Skills Challenges

Design a new item of clothing that could be worn whatever the weather. Think about how it could be adapted to keep you warm and dry if needed on colder, wetter days, or cool and comfortable when it is hot outside.

Consider the problem: A family have planned to have a picnic in the park today but the forecast shows there will be heavy rain. They have all the picnic food ready and are really looking forward it, but don't want to get soaking wet! Can you come up with three different solutions to help them to solve the problem. You could draw, write or talk about your ideas. Which solution do you think is the best and why?

Challenge yourself to give someone in your household clear directions to get to a local place, maybe a relative or friend's house, the park, library or a shop.  They will need to listen carefully and follow your directions as you travel with them.  Think about the order you are giving the instructions and speak clearly so that you and they can arrive together safely at your destination. What happens if the directions you are sharing get jumbled up?

With a member of your household, each make a decision to listen very carefully to a different TV programme, radio show, podcast or similar. Think about what you will need to do to really listen so that you are able to summarise and tell others what you've heard. What is the most important information you will need to share with them? Then listen to their summary of what they have listened too. Can you identify from what you've heard what the most important parts were?

Create an outdoor challenge for your family or friends in a garden or local park. You could set up an obstacle course, a circuits workout or plan a running route. Explain the rules clearly and set everyone, including yourself, a target or goal to achieve. Encourage others to have a go and to aim high!

Create a happy list. Spend just 5 minutes writing down as many things as you can that make you smile and feel good when you think of them. This could be anything from your favourite food, music or place to visit, a special family member or pet, or watching your favourite footballer score a goal! Discuss your list with others in your household. What would they put on their happy list?

As a household discuss the chores that need to be done this week.  As a team make sure everyone has a task they can help with.  Then crack on and do your job!  Celebrate as a team together when all the chores are done by doing something fun together.

Consider who you think of as a good leader - it could be a friend, a family member, someone in your community or someone you have seen on television or read about. What strengths do you consider they have? Ask family and trusted friends who they think of as a good leader.  Listen carefully to the way they speak about the person they have chosen. What strengths do they mention this admired leader has?  Now think about whether you have any of the same strengths?

Imagine the local council have asked you to design a poster to attract tourists to your local area. What would you include in the design? Consider images of local landmarks you might use and plan some alternative designs. Share your initial ideas with members of your household and discuss which is the strongest design to develop further.

Consider the problem: You are stranded on a desert island and you find a pile of wood. What do you use the wood for and why? Think through the different options and consider the pros and cons of each idea. Talk to others in your household about what they would do with the wood and why.

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Write a persuasive speech about an issue you feel passionately about and deliver the speech to members of your family. You might first research other well known speeches for inspiration, for example, one of Greta Thunberg's speeches on climate change. Think carefully about how you use tone, body language and gesture to engage the listener and how you communicate the issue effectively and persuasively.

Think of a person you admire who speaks out on issues that matter to them and search online for a speech or interview they have made to persuade others. For example, it could be Emma Watson speaking about gender issues or Marcus Rashford speaking about child poverty. Listen carefully to their speech or interview, and observe how they use tone, body language and specific wording to persuade the listener. Extension: Summarise the key points of the speech.

At the start of the week, get together with your household to share ideas for challenges you can all take part in. You could try a new food, reduce your screen time, work to improve your personal best in a game, recycle instead of buying something new, start a new book, or try a new craft. Choose challenges for each other that will stretch - but not be so hard you stand no chance of succeeding.

Sit quietly for 5 minutes to think and make a list of all the things you can do that make you feel happy and positive, even if something has gone wrong. Share your list with others in your household.  You may have ideas that would help and support them in difficult times.

Work together to create a story. You need to come to a group decision on what the theme of the story will be and choose one person to write or tell everyone how the story begins. Take in turns to then add to the story, building on each others' ideas. Keep it positive and encourage everyone to contribute and have fun!

