Easter Holidays seem like a far-flung concept right now but what we wouldn’t give for a break from this strange new routine of isolation!
Schools are big on routine and structure. It’s good for the mental health of our children to know where they stand. That’s why Beyond has provided a suggested daily schedule on the Home Learning Hub, even if the different periods aren’t enforced as strictly as at school.
However, for the same mental health benefits, schools also build extended breaks into their structure. Unless flights and accommodation were booked, parents might once have looked on school holidays as a dreaded time when they had to juggle childcare with office work. Now that it’s suddenly the norm for many to be parents, workers and teachers simultaneously, it’s perhaps even more important for the adults to have a holiday, at least from the last of these roles. That’s why Beyond has produced a pick ’n’ mix of Easter Holiday Activities with the emphasis on family fun rather than pedagogy. Then again, if the theory that we learn best through play holds tight then a little bit of teaching and learning will be unavoidable!
Ideas are thematically categorised, making it easier to follow interests. Categories include Art Attack, Haute Cuisine, Exploring Nature and DIY, with a handful of activities in each. Ideas are split across two resources, one for each week of the customary Easter holidays, although the pick ’n’ mix approach means there’s nothing to stop users dipping in whenever takes their fancy. Though there are a few eggs-cellent Easter activities (Creme Egg Trifle, anyone?) that are best done between Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Because of the disparate nature of the Easter holidays in school calendars across the nation (sometimes the Easter weekend doesn’t even fall within this sabbatical), you might notice that a daily schedule still appears on the Beyond site but we would encourage you to ignore this whenever your school holiday time would have been. This means also ignoring social media posts or WhatsApp groups that propagate competitive parenting or exert pressure to be “on it” 24/7. Rather than fretting about how to teach Quantitative Chemistry or Dystopian Fiction (though we can help you with them too), relax with a garden picnic while observing the wildlife. Grow your own fruit and veg. And with your freshly grown produce, attempt our absolute favourite activity: charging your mobile phone with a potato (or lemon, or banana)!! Then use it to post about the fun that you’ve had rather than the work that you’ve done. Happy Easter!
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