, castles and princesses

Award-winning children's illustrator Andrew Sanders is hosting a live illustration workshop today at 1.30pm on Facebook where your children can learn how to draw unicorns, knights, castles and princesses.

We like the fact that Andrew's tutorials take place at an easy-to-follow pace with simple drawing options for younger children (6-8yrs) and more complex techniques for older kids (8-10yrs).

All you need is some paper and a pen (Andrew suggests a black felt tip or handwriting pen) and you're ready to learn how to draw the magical characters.

Learn to draw robots and dinosaurs

Once your kids have mastered knights and unicorns, they can have a go at drawing robots and dinosaurs from Andrew's tutorial last week.

Once they have their finished creations, grab some colouring pencils or paint to add the finishing touches to their illustrations.

Learn phonics through dance

If you're looking for a different way to teach your child phonics, this Let's Dance ABC video from Pinkfong! Kids' Songs & Stories is a great resource to get them engaged.

They can follow along through all the phonics from A to Z with different movements to go along with each word.

If they've already made good progress with their phonics you can play the video from start to finish, but if they're just starting out go through the video in sections to focus on certain letters and sounds.

Activities for Day 30

1. Watch hungry crocodiles – and meerkats – at feeding time!

Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens have posted an amazing video of their HUGE (and slimey!) crocodiles being fed. You can watch as they lumber slowly up to their dinner and then quickly snatch it into their giant jaws. Just to warn you - those crocs are gulping down whole (dead) chickens.

For something a lot less squeamish, the team at Thrigby Hall have also posted the cutest footage of a Facebook Live they did at feeding time with their meerkats.

Do look out for the mini ballpit play. Yep, meerkats like soft play, too (especially when the keepers throw a little bit of food in there)!

See more amazing wildlife videos at Thrigby Hall's Facebook page.

2. Learn Phonics live in fun class - with bears and dough disco!

Award-wining early-learning specialists Phonics Bear are hosting live classes for preschoolers every Tuesday and Thursday morning on the Phonics Bear Facebook page.

Today at 9am, they'll be having 20 minutes of active learning fun with the letters F and B. On Thursday, at 11am, it's the turn of letters W and V.

Every session starts with a big, stretchy 'dough disco' warm-up and then moves on, with lots and lots of teddy-bear help, to letter-sorting, letter-recognition and letter-formation games that'll get your child absorbing all sorts of Early Years Curriculum stuff about phonics and sounds without really realising it.

There'll also be themed tips, games and resources to download for free afterwards. (And if you miss a live class, you can catch it again on You Tube later.)

Don't forget to bring along your own teddy!

Looking for more letter-sound practice?

Download and print our brilliant, free Alphabet colouring-in sheets

We have 26 to download for free - a brilliant colouring activity.

3. Create the BEST ever paper planes - from the 'Paper Airplane Guy'

There are paper planes – and then there are paper planes made by John Collins, known round the world (yes, really) as the 'Paper Airplane Guy'.

Have a go at making 5 amazing paper planes with the help of this clear and detailed step-by-step YouTube video, where John takes you through every crucially aerodynamic fold and crease.

Try the following:

• 2 different Boomerang planes - they fly back to you when you've thrown them)
• Bat plane - with flapping wings
• Tumbling Wing plane - it doesn't fly so much as turn over and over like a space satellite
• John's super-fast World Record plane

Once you've made your plane (or planes), see how well your planes can fly...

• How high can your plane go?
• How long does your plane stay in the air?
• How far does your plane fly?

And, if you fancy a bit of paper-plane competition, you could see if John's World Record plane flies further and faster than fellow paper-plane designer Mihir Cave's Paper Airplane Jet...

What makes a paper plane fly?

Check out this really clear explanation of thrust, lift and friction from this YouTube video from SciShow Kids (it also includes some good, straightforward instructions for making a simple paper plane).