Tag: summer tuition cambridgeshire

10 equipment free outdoor games for summer family fun

Posted on by Claire Hewson

This list of equipment free outdoor games is intended as an ideas prompt to help you over the long summer break. None of these games are new and some might bring back childhood memories.

Going outside to play games boosts our energy levels and gets children away from screens. It’s brilliant for children’s social skills and it improves their concentration spans. Playing games also fosters creativity especially when children make up their own versions and adapt the rules.

Most games here can be easily adapted for two players, so you can still have fun if there is just you and one child at home.

Hot Chocolate

One person (‘Person A’) faces a wall or fence so they have their back to the other players. The other players stand some distance away from them on a designated start line.

The object of the game is for the players to sneak up to Person A, tap them on the shoulder and shout ‘Hot Chocolate’, without being seen.

As the players creep up, Person A turns around at intervals and if he/she sees a player moving then that player must go back to the start. The person who successfully makes it to Person A and shouts ‘Hot Chocolate!’ is the winner and becomes Person A in the next game.

What’s the Time Mr Wolf?

This is similar to Hot Chocolate. One person – Mr Wolf – stands facing a wall and stays facing the wall for the duration of the game.

The other players stand a few metres away from Mr Wolf on an agreed start line. The players call out together, ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ and the Mr Wolf gives a time e.g. ‘1 o’clock’ and the players take that many steps towards Mr Wolf.

When Mr Wolf thinks the players are getting close to him, he shouts ‘Dinner time!’ He then tries to catch one of the players before they get back to safety. ‘Safety’ is the start line. If a player is caught, they become Mr Wolf in the next game.

Hopscotch

Draw a Hopscotch grid on a patio/pavement/driveway with chalk if you have it or scratch the grid out with a stone. Type ‘Hopscotch grid’ into Google Images to see an example.

For instructions to play, see this Hopscotch video.

Ring Toss

We have cheated a little bit by including this game on the list as you do need some equipment, but you can improvise with what you have at home.

One idea is to make a ring toss set from 12 empty glass or plastic bottles, a length of rope and some masking tape. Bottles with narrow necks work best.

Fill the bottles with water (or a dried ingredient like flour or rice) to weigh them down so they don’t easily fall over. Use a funnel or a measuring jug to help you fill the bottles. Make 6 rings from rope. To make a rope ring simply join two ends of a length of rope securely with masking tape.

To play, arrange the bottles (now ‘skittles’) closely together. The first player stands a few metres from the bottles. The player takes the 6 rings and tosses them one at a time, trying to get them over the necks of the bottles. The winner is the person who gets the most rings on bottles.

If you don’t have bottles and rope look at what you’ve got in the recycle bin or toybox. Could you make skittles from empty kitchen roll tubes and rings from an old cardboard box? See what your children suggest.

Tag

One person is ‘it’. They chase the other people and when they catch somebody that person becomes ‘it’. You might need some ground rules, depending upon how children play (light touches only, no tagging on the head etc.)

You can adapt the game to make it even more fun especially if you have a few players:

  • Torch Tag. The person who is ‘it’ tags someone with the light of a torch. This is a brilliant game to play at night!
  • Freeze Tag. The person who is caught freezes on the spot instead of becoming ‘it’. Play carries on until only one person is left unfrozen.

Hide and Seek

This is great for children’s counting skills, observation skills and patience. One child counts to a reasonable number (say, 50) while the others hide. The last person to be found is the winner.

Make sure children hide in safe places where they cannot get stuck or trapped and that they only hide within a designated area.

Sardines

This is an adaptation of Hide and Seek that works if you have a group of players. In this game one person hides (‘the hider’) while all the others count. When the players have finished counting, they go off in their own directions to find the hider.

When someone finds the hider they quietly join them. Everybody hides together until just one person is left. The person left becomes the hider in the next game.

Simon Says

One person is Simon. Simon gives the other players one instruction at a time to follow. However, the players only have to follow the instruction if Simon says ‘Simon says’ first. For example, ‘Simon says pat your head’. If Simon doesn’t say ‘Simon says’ then the other players should not follow the instruction, eg. ‘Pat your head!’

If anybody accidentally follows an instruction when they shouldn’t or fails to follow an instruction when they should, they are out. The last person in becomes Simon on the next game.

Here are some Simon Says ideas:

  • Jump as high as you can
  • Twirl around
  • Play air guitar
  • Do five star jumps
  • Roar like a dinosaur
  • Waddle like a duck
  • Clap your hands
  • Act like a monkey
  • Put your hands on your knees
  • Shake like a jelly
  • Stand on one leg
  • Sing in a silly voice
  • Skip around the garden
  • Do a forward roll.

How many ideas can your children suggest?

