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Home baking and crafting together has been enjoyable for my grandchildren. They've taken photos of what they've made too

We have two 2 year old grandchildren and we took their favourite books from our nursery and I read them whilst videoing via my phone the pages and as I turned them gave emphasis to key elements in the pictures on the page. I also took their favourite puzzles and again videoed the puzzles being done asking “where does this piece go ? show me”. We then sent the videos to our daughters who used them for the after bath ready for bedtime reading. It was such a joy when their husbands videoed the reading sessions with them and it meant they heard us still reading and doing their puzzles. As soon as we were allowed to have them back they went straight up to the nursery took out the books and came down with them so that we could read them in person. Whilst only two years old they could hold the tablet and watch and listen so it gave the daughters some time to clear away after bath time and gave us the feeling we were helping albeit in a small way.

Establishing a routine. Lots of praise.
Skype is good for Keeping in touch

My DGC x4 have written letters asking about our childhood and another their life during lockdown, all with lovely handwriting and sketches. They and mum have then cycled to deliver the letters and we have been able to speak from the window whilst they rest in the garden.The following week and another cycle ride they collect our replies.The younger ones have then been shown how to phone and text from mums mobile whilst the older ones have practised sending us videos of their activities.They have had so much fun experiences.

I've been able to encourage learning that they might not do at school - appreciating nature, cookery, the arts and how to listen well. All at a far more relaxed pace.

Lots of help when needed. Keep kids occupy....work, play, cooking and walks

Start first thing with homeschooling. stop At midday. Have an early lunch. Then fresh air & help with checking farm animals. Free time. Do some fun cooking together. Routine is the most important. Try not to get cross.

Keeping a routine, finding resources online. We learnt how to use Zoom and have family members teach different subjects.

We found that offering a mix of educational resources (various websites and different types of activities) has helped with home learning. Our relationship did not change because it made is realise even more how lucky we are to have each other. Thank you for the opportunity to take part in this competition.

Unable to see the grandchildren, we have stared doing virtual bedtime stories using the duplicates of books we both have in the house. The girls follow the story at one end whilst we read from the other. It works surprisingly well and gives their parents a brief break.

Learning needs to be fun. And don’t get disheartened if the child doesn’t pick up the concept straight away, sometimes repetition helps, but I usually think if the child doesn’t get it this is because I have not explained it in a way they can understand- so down to me to try another way. I have so missed the physical contact but the first recent meeting was ecstatic!

Been very tough not seeing my grandchildren. Zoom has been great but not the same.

Being away from family has been difficult, SKYPE has been an absolute saviour. Joseph is 5 and Chloe 3, so education has not been difficult.

Mine know that I’m very easily distracted but I’m ok with that. If we’re cooking for example we might try to find out where the ingredients come from, we use ratios to work out how much we need, we look at the etymology, how they grow, and so on. Geography, history, English, maths all from making a pizza!

Break it up into bite size pieces so that they don't get overwhelmed

Sticking to a routine to keep normality

Making learning fun e.g. when we are out on our walks in the park - looking out for signs and recognising the letters to aid reading skills

Having an agreed timetable at the beginning of the day.

Definitely routine. Got them into a habit from the start of lockdown, now they know exactly what they are doing each day. I get tips from media and sites like Pinterest for inspiration. We made learning fun!

Don’t patronise them with over the top praise but acknowledge good work. Join in so they see you enjoy learning and find it worth your time.

My wife and I have been "shielding" so the only contact we have had with our two grandchildren has been on Zoom. We haven't been able to do any education that way as their attention span and ability to sit still would not permit it and their parents have both been around their house anyway as they have both been (and still are) working from home.
We did manage to celebrate our grandson's fourth birthday that way along with our daughter and her husband as well as his parents and sister (see below) and my wife got out her (small) collection of teddies, baked a cake and we found some household candles (including two red ones of the type that were used for our daughter's wedding) to get him to "blow out".
We've also just had a similar, though rather less structured celebration of our granddaughter's second birthday.
We are really looking forward to visiting them when the shielding advice is relaxed further on 1st August when, weather permitting, they are planning a barbecue to celebrate our and our daughter's wedding anniversaries.

7 and 5 year old Gc live a long way away but have been FaceTiming and going through a lot of their school work. They have fun doing this which is the main thing.

Have a well balanced routine, but be a little flexible too. Regular starts and finishes and breaks of course. Plenty of deserved praise and encouragement. I’ve been able to FaceTime my grandson several times a day to play and sing together, not ideal but a godsend for keeping the relationship going.

Making learning fun and finding different ways to reward them...other than letting them use the computer games!

Sticking to routine, the older one is fine and just gets on, the younger is a very sporty boy and he is harder.