Is it just me or does anyone else feel more pressured than ever to keep their children entertained? I suppose it’s the thought of them missing out on their normal everyday lives, not seeing family and friends and generally being on a lockdown. It still hasn’t really sunk in for me yet! Here are my top ten lockdown activities to help give you some inspiration, I hope it helps!

Number 1: Zimpli Kids Gelli Worlds, Dino Pack

This activity is a must for Dino fans! Zimplikids products are one of my favourite messy and sensory play brands. Their products are biodegradable, non toxic, non irritant and stain free, so what’s not to love? Both of the girls are massive Dinosaur fans so they couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

They created a big Diplodocus slide for the “baby dinosaurs”, the dinosaurs were showering in Gelli and jumping up and down in “muddy puddles”. The girls played for almost an hour together. I had to change them after as they were both soaking wet, but they had tons of fun. Check out their website https://www.zimplikids.com

Number 2: Number Play

It’s never too early to have fun with numbers. Bella is showing a real interest for learning how to read and write letters and numbers. We were sent these amazing number flash cards by Teacher Play Ltd https://teacher-play.co.uk They have catchy sentences to help you remember how to draw the shape of the number

Bella’s favourite is number 2; Across his eyes, wipe his nose and brush his teeth. After Bella practiced her numbers, I then asked her to match the Melissa & Doug Magnetic Wooden Numbers to the number cards. Over these next few weeks I plan to introduce Bella to addition and subtraction.

Number 3: Assault Course

I brought a 3 in 1 Carnival combo set from Prextex toys from Amazon and it’s amazing! You can use it in so many different ways and it will provide endless entertainment. I set up an assault course for the girls and they had to weave in and out of the cones, stopping to throw the hoops over the cone in front, grab a bean bag and race back to the start.

They did it a couple of times before deciding that they could create a game much more fun than mine and they stole the props and totally rearranged them. Flo made a long, wiggling caterpillar out of the hoops and Bella made an assault course for her toys to complete.

Number 4: Sky n Belle Subscription Box

This At the Farm subscription box has been a complete lifesaver! It’s jam-packed full of fun! From a pop up farm playbook to puppet, to puzzles and stickers and arts and crafts, to storybooks, build your own birdhouse, to grown your own strawberries and a giant colouring book, at just £59.99 all of these goodies can be delivered straight to your door.

Everyday the girls go to the box to pull out an activity. I love the fact that they are learning through play and it’s something that occupies them both together. Check out their website https://www.skyenbelle.com and see for yourself.

Number 5: Frozen 2 Crafts

Bella absolutely loves this Frozen 2 Blo Pens Activity Set by John Adams https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Adams-10800-BLOPENS-Activity/dp/B07YGHRC2CHttps:// Once she got the hang of it she was well away! It’s really easy to use and there are lots of Frozen 2 stencils to choose from. She was super proud of her Olaf picture and demanded that I stick it straight up on her wall!

Bella also really enjoyed making Frozen 2 My Light Up Glitter Globe by John Adams https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Adams-10796-Light-Up-Glitter/ The recommended age is 5+ as it’s quite tricky but it’s an activity you could do together. Bella chose her characters and she enjoyed decorating them with glitter and pouring the confetti into the globe. It looks really pretty when it’s all lit up.

Number 6: Busy Bags

We are massive fans of Little Scribblers World, their Busy Bags are amazing for all ages. They provide hands on fun, they are great for fine motoring skills and hand-eye coordination, they are reusable and engaging and they will definitely keep your children entertained during lockdown. The girls recently played with Beach Blocks and they were both fully engrossed.

Bella was busy practicing writing her numbers and Flo was determined to build a tower as tall as she is! She was so proud once she had finished building it and had the biggest smile on her face! Check out their website, there are so many different busy bags to choose from https://www.littlescribblers.world

Number 7: Get Imaginative

Create something fun out of a cardboard box! You could fly a rocket to the moon or make teddies walk the plank on a pirate ship. The possibilities are endless. We used Little Brian’s Paintsticks to create our rocket ship, they are brilliant!

They are mess free, easy to use and they seriously take the faff out of arts and craft. They have lots of different products including Art Stations and Activity Kits. Check out their website https://www.littlebrian.com

Number 8: Keep Fit

I must admit before the lockdown I didn’t even think about looking online for children’s fitness videos. Luckily Flo’s Baby Ballet classes are carrying on online, because she absolutely loves it. We have recently discovered Cosmic Kids Yoga and Flo is a complete natural! It’s brilliant and I highly recommend that you check it out.

Number 9: Reading Zone

I’ve been setting up a reading zone for the girls once a week and they love it! They grab their favourite teddies and cushions and we just sit together and read. We were recently sent some books from Egmont Publishing and the girls are loving them, their new favourite is Mr Wolf’s Pancakes. Check out their website https://www.egmont.co.uk

Number 10: Baby Shark Easter Hunt

Download a free Pink Fong Baby Shark Activity Kit to keep your little ones entertained over Easter. The activity kit includes fun props, masks, pictures to colour in and Baby Shark Easter Hunt signs. Click on the link to download yours now https://ace.media/wowwee-baby-shark