Follow the leader

One child is the leader and the others follow them in a line. Whatever the leader does, the others must copy. They might march, spin around, crawl, move up and down, flap their arms. Ask your children to think of as many ideas as they can before they play.

Olympic challenge

Hold events in the garden or park using any equipment available – or no equipment at all. Encourage children to think of ideas perhaps inspired by school sports days past. How about:

  • Throwing and catching a ball
  • Jumping on the trampoline
  • Skipping with a rope
  • Going down the slide
  • Doing star jumps, rolly-pollies, forward rolls (see Simon Says for ideas)
  • Balancing a ball on a spoon
  • Creeping like a cat.

Award 10 points for each event. Make a chart of events on paper and record each person’s points next to each event. Children could add up total scores at the end to find a winner.

One-to-one summer tuition in Cambridgeshire

For children, the summer holidays are a time to relax and to spend quality time with friends and family. However, you might be concerned that the length of the break will lead to what’s sometimes called ‘summer learning loss’. This is when children start the autumn term with lower achievement levels than at the beginning of the holiday.

We offer short, one-to-one tuition in English and maths during the summer holiday to keep children’s learning fresh. If you think your child could benefit, please contact us on 01223 858 421 or hello@tutormykids.co.uk

Summer learning at home with Brer Rabbit and friends!

Posted on by Claire Hewson

Did you know that the stories of Brer Rabbit are part of the traditions of African people who were forced into slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries? These people worked on plantations in the southern United States and brought their stories with them. As time went on, they adapted the stories to include the animals they saw on the plantations. That is how Brer Rabbit and his friends Brer Bear, Bear Fox and Brer Wolf came to be.

The action-packed stories of Brer Rabbit and his cheeky antics delight and amuse children to this day. If your child hasn’t yet discovered the lovable trickster then they are in for a treat. The stories are a way to start conversations about the slave trade and they might also spark an interest in animals.

Here we share our recommended versions of the stories and some fun activities to keep children thinking and learning at home over the summer break.

Our favourite Brer Rabbit books

The stories of Brer Rabbit were first collected by Joel Chandler Harris who retold them in the original dialect.

  • Brer Rabbit and Friends retold by Karmina Amin is best for children aged 8+ as it retains the original dialect. This version also gives the background to the Brer Rabbit stories.
  • Brer Rabbit’s a Rascal by Enid Blyton is perfect for children aged 6+. Stories are not told in the original dialect and are funny, short and engaging. This is the version many of us grew up with!
  • Ten Tales of Brer Rabbit by Lynne Garner published by Mad Media in 2018 is not told in the original dialect and is a wonderful, more up-to-date version of Enid Blyton’s work.

Brer Rabbit themed activities

Here are some Brer Rabbit activities for children who love the cunning rabbit and his tricky plans!

Remember to check video links before you share them with your child to make sure they are appropriate (for instance, the YouTube video of bears shows bears eating). We also recommend skipping past the adverts for the same reason.

Brer Rabbit

Brer Fox

  • Although our British red fox isn’t the same as the American fox that is Brer Fox it is more interesting for children to discover wildlife on their doorstep. Discover some red fox facts from the Woodland Trust.  
  • Go out and search for signs of foxes. Before you go, Google ‘fox scat’ and have a look at the Discover Wildlife website to see what fox holes look like. Fox holes tend to be more evident in woodland and we have seen them near to Waresley and Gransden Woods.
  • Watch a video of a red fox.
  • Go and see a red fox at Shepreth Wildlife Park.
  • Make some fox crafts.

Brer Bear

  • There are some fascinating facts about bears on the National Geographic website.
  • Watch a video of the American black bear in its natural habitat.
  • Go and see brown bears at Hamerton Zoo or North American black bears at Woburn Safari Park.
  • Gather all your teddies and have a teddy bears’ picnic. Children could make delicious food for the picnic. As American black bears love to eat berries, how about making some Pink Lemonade with Fresh Berry Ice Cubes?

How to make Pink Lemonade with Fresh Berry Ice Cubes

You will need: a handful of fresh berries, a large bottle of fizzy water, 4 lemons, the juice from a packet of beetroot (but not pickled), 6 tablespoons of runny honey.

Take an ice-cube tray and put one or two berries in each compartment. Fill the ice-cube tray with water and freeze.

When the berry ice-cubes are frozen pour the fizzy water into a jug. Squeeze in the juice of 4 lemons, and then stir in the beetroot juice, honey and ice-cubes.

Brer Wolf

Learning about the slave trade

Here are some fantastic websites for children learning about the slave trade:

  • At least four million people enslaved in the USA were freed at the beginning of the American Civil War. Twenty-six audio recordings of their personal experiences have survived. Listening to their real voices is an incredible and moving experience. We recommend you listen first before sharing with your child.
  • For younger children, the Ducksters website gives an overview of the slave trade across the world.
  • Older children can see real photographs and diary excerpts on the Bristol and Transatlantic Slavery website.
  • Did you know that the British taxpayer was still paying compensation to slave owners until 2015? BBC Culture shares some staggering and lesser-known facts about the slave trade.