Organise an outdoor game that everyone in your household can take part in. Ask all members of the household to contribute their ideas of what to play, where and when. It could be hide and seek in the garden, football in the park or rounders in a field. Support everyone to reach a group decision that you are all happy with and organise what you need for the game.

Design a new protective face mask for young teenagers.

Think about the shape, the attachments, materials and the theme for the mask. It needs to be effective at protecting against Covid 19, but also appealing to wear. Develop a range of different ideas and then work with a family member to choose one design to draw up and label in more detail.

Consider the problem: Too many cars on the road can cause air pollution.

Discuss this issue with a member of your household. What different solutions can you think of to address this problem where you live? Write down or talk about your ideas.

Extension: Discuss the pros and cons of your different solutions.

Prepare a short presentation for your family about your favourite season. This could be delivered as a poem, or with accompanying drawings or photos. Talk about how the season makes you feel and what you enjoy most about this particular time of the year.

Ask a family member which is their favourite season and why. Listen carefully to their answer and summarise what they have told you, asking any questions to further your understanding.

Set yourself a challenge for the coming weeks. It could be to create and stick to a new revision plan for your school work, to set a new target for a hobby or activity or to teach yourself a new skill. Be clear about what you want to achieve and by when.

Do something nice for someone else today. It could be a simple thing like clearing the table after dinner, reading a younger sibling a story or offering to sort the recycling. How does this good deed make the other person feel?

Organise a family photo shoot. Talk to members of your household to decide when and where you will take the photos, which of you will be the photographer and if there is a special theme for the photo shoot. Encourage everyone to join in (perhaps including pets) and share the photos with your family afterwards.

Organise a fun activity for your household for the weekend. Encourage everyone to come up with different ideas for the activity and when it might take place. It could be anything you all enjoy, from a pizza night to a walk to your favourite park, but everyone needs to take part. You might need to organise a vote to decide. Manage disagreements carefully and most importantly, have fun!

Extension: Consider what resources you might need to organise in advance of the activity.

Look around the room you are in.  Choose an object.  Take 2 minutes to think about how that object could be improved.  What would you change? Add to it? Take away from it? Challenge someone else in your household to do the same.  Did they come up with the same ideas or totally different ideas?

Consider the problem: Many people are concerned about the amount of plastic littering the streets, parks, rivers and beaches. Some florists are now wrapping flowers in recycled paper rather than cellophane, and some drinks companies have switched from plastic to card drinks containers. Have a look around your home - see how many alternative ideas you an come up with to use something other than plastic. Share your ideas with another member of your household - can they think of others?

Imagine you are providing the voice over for a documentary about life in your household. Go from room to room and talk about who and what is in the room as if you were the narrator of a television programme. You might be able to record your ideas and play it back to other household members to make them smile.

Listen to a weather report on the radio or TV. Listen carefully to the forecast for today and for the days and week ahead. Summarise what you heard and share with members of your household, so they can plan ahead and dress appropriately for the weather.

Think of something that happens many times during the day in your household - like boiling the kettle to make a hot drink, or opening the fridge door. Each time it happens, challenge yourself to have what has become known as an 'exercise snack'.  Do a quick exercise like 10 star jumps or sit ups - whatever you fancy.  The idea is to get your body moving. Set yourself a goal of having maybe 3 exercise snacks in the day.  

Extension: Can you keep this going for a week or longer? Could you ask others to join you in your 'exercise snacking'?

At the end of the day ask yourself - have I felt more positive or more negative today?  Share your thoughts with someone in your household.  Ask them how they have felt too? Can you come up with a plan of action for tomorrow so you both can stay positive together? You might plan to do some exercise, make a nice meal together or arrange a family film night.

Work with members of your household to create a short dance routine, perhaps inspired by a dance on TikTok. As a group, decide on the music and work together to choreograph a set of dance moves.

Extension: Record a video of your dance to share with other family and friends and encourage them to join in too.

Organise a paper plane competition with your family. Give everyone paper and pens and show them how to fold the piece of paper to make a simple paper plane (you might need to research a simple design). Come to a group decision on where to play the game and what the rules will be. Take it in turns to throw the planes as far as you can. Who can get the furthest?

