Want to entertain the kids?

Aged just nine and six, Polly and Hetty (so adorbs) created their fantastic ‘Isolation Creation’ colouring book and, with a little help from their dad, printed and distributed 200 copies to friends, family and neighbours. After receiving a bigger response than they ever expected, they took it one step further. Now Polly and Hetty have started their very own Isolation Creation Club, a place where parents and kids can find and share a whole heap of creative activities, including an online version of the original colouring book. The club lets parents download and print pictures from the book for their children to enjoy at home, as well as offering inspiration for other creative activities.

If there’s anything more calming than watching a fluffy, floppy panda munch his way through a bamboo stick, then we demand to know what it is. Edinburgh Zoo is live-streaming their animal enclosures with the aim to raise much-needed funds for the zoo while it’s closed to visitors. And if you’re not sold on the panda? Wait ‘til you meet Tanami the koala...

Watch your little one’s face light up as they navigate BM&AG’s interactive pages for kids. While they can’t explore the exhibits IRL, Brum’s cultural centres are providing cute illustrated activities and games to help them get a handle on some of history’s most exciting eras, from Ancient Egypt to the Victorians. 

The Tate has hit on a pretty sweet idea with their Tate Kids programme: they’ve put together a series of craft activities that kids will love to make, and that will actually look awesome in your home. Clever, right? Help them create an Olafur Eliasson-inspired kaleidoscope, then explore the art world with guides to famous artists plus games and quizzes.

Over in Liverpool, children are invited to get involved in the creation of a brand new exhibit. ‘My Home is My Museum’ is an initiative of National Museums Liverpool which asks kids to curate a list of up to ten objects that would be in an exhibition about them, or form their own artistic creations for the gallery. With your help, they’ll then make a promotional video and a poster for their exhibition. The best of the best will be selected to be showcased once the museums reopen. 

There’s nothing like the satisfaction of completing a jigsaw puzzle. Visit Belfast have created some of their own that families can do online, all inspired by the city’s most famous locations and much-loved residents of the Belfast Zoo. You could piece together a bright image of a clown fish or some otters; or if you’re up to it, a more complex puzzle of the HMS Caroline.

London’s most famous dance theatre, the legendary Sadler’s Wells, has launched a fabulous Digital Stage programme, where you’ll find archive performances and special one-offs created just for the screen. However, we’re all about their family workouts, which you’ll find on their YouTube channels. Each 15-minute session has a different theme, from jumping to colours to animals. 

Got some tiny transport fans on your hands? The Postal Museum has made its major attraction, the underground ‘Mail Rail’ into a digital ride. Narrated by former Mail Rail engineer Ray Middlesworth, the ten-minute journey takes viewers through the 6.5-mile tunnel which once used to shepherd postcards and parcels between Whitechapel and Paddington, before closing in 2003 after 75 years. There’ll be stories about the route’s history, fun facts and more – and the whole thing is free!

Keep your young ones entertained and engaged in learning with this brilliant educational resource hub by Bristol Old Vic’s Young Company and the Made in Bristol trainee scheme. You’ll find a free database of downloadable acting workshops, drama games, soundtracks, play-reading lists, streamed family shows, arts and crafts and more, with content being added each week. It’s suitable from early years to Key Stage 3.

Okay, so strictly this is designed for children – but we think this will be good for everyone. After all, who doesn’t need a bit of gentle art therapy at the moment? The director of Firstsite, a contemporary art gallery in Colchester, had the idea to get big-name artists Antony Gormley, Grayson Perry, Gillian Wearing, Michael Landy and others to create a free, downloadable activity book. It’s called ‘Art is Where the Home Is’, and the idea is that every project can fit on a single A4 sheet of paper, and you won’t need any specialist materials. Donations are welcome.

If you’re quarantined with your kids, streaming movies can be a delicate business. Skew too young and you risk boredom or, worse, replacing critical information in your brain with all the names of ‘Paw Patrol’. Skew too old and you traumatise your children. From Netflix to Disney+ to Amazon Prime and beyond, the sheer volume of possibilities can feel overwhelming, so we’ve curated a selection of movies that hit that rare sweet spot of entertaining little ’uns and parents alike.