With coronavirus making its way around the world, we’re all spending more time than usual in the house. Getting out and about in nature is difficult, especially if you’re isolating or in lockdown but that doesn’t mean you need to put your kid’s love of animals aside. There is plenty you can do in the house to spark their imagination. Here are our top five ideas.
Bring animals to life in your lounge with Google
If you’ve not discovered Google’s 3D animals yet, you’re in for a treat. They are fabulous and will keep children entertained for hours! Use your Android or iPhone to search for an animal in Google and click on ‘View in 3D’. It brings up your camera and then suddenly you have a tiger in your living room. Play with it on screen, listen to it roar, and then see how many funny photos you can get!
It doesn’t work for all animals, but you can find a list and further instructions here.
Colour in animal prints
Unleash kids creative side and bring a bit of colour to your home with some animal-themed colouring in. Whether they use crayons, pencils or paint, draw from scratch or colour in premade designs, they are sure to have fun.
If you’re stuck for ideas, one of our lovely OneKind volunteers has produced some colouring sheets for us; you can download them here: fox, hare and crab. Why not share your results on our Facebook page when they are done. We would love to see them.
Bake!
Baking is such a fun way to occupy kids of all ages. Introduce an animal theme by creating animal shapes from biscuits or by using modelling icing to create cute animal cake toppers. Talk about the animals as your cooking, and it becomes a learning experience too.
Feed the birds
Just because you’re stuck in, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a bit of nature spotting. If you have a garden, work with the kids to put up bird feeders and create a space for wildlife. They’ll have fun doing it, and once you’ve finished, they will enjoy watching all the birds and bugs come. It’s great for the environment too. For ideas, visit our AnimalKind page, Top 10 ways to make your garden more wildlife-friendly.
Set them a challenge
A fun way to get kids thinking and learning about animals and the environment is to challenge them. There are endless possibilities here; how about asking them:
- How many different insects can you find in the garden?
- Which bird species is the only one to hibernate through winter? (Hint: you can find the answer on our Top 10 hibernators page!)
- How many animals can you name beginning with E?
Alternatively, if you have a dog, set them the challenge of teaching them a new trick! They’ll discover responsibility, learn new skills and your dog will benefit from the mental stimulation as well.