Now that some schools and child minders are able to open again after the lock down, practitioners will be looking at providing distancing activities which keep children safe.
As the virus is thought to be less of a risk when outside. having the children in the great outdoors whenever possible seems to be the best solution.
I would suggest marking chalk lines on a garden fence or wall and explain to the children to stay within their space, then give each child a bucket of water and a decorator’s paintbrush and tell them to ‘paint’ their area. as the surface gets wet it changes colour looking as if it has been painted. This could also be done on the ground.
Chalking pictures on a patio or paving is another activity that can be done with the children sitting apart ( chalk out spaces with a 2 metre distance, they could then wash away their own artwork
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If you have a large enough garden or nearby park a game of rounders is good as each child stands at their own base.
Provide skipping ropes, as this activity needs space to prevent the ropes getting tangled, so the children don’t even need to be told to stay apart.
Give each child a hula hoop and have a competition to see who can keep it up for the longest time; the hoops can also be used for the children to sit in inside or out while doing a jigsaw puzzle , construction from Lego or similar materials or just sitting apart to draw or read a book.
Organise a scavenger hunt and set the children off at time intervals, get them searching for a clover leaf, certain coloured flowers, stones or even a blade of grass.
I have written an e book of activities which could be adapted for social distancing buy it here
This is just a small selection of ideas that I have come up with please share any that you have thought of.
As always questions and comments are welcome.
Until next time.
Karen
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Some really good ideas in this blog
Thanks, Pearl
These are some lovely ideas. I think it’s entirely possible for children to play ‘apart’ together. Someone tweeted a picture of kids playing in chalked boxes in a playground and said it broke their heart but I just thought how lovely. Those children were having a great time and they didn’t care about a bit of thin air in between. The key word is “socially” distanced. #StayClassyMama
Great ideas!! #StayClassyMama or should that be #Stay1.5metresapartmama?
Some really good ideas here. My daughters outside our house on the path have chalked a hopscotch and decorated it with flowers. They love to watch other children do the hopscotch as they walk past the house.
That’s a lovely idea,Eddie, thanks for sharing
I love the hula hoop ideas. Great idea getting them to use it for exercise and sit in it. Perfect idea. #StayClassyMama
These are lovely ideas! I especially love the ‘painting the fence’ game. I take my hat off to all the schools, playgroups/nurseries and childminders who have to factor in social distancing into pretty much everything. what super stars you all are. Thank you for joining us for the #DreamTeamLinky
I think it is lovely to make social distancing easy to understand for children as they like to get up close and personal usually! Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
I took my daughter to meet up with a friend and it was so hard to get them to stay 2 metres apart! It is easy for children to become so focussed on what they are doing that distance gets forgotten, Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama
Some really good ideas. It’s a tricky thing to not let kids get too close to each other, when they are playing. #stayclassymama
some really great ideas here. But hopefully the kids will be able to go to playgrounds soon
Lovely ideas. I’ve noticed a lot more families out and about together during lockdown which is really nice.
You can’t beat water and a paint brush. Keeps them entertained for ages. #StayClassyMama
Children get distracted easily so giving them a task that keeps them busy will hopefully stop them getting near each other. Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama
Some fun ideas. It’s hard to keep them busy but also social distancing, at this time. #stayclassymama (sorry it’s late, mad mad two weeks!)