Scribble school
13 Jan 2021
As part of a covid lockdown, we have already had a remote Christmas and for lots of people schools are closed at the moment. We have two full-time worker parents in our family and that means “screen schooling” is all too prevalent. Recently we have launched an experiment with my parents: I thought it worth a write up. A lot of what I could find online was either aimed at teachers running classes, or very basic tech grandparenting (“try a video call instead of using your telephone”!).
I tried to be creative and resourceful and think through, “what could actually work, completely remotely, to keep a child engaged, thinking, interactively and offer some sort of positive development?” My secondary motive - and I made this clear to the “tutors” on the other end of the call - was to free myself up to get stuff done.
Well, it’s early days, but we have had some success. Scribble School is set to become a regular fixture in our afternoons.
The full list of ideas is below, but the biggest win so far is a digital, expensive version of… wait for it… paper.
Sounds silly - but there are a zillion games you can play on paper. And thanks to the wonderful Scribble Together app, two iPads and two Apple Pencils, we’ve done:
- sums (our kids genuinely enjoy this)
- algebra (they love the puzzle element of solving equations)
- hangman
- Pictionary
- dots and boxes
- sudoku
- noughts and crosses (aka tic-tac-toe)
Not tried yet, but expect to work well:
- wordsearches
- crosswords
- kakuro and other puzzles
- coded messages/ciphers
- colouring - yeah, just colouring in, why not? It can get as advanced as you like.
The set-up is, at each end:
- iPad
- Apple Pencil (kids can draw with fingers but pencil takes it up a level)
- Scribble Together with subscription
- Secondary device for video call (I know, this is an expensive set up. We are very fortunate to have all this tech.)
- (optional, but good) - ready-loaded PDFs to scribble on top of (see below)
Prop up the video call device, get that established and then lay the iPad like, well, like a piece of paper in front. Open “Scribble Together” on both sides, get into the same “board”, and bingo. All that to achieve a shared piece of remote paper.
From here on in, it’s great fun. Tips (you can skip the first few if your kids are older):
- Start simple. Just scribble and shout.
- One child at a time. Otherwise it descends into chaotic squabbles (for us anyway)
- Draw pictures together.
- Play with the tools - eraser, “bomb”, laser pointer (this one especially handy later)
- Talk about where you’re looking, signal your intents a lot. Be present for the beginning of your child’s call and demonstrate how to do this.
- Introduce noughts and crosses, or sums, or hangman. All these work on a blank sheet.
- Bring in PDFs and draw on top of them (good for sudoku, dots & boxes, wordsearches, crosswords, just colouring).
- Use the “laser pointer” to direct the other side’s attention without having to undo your drawing (it fades out after a few sec)
Other ideas
- Pretty much anything from the very-good-looking Paper and Pencil Games
- read over a video call. Could work well if the kids have a physical copy of the book being read.
- Story game (start with “Once upon a time” and then take turns to contribute a word at a time)
- Online jigsaws (this is a thing)
- Pogo (online games)
- Online versions of board games - chess.com and so on
- Offline versions of board games - snakes & ladders via Scribble Together maybe? Who’s Who?
Sources of PDFs
Here is a folder to get you started. Quite Pokémon heavy but you’ll get the idea. Iris and Finn are 8 and 5 at the time of writing.
- newspapers and magazines (scan or use something like Genius Scan)
- print-and-color.com
- twinkl.co.uk (requires subscription)
- puzzles-to-print.com
- thewordsearch.com
More?
I would love to hear from you if you’ve tried this. I bet there are Android equivalents: I would happily update this page or start an “Awesome” list if there’s enough interest. Especially keen to hear of other geeky or creative ideas for remote but non-stultifying activities that connect children and remote adults.
< Previous post | Next post >Favourite posts
- On wiggly lines and being normal
- On infinite villages
- Running a race backwards
- Brainmaking
- Their tables were stored full, to glad the sight
- The structure of a smell
Recent posts
- PGN files from handwritten chess notation
- Souvenirs des villes européennes
- Pic'n'mix reinvented
- Super slow-mo Tetris
- Skill swaps
Blog archives
Posts from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.