Free resources to make Lockdown 3 just that little bit easier...
This Lockdown feels even harder somehow, but the weather is slowly improving, the days are getting longer and we can still go out to exercise each day - walking and outdoor activities, no matter where you live, can be free and easy to do. We've created a range of walking ideas to help you. Just click on the image to download a pdf version you can print at home, and scroll down to read a bit about each walk. Suitable for all ages and abilities.
New resources added weekly, so check back regularly or follow our Facebook page to receive them as soon as they're released.
New resources added weekly, so check back regularly or follow our Facebook page to receive them as soon as they're released.
Ninja Walk | Movement & Regulation
The Ninja Walk uses features on your street to help you create you very own Ninja Warrior Course.
The movements are all ones that are great for calming down brains and bodies, as well as boosting fitness, stamina, coordination and balance...there's also some maths and letter work in there too! Ideal as a brain break when
homeschooling.
The Ninja Walk uses features on your street to help you create you very own Ninja Warrior Course.
The movements are all ones that are great for calming down brains and bodies, as well as boosting fitness, stamina, coordination and balance...there's also some maths and letter work in there too! Ideal as a brain break when
homeschooling.
Sense & Create Walk | Sensory & Creativity
The Sense & Create Walk uses low-cost/no-cost resources you'll have at home to turn your walk into works of art in your community. Grab a Smart Phone to record your beautiful finds, makes and creativity.
The Sense & Create Walk uses low-cost/no-cost resources you'll have at home to turn your walk into works of art in your community. Grab a Smart Phone to record your beautiful finds, makes and creativity.
Matchy Matchy Hunt | Observation, Mindfulness & Self Esteem
A simple matching treasure hunt but with lots of added oomph! What this does to support your child:
Take time to talk to your child about how special it is that they can see the beauty, perfection, magic and specialness in their treasures and that not everyone would be able to see it in the same way.
For those children who struggle with self-esteem, with social communication, or who are Looked After, this could also be an opportunity to talk about how they are treasures to you and that you can see the beauty, perfection, magic and specialness in them so clearly, just as they could see those things in the treasures they chose. Follow up with lots of hugs and cuddles!
Or, create some themed hugs and cuddles:
A simple matching treasure hunt but with lots of added oomph! What this does to support your child:
- Creates an opportunity to sign, talk and listen, practising words and learning new vocabulary
- Encourages observation and scanning to look for specific objects in amongst a lot of other visual information
- Encourages independent decision-making and choosing - only your child can say whether one pebble is, to them, better than all the others
- With siblings or peers, creates an opportunity to feel okay with other people making their own choices and for your child to feel confident and comfortable with theirs
- Creates an opportunity for Mindfulness: attention is drawn to the here and now and what is around us at this moment in time
- Creates an opportunity for calm, co-regulation, and connection
Take time to talk to your child about how special it is that they can see the beauty, perfection, magic and specialness in their treasures and that not everyone would be able to see it in the same way.
For those children who struggle with self-esteem, with social communication, or who are Looked After, this could also be an opportunity to talk about how they are treasures to you and that you can see the beauty, perfection, magic and specialness in them so clearly, just as they could see those things in the treasures they chose. Follow up with lots of hugs and cuddles!
Or, create some themed hugs and cuddles:
- You're my most beautiful pebble: stroke their face and press your noses together
- You're my most perfect leaf: ruffle their hair
- You're my most magical twig: swoop them up and swing them round
- You're my most special daisy: huge bear hug
Safe, Sound & About Bingo | Listening Skills & Auditory Sensitivity
A walking sound bingo game - great for anyone who can feel anxious about noise. Suitable for all...but for young children, those with anxiety, hearing sensitivities or trauma, sounds can sometimes be scary and too much! Simple games like this walking sound bingo game can help children to stay curious and, with your support, to find ways to cope with unexpected or challenging noises.
Use the rhyme to help blow away sounds if they're too much, say hello to sounds we find, be mindful and hunt down sounds in spaces and places where it can be hard to hear something specific unless you're quiet or focusing hard, make sounds of your own too! Even beeping your child's nose to make a car horn noise counts!
Most importantly, with games like this, you can model listening and attention skills and show your child how you get through tricky sound encounters and use connection and breathing until your brain and body feel safe again.
Urban and rural editions to use depending on where you live and visit within local Lockdown restrictions. It's okay to go out to exercise each day and walking is a great way to play and break up a day of homeschooling.
A walking sound bingo game - great for anyone who can feel anxious about noise. Suitable for all...but for young children, those with anxiety, hearing sensitivities or trauma, sounds can sometimes be scary and too much! Simple games like this walking sound bingo game can help children to stay curious and, with your support, to find ways to cope with unexpected or challenging noises.
Use the rhyme to help blow away sounds if they're too much, say hello to sounds we find, be mindful and hunt down sounds in spaces and places where it can be hard to hear something specific unless you're quiet or focusing hard, make sounds of your own too! Even beeping your child's nose to make a car horn noise counts!
