Here’s the latest part in our ongoing series of great resources to help families stay fit, happy and educated while schools are closed.
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Bath & North East Somerset Council has set up an exciting virtual library to help children and adults keep their love of literature going while libraries are closed during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The virtual library launches on Monday (30 March) and will have dynamic, changing content each weekday to suit all ages via the library service’s social media accounts.
Mornings will be dedicated to children and will offer links to education, creative learning, fun facts, rhymes, stories and crafts.
Afternoons will focus on adults by sharing a range of e-books and e-magazines alongside tips on literacy, finding reliable online information, jobs and income support and how to access help from partner services.
The virtual library can be found from 30 March on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BathnesLibraries1/
Matt Owens is a music teacher, member of the frankly fantastic group Noah and the Whale and generally nice guy, and he’s offering online guitar, piano and songwriting lessons. His lessons are tailored to all ages and abilities, plus he’s even offering an introductory offer and discounted prices for online lessons during the Coronavirus crisis.
Plus we can heartily recommend Matt – he’s teaching The Bath & Wiltshire Parent editor, Ian Waller, via weekly guitar lessons on Zoom!
Find our more here
If you’re stuck at home and looking for something to lift your spirits, The Bishop’s Palace in Wells has got just the thing to cheer you up.
Their extremely popular Swan Cam has just gone live. With infra-red capability, the Swan Cam runs 24 hours a day and is trained on the nest made by Grace and Gabriel, the Palace Swans.
Grace has now laid 8 eggs in her nest and is settling down to incubate them over the next few weeks. The incubation period usually lasts for around 5 weeks and fans of Swan Cam compete to be the first to spot a cygnet emerging each year.
To watch Swan Cam, viewers should head to the home page of The Bishop’s Palace website, www.bishopspalace.org.uk, and scroll down to the ‘Latest Videos’ section at the bottom.
Freckles Childcare is offering emergency childcare for families impacted by the coronavirus. Freckles has a large team of experienced, confident and capable nannies available to step in and support families at home during this challenging time.
“In a bid to do more to support our Key Workers, Freckles is waiving booking fees for all Key Workers for the period of the lockdown, while our nannies have offered to work for a lower rate,” explained Freckles CEO and founder, Joanna Chavasse.
Find out more here
As a treat for the children stuck at home, Trowbridge children’s author Stuart McDonald be reading both my books in a live video at 4pm on Monday 30 March.
Join in the fun here
The Guardian has listed ’20 fun-filled educational learning apps’ for ‘stir-crazy kids’.
You can find them here
This is amazing! You can take a virtual tour of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. The museum houses within an atmospheric building more than 500,000 objects, photographs and manuscripts from all over the world, and from all periods of human existence.
Visit the museum here
Food – a fact of life, the British Nutrition Foundation’s (BNF) education programme for schools*, has launched a new remote learning hub, the Food – a fact of life (FFL) Classroom, which comprises a range of free cross-curricular resources and activities for primary and secondary school pupils studying at home.
The FFL Classroom hosts a wide range of free, easy to access resources, covering seven learning approaches: everyday learning; finding out and exploring; being active; worksheets; interactive activities and quizzes; being creative (through writing, arts and crafts); and cooking. The FFL Classroom also provides tips and best practice advice for parents and carers.
Find our more here
Same Boat Music is sharing a free song a day to help keep younger children smiling and active, along with challenges and activities related to each song
Join in the singing here