The Derby Six haven’t let the Covid-19 pandemic stop them from having fun at home. Clix and the gang have been making the most of their extra time at home, and the extra online facilities that have popped up over the last few weeks. Whether your child is looking for things to watch, ways to get creative, ideas to keep active, or just want to have fun, the Derby Six have some great ideas of what you can be getting up to.
Clix has been busy video chatting with all of her friends and family, making sure she is keeping connected while also swapping ideas of fun activities she can get up to at home. She’s even written a blog post of great ideas for the older kids using all her friends’ suggestions and In Derby have shared it on their website! She and her little sister have also been keeping busy with the Babbling Vagabonds Let’s Create, a Facebook group from Derby LIVE Christmas time favourites, sharing fun crafts, videos and activities they can do together at home. They have also had loads of fun together using the Google Arts and Culture app to go on virtual trips around museums and galleries from across the world, and thanks to Clix’s tech savviness, they’ve been able to view them on their big screen television! The virtual climb of the Derby Cathedral Tower on the Visit Derby website has been Clix’s favourite thing to do – the views from the top made her want to visit for real!
Flix has been missing her trips to the theatre and cinema, but has found that there’s now a lot more things to watch online! Theatres and companies from all over the UK have been sharing recordings of their old shows, or digitally creating new ones, so there are still lots of things for Flix to watch. So far she has watched musicals, pantomimes and comedies, and with new shows being released every week, we’re sure she won’t run out of exciting things to watch any time soon. Derby LIVE have created a list of shows available to watch online that you can find on their website, while Derby QUAD have been releasing a ‘Cinema Diet’ on their website each week full of the best things to watch on TV. Flix has also been filling her time with making her own shows out of modelling clay characters, or using a torch to make shadow puppets with her hands. We can’t wait to see what she creates!
Trix has been making the most of the lovely weather these past few weeks and going for outdoor bike rides. He’s been using Let’s Ride Local: Family bike rides from your door step from HSBC for great cycling tips, as well as for fun activities he can do at home like designing and colouring in his own cycling jersey! He’s been keeping his bike in tip top condition with Maintenance Monday videos from Global Cycling network, and when the weather hasn’t been that great, he’s been keeping fit with all the great workout videos Derby Arena have been sharing on their Facebook page. He has even tried doing some virtual running while chatting to his friends over the phone.
Vix has been making the most of her extra time at home to get loads of reading done, and with Derby Libraries online eBook service, she will never run out of books she can read! They keep adding new books all the time, and if you’re not sure what to read next, you can check Derby Libraries website for the latest news story on what’s been at the top of everyone’s reading list recently. They also offer eAudiobooks, and Vix has been listening to these while tidying her room – she’s almost halfway through the Harry Potter series now! Vix introduced her mum to the eLibrary service from Derby Libraries where she was able to get a temporary membership to keep herself busy with a book. The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge is coming up soon, and Vix is looking forward to hearing readings from her favourite authors and taking part in the fun activities and draw-a-longs, as well as reading lots more books!
Stix has been visiting his local park to take his dog Mark for his daily walk and make sure both of them are getting their daily exercise. They’ve been having lots of fun running in the open fields and playing fetch with Mark’s favourite toy. Stix also recently learnt about Google 3D animals, and so he’s been imagining his local park as a zoo and taking pictures of tigers and penguins following Mark on their walks! He’s also been making time to do some birdwatching in his garden and trying to identify which birds like his garden the most. He’s found that if he puts a little bit of seed mix out, he can see robins and sparrows and finches all visiting his garden at once! The Green Flag awards have also been running their #PerfectParks campaign, and Stix got involved by drawing a picture of his ideal park (with Mark’s help, of course) and getting his dad to post it on social media. Both Stix and and Mark are also looking forward to Derby Parks’ new free event, Superhero Picnic at Home! They can’t wait to get dressed up in their best Superhero outfits and have a picnic in their back garden.
Kix has been keeping active every day by watching all the amazing fitness videos from the Derby Active teachers and instructors. You can find them too on the In Derby You Tube channel and workout along with Kix and other children across Derby. Plus, because they are now online, you can now do your favourite classes as many times as you want! The videos are part of Derby Active at Home, and offer some great fitness routines you can try in your living room, and Kix has enjoyed them even more than kicking a ball around in his back garden. He’s been able to try new things like the Springtot’s gymnastics workouts online, and thanks to the great teaching, can now do lots of different jumps! Kix has also been doing Swim England’s activities so that he is ready to jump straight back into the pool when Queen’s Leisure Centre opens.
That’s it from the Derby Six for now, hopefully they have inspired you and given you lots of great new ideas to try while in lockdown! For more fun ideas and links to some of the activities mentioned, plus some activity sheets you can download and print out to let the kids get creative. Head over to the InDerby website to check out our ideas for the family and older kids.