Most importantly, with games like this, you can model listening and attention skills and show your child how you get through tricky sound encounters and use connection and breathing until your brain and body feel safe again.
Urban and rural editions to use depending on where you live and visit within local Lockdown restrictions. It's okay to go out to exercise each day and walking is a great way to play and break up a day of homeschooling.
Feeling Detective Walk for Children's Mental Health Week 2021 | Emotional Development & Awareness
Can you be a Feeling Detective with this differentiated walking game? Choose the levels that most suit your child's needs and use walking, pretending, movement and even some singing skills to try on some big feelings - from excitement to sadness, happy to raging mad!
Activities like this can help children learn to recognise feelings in themselves and in others, and create a space to have important conversations about handling big feelings in kind, healthy and safe ways.
Can you be a Feeling Detective with this differentiated walking game? Choose the levels that most suit your child's needs and use walking, pretending, movement and even some singing skills to try on some big feelings - from excitement to sadness, happy to raging mad!
Activities like this can help children learn to recognise feelings in themselves and in others, and create a space to have important conversations about handling big feelings in kind, healthy and safe ways.
Signs of Spring Walk | Observation, Waiting & Resilience
Take this tick sheet out with you on your daily walks and see how long it takes to spot all the items - patience required! When you have, can you complete the final challenge? If so, then spring is here! Urban and Rural editions.
Helping children to notice time passing and looking forward to warmer weather and more hours of daylight can really help boost positivity. Using observation skills to look around you to spot flowers, birds and their behaviours, and tiny insects, not only supports Mindfulness but also opens up lots of conversations about growth, change, and our natural world.
This activity also helps practice delayed gratification, waiting and a bit of disappointment too - the flower or animal might not be there today, but it will be if we keep persisting. So keep looking and be patient, you will be rewarded in the end.
Take this tick sheet out with you on your daily walks and see how long it takes to spot all the items - patience required! When you have, can you complete the final challenge? If so, then spring is here! Urban and Rural editions.
Helping children to notice time passing and looking forward to warmer weather and more hours of daylight can really help boost positivity. Using observation skills to look around you to spot flowers, birds and their behaviours, and tiny insects, not only supports Mindfulness but also opens up lots of conversations about growth, change, and our natural world.
This activity also helps practice delayed gratification, waiting and a bit of disappointment too - the flower or animal might not be there today, but it will be if we keep persisting. So keep looking and be patient, you will be rewarded in the end.
Awesome Giant Walk Challenge - In Memory of Captain Tom | Sharing Wellbeing with Older People
Captain Tom encouraged and inspired all of us with the simple act of walking, so in his memory - and as a shared activity for children and the older people in their lives - here's an Awesome Giant Walk to try.
This is an 8-week challenge inviting you to go out for 15 minutes daily to find 'giants'. Giants are features in our world - natural or humanmade - that are bigger than we are. Being beneath something bigger than ourselves can create a sense of awe and wonder, and that powerful, positive emotion can really help bring thoughts and feelings down to size. Use as many senses as you can as you encounter the giants where you live, whether in a rural or urban area.
Researchers in America found that, for older people, a daily 15 minute Awe Walk made a significant improvement to their health and wellbeing. Now, you might not be able to go walking with the older people in your lives right now, but you could always walk together virtually - there are so many ways we can share things, can you find a way to work together to #WalkWithTom and find some giants?
Captain Tom encouraged and inspired all of us with the simple act of walking, so in his memory - and as a shared activity for children and the older people in their lives - here's an Awesome Giant Walk to try.
This is an 8-week challenge inviting you to go out for 15 minutes daily to find 'giants'. Giants are features in our world - natural or humanmade - that are bigger than we are. Being beneath something bigger than ourselves can create a sense of awe and wonder, and that powerful, positive emotion can really help bring thoughts and feelings down to size. Use as many senses as you can as you encounter the giants where you live, whether in a rural or urban area.
Researchers in America found that, for older people, a daily 15 minute Awe Walk made a significant improvement to their health and wellbeing. Now, you might not be able to go walking with the older people in your lives right now, but you could always walk together virtually - there are so many ways we can share things, can you find a way to work together to #WalkWithTom and find some giants?
Number Plate Safari | Observation, letter and numbers
This is an observation walk with a bit of movement, noise-making and imagination in it and all you need is somewhere you can spot vehicles. A great way to work on recognising and learning letters, and to remember some amazing animals including some you might not know - look them up on YouTube to find out more about them. Why not add in some signing too with letters and animal names?
Just like a real African safari, you'll have to be really lucky to spot all the possible animals - some days you'll find loads of different ones, some days you'll find lots of the same kind. Keep your eyes peeled!
This is a game that's also handy for long road journeys, just adapt the actions and sounds to make them safe and small enough for the car.
You'll also find some ideas in here too for creating your own Number Plate Safaris - why not make one about dinosaurs, Disney characters, the worlds of Minecraft or Pokemon, etc? Whatever your special interest is, with a bit of research, you can make your very own Number Plate Safari.