One-to-one summer tuition in Cambridgeshire

For children, the summer holidays are a time to relax and to spend quality time with friends and family. However, you might be concerned that the length of the break will lead to what’s sometimes called ‘summer learning loss’. This is when children start the autumn term with lower achievement levels than at the beginning of the holiday.

We offer short, one-to-one tuition in English and maths during the summer holiday to keep children’s learning fresh. If you think your child could benefit, please contact us on 01223 858 421 or hello@tutormykids.co.uk

Top 10 ‘Secret’ walks in and around Ely

Posted on by Claire Hewson

Are you looking for quiet walks in and around Ely? Do you need free things to do in Cambridgeshire in the school holidays?

With everybody holidaying at home this year everywhere is bound to get busy. To help you stay away from the crowds, we share some of our favourite, lesser-known walks close to home.

Are your children reluctant walkers? Try motivating them with geocaching. This is a free treasure hunt using GPS to find hidden containers of treasure along the way.

Bullrush Walk and Kingfisher Walk

These two circular walks around the Ely countryside take in Roswell Pit (see below) and Ely Common. Ely Common is a beautiful wildflower meadow where you might spot rare species like orchids and adders-tongue fern as well as grasshoppers, redwings, barn owls and bats.

Fen Rivers Way

The Fen Rivers Way is a walk along the River Ouse and the River Cam linking Ely to Cambridge. As you get nearer to Ely the walk tends to be quieter especially on weekdays and takes you past Denny Abbey and Farmland Museum in Waterbeach, Wicken Fen nature reserve and Stretham Engine. Stretham Engine is the oldest surviving engine that was used to pump away water to make agricultural land.

The riverbank and lush meadows are home to the fen skater and a huge variety of insects, mammals, birds and wildflowers.

Kingfisher’s Bridge

This stunning nature reserve is a wetland habitat for 210 bird species and is a sanctuary for endangered species. There are a rich variety of butterflies, invertebrates, flora and fauna. Situated near Stretham, just south of Ely, Kingfisher’s Bridge is a hidden gem.

Little Downham

Little Downham nature reserve covers nearly 7 hectares of land including Pingle Wood (see below), Myles Meadow and Holts Meadow. You will pass by grazing cattle and you might see dragonflies and damselflies, including scarce chaser dragonflies.

Reach Myles Meadow and Pingle Wood from Hurst Lane, and Holts Meadow from Clayway Lane.

Ouse Fen Trail

Walk along the banks of the River Ouse through quarry landscapes of farmland, woods, lakes and meadows. There are two trails to choose from: the Barleycroft trail and the Reedbed trail. Look out for herons, skylarks and great crested grebes.

Ouse Valley Way (Earith)

The Ouse Valley Way is an 150-mile footpath that follows the River Ouse from Northamptonshire to King’s Lynn.

This stretch of the walk takes you from Earith to the Lazy Otter pub which is just off the A10. Watch out for nightingales and cormorants as you follow the river and stroll through peaceful woodlands and meadows. You could stop for a cream tea at the Twentypence garden centre on your way to the pub.

Pingle Cutting

A former railway track, the grassy slopes of Pingle Cutting are now a wildlife haven. These stunning meadows and grasslands are next to an ancient woodland where you can see bluebells, dog’s mercury and purple orchids at the right time of the year.

See Little Downham nature reserve above.

Roswell Pits

Roswell disused claypits is now a nature reserve with vast lakes and reedbeds. Here you might see kingfishers, red warblers, emperor dragonflies and wild orchids. Archaeologists have found dinosaur fossils and the fossils of turtles and crocodiles here.

Stilton to Denton

Did you know that the village of Stilton gave Stilton cheese its name? You can walk from Stilton to the small hamlet of Denton through beautiful rolling countryside. If you visit on May Day next year you might see the World Cheese Rolling Championship – all being well!

Swavesey to Overcote loop

The Swavesey to Overcote loop is a walk that takes you along the guided bus way, through farmlands and meadows and past lakes which are home to a variety of birds. For families feeling energetic, the entire walk is just over 9 kilometers.

One-to-one summer tuition in Cambridgeshire

For children, the summer holiday is a time to relax and to spend quality time with friends and family. However, you might be concerned that the length of the break will lead to what’s sometimes called ‘summer learning loss’. This is when children start the autumn term with lower achievement levels than at the beginning of the holiday.

We offer short, one-to-one tuition sessions in English and maths during the summer holiday to keep children’s learning fresh. If you think your child could benefit, please contact us on 01223 858 421 or hello@tutormykids.co.uk