Activity Ideas: General
This page provides a range of fun activities that supports and develops a range of skills and learning for all ages. We will be regularly update our list with any useful links and resources that we come across.
For more subject specific support, please visit the Primary and Secondary subject pages.
40 Fun activity ideas that you can pick and choose to complete at leisure (Zen mode) or make into a fun competition with a reward at the end (point scoring mode).
Activity Challenge - Zen Mode.pdf
Activity Challenge - Point Scoring.pdf
Feel free to email the virtual school with photos or scans of pieces of work including posters, stories and poems - virtual.school@halton.gov.uk - any work that doesn't show the child/young person's name could possibly be uploaded onto this website.
Get baking or cooking - if you have ingredients in the house why not get baking or get help with cooking meals? Not only is it a good skill to learn but you also get to practise basic maths and English. Here are some links to easy, child/young person friendly recipes:
BBC Good Food - Kid's baking recipes: BBC Good Food
Great British Chefs - Recipes for Kids: Great British Chefs
Baking Mad - Child friendly baking: Baking Mad
Twinkl - downloadable educational resources for early years, primary, secondary, EAL, SEND in Maths, English and Science.
To set up access go to twinkl
Khan Academy - this an nonprofit organisation allowing users to access all their content for free. They offer an extensive library to support maths, grammar, science, history and computing with videos, articles, quizzes, practical exercises and other resources. The content is developed to fit the US/international grades rather than the British national curriculum years but here is an overview of the conversions:
| Age | 4-5 | 5-6 | 6-7 | 7-8 | 8-9 | 9-10 | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | 13-14 | 14-15 | 15-16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Reception | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 |
| USA / International | Pre-Kindergarten | Kindergarten | 1st Grade | 2nd Grade | 3rd Grade | 4th Grade | 5th Grade | 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade | 9th Grade (Freshman) | 10th Grade (Sophomore) |
You can sign up to access their resources here: Khan Academy (NB: the website doesn't support internet explorer).
Khan Academy App - For children aged 2 - 7 there's a free app that you can download on Apple or android devices. The app has a massive library of contents including reading books, games, tracing letters or numbers, basic maths, practicing sounds, phonics and blending (again, bare in mind it is American therefore the sounds and pronunciations of some letters - particularly "z" will be different). Some of the content can be accessed offline as well.
BBC Bitesize - lots of free onlineresources for ages 3 to post-16 offering academic support in a huge range of subjects with games, tutorials, quizzes and much more.
Visit their site: BBC Bitesize
Teachit - resources developed by teachers in a range of subjects from EYFS to KS5. Lots of worksheets, ideas, games and themed activities that can be downloaded. You can normally sign up to access their free resources that are downloadable as PDFs.
Links to each site:
Teachit Primary for EYFS, KS1 & KS2 English, Maths, Science and other subjects: Teachit Primary
Teachit History for KS3 to KS5: Teachit Secondary History
Teachit Geography for KS3 to KS5: Teachit Secondary Geography
Teachit Languages for KS3 to KS5: Teachit Secondary Languages
The Great Indoors - Scouts have got a massive bank of fun educational activities/ideas that you can do indoors with your children and young people. There's also a link to a database that allows you to search for activities based on how long the activity lasts for, number of people the activity is suitable for and how much it would cost to do the activity. If you have a garden space you could even do some activities in your garden.
Visit their site: Scouts: Activities
National Geographic Kids - explore and learn amazing facts about things on Earth including animals, nature, history, scientific discoveries and countries. There are competitions, quizzes and games on here and learning links to science, history and geography. They also have a YouTube channel that you can stream lots of exploration and informative videos.
Visit their site: National Geographic Kids
Virtual Museum Tours - explore different exhibitions in a range of museums from the comfort of your own home through 3d virtual tours. Some of the museum websites will also offer resources that you can use at home. Click on the links below to be transported to museums around the world:
Natural History Museum, London
Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Washington DC, USA
Smithsonian Natural History, Washington DC, USA
NASA Langley Research Centre, Virginia, USA
Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
German Oceangraphic Museum, Stralsund, Germany
NASA at home - a range of science related articles and activities on there including podcasts, e-books, crafts and virtual tours. Ideal for anyone who is interested in science and particularly space.
Visit: NASA at Home
KidZania at home - lots of free downloadable activity packs that are linked to facts and skills for a number of different careers including acting, dentist, fashion designer, hair dressing and health.
Visit: KidZania at Home
Play Nintendo - free printable arts and crafts with popular game and animated characters.
Visit: Nintendo Printables
Tate Kids - This site encourages creativity through different sections such as Make, Explore, Videos, Games and Quizzes. It even includes a ‘Kids Gallery’ for you to upload and share your own artwork.
Get creative at: Tate Kids
The Cartoon Museum - Includes step-by-step instructions on how to draw caricatures, figures, comic strip characters and storyboards. The site also includes many free downloadable worksheets for you to practice on. For all age groups.
Visit the site: The Cartoon Museum
Activity Village - Includes lots of educational resources, games, puzzles and art / craft ideas for younger children (EYFS, KS1, KS2). The site also features many downloadable worksheets and colouring activities for you to explore.
To access the site: Activity Village
Learn English Kids (British Council) - A great resource for all children learning how to speak English as a second language. Includes many short stories, songs, activities and games to help you learn.
Join in at: Learn English Kids
Chess Kids - Ever wanted to learn how to play Chess? This website uses interactive videos, games and quizzes in order to teach you how to play. You can start by simply learning the names of all the pieces and how to move them, then move on to learning tactics, strategies and playing actual games.
To play the game: Chess Kids
DK Find Out - A great site to encourage children and young people to search, learn and explore. Its contents cover all the curriculum subjects and much more. Useful videos, quizzes, games and articles are included to support independent learning and research.