With lockdown in full effect once again, families across England are spending more time together at home than usual.

We have curated a list of lockdown entertainment ideas on how to keep children busy and happy, from indoor crafting ideas to creative ways to get them outside.  

The tips range from ones that can be done online, like exploring a museum through a virtual tour, to art projects, so that there is something for everyone!

Take A Virtual Trip To The Museum 

Many museums, art galleries and public spaces will be closing their doors for visitors, but that doesn't mean their treasures are lost.

Families can take virtual tours of museums and galleries, including the British Museum in London, thanks to Google Art and Culture.

One of the highlights is Britain's Natural History Museum, which offers virtual self-guided tour of the galleries, an interactive experience about Hope The Blue Whale and audio guides narrated by Sir David Attenborough. You can read more about that here

The visuals will keep your little ones entertained for quite a while – and there are a lot of interesting games and kits that we stock to help reiterate what they have learnt through their experience. Including, the Around the World Excavation 8 in 1 kit, which allows kids to dig and discover prehistoric dinosaurs and artifacts. There are 8 projects to dig and discover from the past and all around the world, with 3 wooden excavation tools included so you are ready to go when you open the box.

Learn How To Draw & Much More

Drawing is an old staple, the perfect indoor activity because all it needs is some paper and crayons, pens or pencils, which you're likely to already have at home. 

But..... if you're looking for a little more inspiration, why not pick up the ‘Gigantic Box of Crafts', featuring a massive array of different crafting fun with everything you can possibly imagine for all your crafting needs. It is perfect for off school and boredom busting! Ideal for girls and boys from ages 3 onwards, the large box is full of over 300 craft pieces for all sorts of arts and crafts materials for your projects!

Try Your Hand At Creative Writing

Engaging your child in creativity by planning and writing a story is a great way to embed some learning in a relaxed way. Ask children to pick a main character, a setting and a special object (such as a magic key, a treasure map, a broken lamp or a buried time capsule) and let their imaginations run riot!

Children can create their own books, adding photos, images, drawing pictures, writing text & if you're feeling adventurous - inserting videos or even recording their own voice using...your phone (shock horror!) ! They can then publish their books once they’ve finished or post their book project to YouTube. A great way to help kids aged 6-8 years read and write is through the Snappy Learner- Reading & Writing workbook. This is a really beautifully illustrated colorful educational activity workbook that comes equipped with a reward chart and stickers. The activities are based on the National Curriculum

Burn Off Energy With Some Physical Activity

You might not be able to travel or go outdoors as easily as you’d like, especially with the snow and rain - but that shouldn’t stop you and your kids from having some good ol’ physical exercise!

Exhaust the children out with this SunnyLife Play On Table Tennis that is suitable for children and adults. Hit the backyard and prepare to aim, set and match with the Play On Table Tennis Set! This can even be played indoors on the kitchen table!

Watch a documentary on Space and Make Your Own 6 Planet Solar System Mobile

Dr Amanda Gummer, the founder of the Good Play Guide and expert in child psychology, mentions that 'Documentaries such as the Blue Planet or Stargazing are great family viewing that can spark conversations and even family projects.' Fortunately many of these are available on streaming services or free resources online.

To continue the family time, ask your children questions after the film has finished and make your own 6 planet solar system mobile. This clever little kit is great for space obsessed little ones and contains everything you need to make your own hanging, mobile, 6 planets solar system!

Dust Off Your Board Games

Board games are a great way to bring the whole family together, no matter how old your children are. 

If you have toddlers, why not try something like the fun 'What's Their Name' game, which contains 24 character cards, 2 guess boards, and 48 flip characters. Suitable for children aged 5 and above, it encourages kids’ creativity and develops their concentration, imagination and hand-eye coordination. 

A crazy game of elimination, simply guess the person and if you are right, knock the character tab down. Ask as many questions as it takes to guess their name!

With slightly older children you can enjoy classics like Cluedo, Monopoly and Scrabble and for a hilarious and physical activity try 'Tangled Up' - similar to Twister!

Dive Under The Sea With A Dough-Tastic Sea Life Set

Holidays overseas might be out of the question at the moment (fingers crossed travel is back soon!) but the wonders of the deep are still just a click away thanks to live and recorded video streams offered by aquariums around the world.

You can also keep your kids engaged for hours of fun with our Sea Life dough playset and get ready to shape and mould a range of sea creations.

Wondering Where To Find Interactive Lockdown Resources For Kids?

If you have been on the lookout for interactive, fun-filled resources for children that will keep them busy during the lockdown, then our wildly popular store KeepEmQuiet.com is the place for you!

This website founded by myself and my Wife Carly, is a curiosity shop bursting with entertainment packs, activity kits, workbooks, games and toys for children of all ages! We wanted to curate a fun store full of screen-free activities. Our kits have been featured time and again in the media for being a hit with the children of the royal family, celebrities worldwide and are endorsed in publications like BBC News, Hello Magazine, The Daily Mail and Harper’s Bazaar!

Award-winning KeepEmQuiet Busy Bags!

And the obvious choice and the most popular product by far that we sell are our KeepEmQuiet Entertainment Packs, during lockdown 1 we sold thousands of them every week, hundreds of packs a day left our warehouse! These lockdown, isolation kits are crammed full of fun surprises to keep children entertained and busy, filled with educational items, crafts, make-your-own, colouring, stickers, learning workbooks, collectible toys, craze toys, healthy vegan snacks they are the perfect gift for little ones if you want something original and exciting. They make for the perfect good behaviour gift, after all those long zoom sessions, great for aunties, uncles and grandparents to send whilst they can’t physically see the kids and they make great rainy day (or snowy day) surprises.

We hope youve found this blog post useful and perhaps it's given you some new ideas to see out the rest of lockdown!

Be safe x