Think of a favourite story, film or TV programme you have enjoyed recently with a family member.  Can you create another character who would fit into the story.  Write, draw or tell the person/people you watched it with about your ideas.

Consider the problem: Many people all over the world have needed and continue to need to wear a face mask to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.  People are dropping and losing these masks everyday both outdoors and in their own homes, meaning they can't find a mask when they need one.  Can you think of ways to prevent masks getting lost?

Imagine you are meeting a small group of people for the first time and you have been asked to introduce yourself in just 30 seconds. Think carefully about what you might say? How you might say it. Practice in front of the mirror or with a member of your household. What tone of voice will you use? What might your facial expression be? Are there any appropriate gestures you might make as you speak?

Throughout the day make it your 'secret' mission to show the people around you that you are really listening to them. Think about how you can use eye contact and your body language to show you are paying full attention to what they are saying. What questions can you ask to show you have understood what they have said or that you wish to find out more?

At the end of the day talk with them about your mission - did they notice you were listening carefully to them?  How did your careful listening make them feel? Share your thoughts about what you noticed too.

Spring is in the air...it's a great time of year to think of the future.  What would you like to achieve in the coming months? Write down a goal you have and begin to plan how you can reach that goal.  

Think about what will success look like? How will you feel when you reach that goal? What will you need to do to be successful? Who might be able to help you?

Take some time to walk with a member of your household and talk about a time when something has gone wrong for you. Share your thoughts about what happened and how you can prevent the same thing happening again.

Organise a time when you and your household can get together and focus on a jigsaw puzzle, a board or card game. Decide which game you will play and when. Make sure you are all there on time when you have arranged to play.

Extension: Encourage all family members to join in and look for ways to avoid any unhelpful conflicts.

Invite everyone in your household to make a suggestion for an activity you can all do together indoors or outdoors.  Can you manage the discussion so that everyone gets a chance to share their ideas and opinions in a fair way and come up with a way of making a group decision together?

Think about where you would like to be in 10 years time.  What would you like to be doing? Imagine different scenarios and share your ideas with members of your household?  You could write or draw about what you imagine to help you share these ideas.  

Extension: Can you encourage a friend or family member to do the same. Are your ideas similar or totally different?

Consider the problem:  Sometimes, some people can find themselves struggling to get enough sleep.  It might be because they are super busy or because they are worried about something.  It might even be because they are actually over tired.  With a family member see if you can come up with as many different ideas which might be useful to help someone who is feeling very tired at the moment, then chose your top three tips for a good night's sleep.

Tell a friend/family member/teacher what what you have been doing today.

Make sure you go through your day's activities in a logical order so they can understand when you did each thing.  They may want to ask you some questions to find out more - can you give more detail?

Extension: Can you deliver this information as a formal presentation using visual aids to engage the listener?

Sit or lie very still. Listen to the sounds you can hear indoors, or outdoors.  Listen to the noises you can hear close by and far away.  Listen to your own breathing.  Just listen very carefully for as long as you can.  

Extension: Ask a family member to join you to listen carefully too. Talk to each other what you can hear. Summarise what you have both heard.

At home and school, you will encounter challenges as you learn.  What are your top tips for having a positive approach to new challenges?  Can you think of a great way to share these ideas with others? Maybe you could share them with your teacher.

Extension: Set yourself some simple goals to challenge yourself and aim high this term.

Try this mindfulness activity. Choose a natural object - a flower, plant or tree. Take some slow deep breaths and really look at the object. Explore every detail like you've never seen it before and feel yourself relax as you do so. Maintain your concentration on this object for as long as you can.  

Extension: Ask a family member to join you for this mindfulness exercise.

Plan an indoor picnic. Work with members of your household to decide when and where you will have the picnic, what food you will need to prepare and what you will sit on. Make sure everyone has a job.

