Nature, the natural world and geography

As well as working with schools, The Education People and Children's University staff are committed to supporting children, young people and their families with home learning and enrichment opportunities.

We appreciate that this is an uncertain time for families but we hope that these home learning resources help you enjoy your time with your children, even in times of social distancing, self-isolation and possible lockdown.  Making happy memories, whilst learning during this time, will be very important to all.

These links have been given to us by a variety of partners including The Education People Advisors, Children's University Managers, Learning Destinations, libraries and partners such as Explore Kent.  

This section of our website will be updated each day so do come back every now and then to see what's new.  Do click on the subject links on the left tab for more specific resources available to schools and families.

Edinburgh Zoo live webcams  (suitable for all ages and abilities)

• Watch the animal antics live fromEdinburgh Zoo with our range of  webcams!

Google Earth tours

• For ages, Google Earth has remained people's go-to service for browsing our globe. All from the comfort of their home and couches. Google Earth was completely overhauled in 2017. And that introduced more virtual tours to the world's most exotic places and cultures. This gives you a chance to learn more about them.

Invisible Cities

• Invisible Cities is a social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.
• Seek adventure and discovery with our new Invisible Cities downloadable resources. Everyone can enjoy them, discover their city like never before and hear about the work we do!  You can print these activity packs at home for children to enjoy and complete.
• Virtual Tours of Manchester and Edinburgh can be found here.

Live webcams including wildlife & Northern Lights

• Explore's growing library consists of more than 250 original films and 30,000 photographs from around the world. They showcase our work at film festivals, on over 100 public broadcast and cable channels, and on numerous online destinations including explore.org, Snag Films, Hulu and TakePart.

Lonely Planet Kids

• Short videos include a London trail, animals of the Amazon rainforest, how skyscrapers work.

National Geographic Kids  (suitable for primary-aged children)

• Let your child have fun discovering facts about their incredible planet.  There are activities and quizzes available for children.   

Nature Detectives opportunities (suitable for all ages)

• 10 nature activities if you are self-isolating.

Nature in Your Neighbourhood

• Nature in Your Neighbourhood offers a fulfilling and creative project that young people aged 5 to 19 can complete within their schools or homes - plus a chance to win fantastic prizes including filmmaking equipment. 

RSPB Learning  (suitable for all ages and abilities)

• RSPB Learning havs loads of great ideas and resources to help kids and families connect with nature, from simple activities they can do at home or at school, to wild clubs, fun articles and family-friendly reserves and events.

Scouts - The Great Indoors

• While the Scouts normally love the great outdoors, they have pulled together some inspired indoor activity ideas (if we do say so ourselves) to keep kids entertained while schools are closed due to coronavirus. Keep your kids learning new skills and having fun (and avoid hearing 'I'm bored' every 30 seconds) all in #TheGreatIndoors.

Steve Backshall's Live Wildlife

• Live Lessons every Wednesday morning 9.30am UK time on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.  

Virtual Marine Biology sessions

• During the school shutdowns, they decided to launch this (very) informal, impromptu, Virtual Marine Biology Camp. We thought it would be fun for a group of us to be able to hang out online and talk about whales and dolphins and other marine life. Join Oceans Initiative's scientists, Dr. Erin Ashe and Dr. Rob Williams, on Mondays and Thursdays at 11 a.m. PDT, streaming live on both Facebook and Instagram. If you missed an episode, you can watch the videos here.

Wildwood Trust home education resources

• Whether you're a seasoned home educator or you're just starting out, the Wildwood Trust has developed a series of worksheets and activities which are based on the National Curriculum and appropriate for your child's year level. Be sure to check this page often, as they will continue to update it on a regular basis.

Woodland Trust home learning materials

• Discover nature activities for kids to do at home as they run through some great ways to keep your children entertained while teaching them about the season of spring. Just make sure you follow government guidelines on social distancing.