Reducing screen time for kids

Kids Country, a Peterboroughbased education initiative, is once again helping primary schools across the region to reduce the amount of screen time for Key Stage 1 and 2 aged children as part of their new ‘home-schooling’ timetable.

Kids Country is the educational arm of the East of England Agricultural Society.

We know that teachers and parents are worried about any negative effects from too much screen time during this lockdown, and the benefits of getting outdoors at least once a day are huge on both mental and physical well-being, so we want to remind everyone of the completely free library of activity resources we have on our website, that will then help you stay away from the screen the rest of the day.

It is great to hear that pupils are getting ‘live’ teaching time with their teachers on laptops and tablets, but we want to make sure children have access to opportunities to learn outside too.

With everything from how to sow seeds to making a bee bath, and from minibeast hunts to making bird feeders, we are lucky to have worked with our supporting farmers, food producers and countryside organisations during the

first lockdown in 2020 to put these materials together, and they work just as well now.

The range of free resources also includes a library of recipes suitable for cooking with all primary school ages – a great solution to get children away from the desk and learning about food when the weather is not being helpful!

Find out more at www. kids-country.co.uk.

Sandra Lauridsen Education manager