Organise a family nature hunt. Work together to decide on 5 different types of wildlife or nature you would like to look out for in a garden, local field or park and see how many of them you can spot.

Extension: Think about what you need to organise and who should do which job - someone could create a spotters chart, someone arrange the route, someone else can get some snacks to take.

Look up at the sky. Can you see any birds or planes?

Imagine you can fly. Where would you go and who would you meet? Ask members of your family where in the world they would fly if they could.

Extension: Design a new mode of transport you could use to fly through the sky.

Consider the problem: While in lockdown there are concerns that many of us are spending too much time looking at screens on electronic devices like phones, laptops and televisions.

Think of different solutions to this problem. What might you do to reduce your screen time?

Extension: Explain the problem to someone else and see if together you can come up with lots of different ideas of how to reduce the time spent on an electronic device.

Imagine you are the prime minister and are going to deliver a speech at a press conference about schools reopening.

What would you say? Think carefully about making your points in a logical order and being clear so your audience will understand your message.

Extension: Challenge your family to do the same - would you all say something similar?

Call a friend or family member and ask them how they are doing.  Ask them about any books they have read recently or television programmes they have been watching. Really listen to their answers and ask some follow up questions to show you are interested and understand what they say.

This week, set yourself a new challenge. It might be to learn the rules of a new game, learn how to play a new piece of music, get up (or go to bed) earlier, start a new book by an author you've never read before, reduce your screen time or something else totally different and new!

Think about 3 things you are grateful for today, that brighten your day and make you feel happy. They can be small things or big things.  

Extension: Discuss your choices with members of your household and talk about other things that have brightened their day today too.

With members of your household, plan a route for a walk in your local area. Think about how far everyone can walk, the time you have and what you may need to wear to stay warm and dry.  You may need to come to an agreement on the places you want to pass (the local park, a relatives home to wave hello or even a favourite tree!). Make sure everyone has a chance to share their ideas and agree on a route you are all happy with.

Organise a family quiz.

Choose a theme you know your family will enjoy. Make sure everyone has a job as you prepare for the quiz. You may need someone to set the questions, to ask the questions, to keep scores and to organise snacks. You could invite other friends and family to join in too over the internet.

Extension: Think about everyone's strengths - what job would they be best at?  Manage any disagreements carefully.

As the winter turns to spring, many people will be thinking of ways to brighten up their gardens, window boxes or pots with plants and flowers. Draw, paint or create a model of a garden, a window box or a flower display.  Display your creative work so other people enjoy it too.

Consider the problem: Many people are feeling a bit sad and lonely at the moment as they are unable to visit friends and family during this lockdown.  

Think of some different ways to stay in touch with friends or relatives. How might you cheer them up?

Put on a puppet show.

‍Use toys, hand or finger puppets or create your own sock puppets. You could even create a stage and set. Act out a simple story using the puppets and speak clearly as you take on different characters.

Extension: Perform the show for younger siblings at home or use Zoom to invite younger family or friends to watch.

Learn the lyrics (or words) of a song.

‍Find a song you like on the radio, online or from your family's music collection.

Listen carefully to the lyrics (or words) and see if you can memorise them or write them down by repeating what you hear a section at a time.

Create a daily exercise plan for yourself.

Plan what activities you will do, for how long and when.

Set yourself a goal for each day and for the week ahead.

Build a tower. You can use toy bricks, pebbles, Lego or even a pile of shoes! Build the tower as tall as you can.

When it topples over, start again and see if you can get it even taller than before.

Who in your family can build the tallest tower?

Work with members of your family to design and build a den. Share your ideas and come to a group decision on how you will make it.

The den could be built outside with natural materials or indoors with furniture and blankets.

Take a picture of the finished den from inside looking out and outside looking in!

Set up a simple (and safe) obstacle course at home for members of your family to follow. Explain clearly what each step of the course entails and how long they will have to complete it. Give lots of encouragement and praise when others give it a go!

Design a new board game.