Snow Painting | Sensory art, experimentation, non-permanence, creativity
The Beast from the East has brought a little bit of snow - a dusting where we are, but a really good amount in other place. Good news is that this activity works on ice too. You only need a light dusting, but thicker snow enables you to create lots more effects. We've been out in the cold with a few cupboard supplies to paint like Jackson Pollock. Sensory, fun, quick and simple ways to make art in your garden or in your community. Adaptable for wheelchair and buggy users and lots of
sensory enhancement depending on what materials you choose to use.
The Beast from the East has brought a little bit of snow - a dusting where we are, but a really good amount in other place. Good news is that this activity works on ice too. You only need a light dusting, but thicker snow enables you to create lots more effects. We've been out in the cold with a few cupboard supplies to paint like Jackson Pollock. Sensory, fun, quick and simple ways to make art in your garden or in your community. Adaptable for wheelchair and buggy users and lots of
sensory enhancement depending on what materials you choose to use.
Cloud Spotting Walk and make your own cloud in a jar | Observation, art, STEM, fine motor
If you can't get out for a walk, then you can also do this from your windows at home too. Use your observation skills, learn some cloud names and types, and then grab some paints or cotton wool balls to recreate what you see - a great way to practice looking, thinking, planning and fine motor skills by controlling a brush to achieve different effects.
Wherever we are, we can always see clouds and once you get your eye in you can start to see the weather happening -
certain types of clouds mean rain, others mean fine weather. Some are great big floofs of water vapour, whilst others are
made just of ice crystals. Amazing! And, of course, you can also spot lots of pictures in the clouds too - what will you see
today?
Forest Bathing Walk | Mindfulness, observation and sensory play, connection
This walk explores the Japanese idea of Forest Bathing, which has been proven to be amazing for reducing depression and stress. In Japan, you can even be prescribed Forest Bathing by your GP who will arrange for you to meet with a guide who will take you out on a therapeutic visit. They even build wooden beds into forests to help your find somewhere safe and comfy to lie down during your bathing sessions.
This is a quiet, calm and slow experience so you will need to set the tone carefully especially if children or young people are used to going to the woods to run wild! For maximum benefit, build up to spending two hours in the woods, which sounds like an impossible feat with very excited and active children but with the right place, route, atmosphere and modelling, the time flies and can feel and be so beautiful.
You may want to add in magnifying glasses or other field-spotting resources to help with sensory exploration or take along a tray for buggy or wheelchair users if they're not able to get out safely (or willingly) so they can get their hands on things and explore closely without all the bits falling into their laps. Plastic bags and jars can also be handy to prevent items from being mouthed or for anyone who finds it difficult getting their hands messy; just make sure you take home your equipment afterwards.
Talk to local friends and community social media to find hidden gems of woodland, or visit popular places at quiet times so you can be sure that your calm, quiet time is not going to become hyped- up by the presence of other people.
This walk explores the Japanese idea of Forest Bathing, which has been proven to be amazing for reducing depression and stress. In Japan, you can even be prescribed Forest Bathing by your GP who will arrange for you to meet with a guide who will take you out on a therapeutic visit. They even build wooden beds into forests to help your find somewhere safe and comfy to lie down during your bathing sessions.
This is a quiet, calm and slow experience so you will need to set the tone carefully especially if children or young people are used to going to the woods to run wild! For maximum benefit, build up to spending two hours in the woods, which sounds like an impossible feat with very excited and active children but with the right place, route, atmosphere and modelling, the time flies and can feel and be so beautiful.
You may want to add in magnifying glasses or other field-spotting resources to help with sensory exploration or take along a tray for buggy or wheelchair users if they're not able to get out safely (or willingly) so they can get their hands on things and explore closely without all the bits falling into their laps. Plastic bags and jars can also be handy to prevent items from being mouthed or for anyone who finds it difficult getting their hands messy; just make sure you take home your equipment afterwards.
Talk to local friends and community social media to find hidden gems of woodland, or visit popular places at quiet times so you can be sure that your calm, quiet time is not going to become hyped- up by the presence of other people.
Daffodil Walk | Rhyming & actions, observation and counting
We couldn't get this ready in time for St David's Day yesterday, but as the daffodil season will be here for a few more weeks this walk is still applicable. Happy St David's Day to all who celebrate it!
For this one, you have an action rhyme to play with, and some counting and observation skills. There are so many different types of daffodil and narcissus to see in people's gardens, on road verges, in parks and woods - we've even seen some on a rubbish dump! They are resilient and ancient flowers and are used to produce medicines that help people with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. Cheerful bursts of sunny yellow, even on the greyest days - and they smell fabulous too!
We couldn't get this ready in time for St David's Day yesterday, but as the daffodil season will be here for a few more weeks this walk is still applicable. Happy St David's Day to all who celebrate it!
For this one, you have an action rhyme to play with, and some counting and observation skills. There are so many different types of daffodil and narcissus to see in people's gardens, on road verges, in parks and woods - we've even seen some on a rubbish dump! They are resilient and ancient flowers and are used to produce medicines that help people with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. Cheerful bursts of sunny yellow, even on the greyest days - and they smell fabulous too!