Base the design on Snakes and Ladders, but choose a new theme. Design the board, the pieces and the rules. Show the design to a family member.

Extension: Create the game using materials you have at home. Invite a member of your family to play it with you.

Protect Our Planet. Research climate change and list or mindmap different things you could do at home to help protect our environment. Choose 3 simple things you will do differently as an individual this year to play your part in solving this problem.

Create a Vlog or video diary. Speak clearly as you describe your daily routine. Talk about what you are doing in lockdown and how you feel.

Go outside and listen very carefully. What can you hear? List as many different sounds as you can in 5 minutes.

Extension: Use relevant bird watching apps or websites to identify specific birdsong.

What are your goals for 2021? Talk or write about 3 things you would like to do or to achieve this year. Try to make sure they are a challenge but achievable!

Close your eyes and think of a place that makes you feel calm and happy. Find a photo, draw or paint a picture of this place. Tell others in your home about your happy place. Ask them where their happy place would be.

Cook a meal together with others in your home. Come to an agreement on what you are going to cook, then share jobs out between you. Talk about who is doing what and when. Enjoy celebrating your great teamwork by sharing and eating the final meal together!

Organise a family games tournament. Speak to different members of your household and come to an agreement about which games to play. Decide who will play when and how long you will spend on each game. Try your best to manage any disagreements and encourage others.

Design a new play area for your local park.
Use your imagination to think about some different ideas of what could be in the park.
Draw a picture of your design to share with your family.

Consider the problem: Everyone is having to stay at home at the moment. It is difficult for some people to get much excercise. Can you design an excercise routine for your family? Please make sure it is safe to do indoors or in the garden. It needs to involve some movement to keep fit. It should last no longer than 15 minutes.

Organise a game of 'Who Am I' with your family. Each member of the family writes an agreed number of famous people's names to put in a bowl. Take it in turns to pick a name, describe clearly the person without saying their name and see if your family can guess who it is. You could use a timer to see how many names people can guess in one minute.

Listen to an audio book or a podcast.
Write a review or talk to a family member all about it. Would you recommend it? What was the best part of it?

Set yourself a balancing challenge. You will need to decide what or how you will balance and for how long. It could be standing on one leg, balancing a book on your head or balancing a ball on your nose! Make sure it is a safe challenge, but it needs to be tricky!

Mindfulness exercise...

Watch a sunset or sunrise. Aside from its natural beauty, the sunset is also a great reminder that each and every day offers us a new end and a new beginning. Peacefully enjoy the vibrant colours.

You might take a photo, draw or paint a picture of what you see, or simply just sit and look.

If it is not possible to see the actual sun setting or rising, find some sunset images online to look at and observe the colours and shapes.

This week, create the opportunity for a team activity. Ask friends or family members to work with you. You might complete a puzzle, run a relay race or work on a craft project.

Throughout the activity make sure you are being a good teammate by:

Being positive,
Supporting others,
Contributing to the group,
Resolving conflicts.

Extension: Reflect on the group task. Was it quicker or easier to do with teammates? Did you enjoy working with others?

This week, gather positive stories from the people around you. Talk to friends or family members about how they stay positive. You may want to ask:

When do you have to stay positive?
How do you remind yourself to stay positive when something goes wrong?
What does staying positive mean to you?

This week, we are designing a new city or town. Use your imagination to design:

1. the buildings,
2. the rules or laws,
3. the shops and restaurants,
4. the people who will live there.

Extension: Plan the layout of the city. Where would the buildings and streets be placed? What factors do you need to consider when making your decisions?

This week, think of a problem that our society is facing.

What are the main challenges?
What is preventing this problem from being solved?

Research the problem.
Come up with a possible solution.
Identify the opportunities and challenges.

This week, tell someone about your favourite place. This might be somewhere you went on holiday or a local area near your home.
Write a script or notes to remember what you want to say.
Practise speaking clearly
Use descriptive language
Use body language or gesture to emphasise what you are saying.

Extension: adapt your speech in response to feedback. What went well? How could it be improved?

This week, interview 4 different people on the topic: What do you like about Summer?
These people could be family members, friends or other people in your network.
Ask open questions to give them a chance to share lots of detail.
Record what they say in your own way, e.g. notes, drawings or transcriptions.
Extension: compare their perspectives - what might have brought about these differences in opinion?

Using a learning app or online tutorial, learn to say some basic phrases in a new language.
Listen carefully to the sounds and try to repeat them back accurately.
Extension: can you build this into a short conversation?

Reflect on a time when you have been part of a team.
What was your shared goal?
What job did you take on for the team?
Were there any challenges? How did you overcome these?

Design a Cleaning Rota for your household.
1. Make a list of different rooms or areas that you could help with.
2. Assign each job to a different person in your household.
3. Lead your team to get the cleaning done!

Set yourself a challenge to get better at something artistic.
For example, you might aim to create a new type of art or write a specific type of poem.
Create a plan of how to get better, including who you will ask for advice and what resources you will need.

Mindfulness exercise...
Step 1: get a piece of paper and draw a swirly line, without taking your pencil off the page. Make it as complicated as you like.
Step 2: using different colours, create a pattern by filling in different shapes you have created in your line drawing.
Step 3: if you become distracted, gently pull your mind away from those thoughts and notice a shape again to put you back in the right frame of mind.

Imagine you are a fashion designer.
Design 3 different items for a fashion collection with a shared theme.
For example, you could design T-shirts, hats or shoes.
Extension: get feedback on your designs and adapt them to make improvements.

Consider the problem: A local charity wants to raise money to support its work in the community.
1. Do research to find a local charity and understand their mission.
2. Think of 3 ways you could help to raise money.
Extension: put your plan into action and raise money for your local charity.

Prepare a short speech to present to your family.
Suggested topic: I love my home town/city because...
Extension: after giving your speech, ask your audience if they have any questions. Answer the questions as fully as possible.

Listen to someone reviewing a piece of music or film.
For example, you could watch a reaction video on YouTube.
What do they think about the media they are reviewing?
Do you agree with them or have a different opinion?
Extension: are there any potential unconscious biases in their review?

Create a piece of collaborative artwork.
Work with members of your family or virtually with friends.
Have a group discussion to agree on a form (e.g. paint, digital art or sculpture) and theme.
Assign each person a different task to complete.
Work together to make the artwork.

Extension: work together to present the artwork to a group of friends or family.

Check in with a friend or family member who might be finding it difficult in these times.
Find out how they are feeling and share how you are feeling.
Work together to share ideas of how to stay motivated.
Extension: lead a coaching-style conversation to support the other person to reflect on how they could improve their mindset.

Think of a time when you have succeeded at a task or achieved a goal you set for yourself.
1. How did it make you feel?
2. Create a piece of artwork (e.g. drawing, story or poem) to show how you felt when you experienced this success.

Mindfulness exercise...
Step 1: find a space at a window where there are sights to be seen outside.
Step 2: look at everything there is to see - try to notice the colours, the patterns, or the textures.
Step 3: pay attention to movement such as the grass or leaves blowing around in the breeze.
Step 4: Notice the many different shapes.
Step 5: if you become distracted, gently pull your mind away from those thoughts and notice a colour or shape again to put you back in the right frame of mind.

Imagine you are an interior designer.
Design 3 different layouts for a room of your choice.
You could even create pictures of what this might look like.
Extension: get feedback on your designs and adapt them to make improvements.

Consider the problem: A popular beach has seen a rise in littering and local wildlife is suffering.
1. Do research to understand more about cases like this elsewhere in the world.
2. Think of 3 ways you could help to solve this problem.
Example: you could put more bins along the beach path.

Set up a video call with someone in your network. For example, a friend or family member who lives in a different household.
Talk for 5 minutes about what you have been doing recently during lockdown.
Try to organise your points into a logical order. For example, you might say events in chronological order.
Extension: how can you make your talk engaging over video call? What things should you think about?