Entertaining the kids at home is sometimes a daunting task whether it’s during lockdown or through the school holidays. There are however lots of ways to keep them focused and develop their artistic skills on a shoestring.

With the surge in online courses and classes this year, there are always hundreds of useful resources to hand whether you’re looking for a structured arts class or a quick informal Youtube video such as “5-Minute Crafts”. On Facebook, The Paint Republic run online painting sessions which are good fun for all the family however there are also plenty of local groups and classes that you can join either virtually or in person. Check out the WISH website which is a great resource – just search in the ‘What’s On’ section for creative events, competitions or organisations in Herefordshire.

If you fancy getting festive with the kids, Strong 2gether, which began as a group of friends brought together by the COVID-19 pandemic, is running a free online mini fabric Christmas Wreath Making course on Tuesday 15 December from 10.30am-12pm. Register your attendance on Eventbrite where there is also a list of materials you will need to get started.

Marches Counselling Service is running an art competition this month for anyone living in Herefordshire called ‘A New Normal?’ aiming to capture people’s interpretation of the world as it stand today, post-coronavirus. The competition is open to people of all ages and artwork can be submitted in any medium. The closing date is 31 December so this would be a great family project over the holidays (with up to £300 prize money). Entry forms and terms & conditions are available on their website.

For other online classes, Nurture Store has hundreds of free art lessons and the BBC’s ‘Bitesize’ online resource tool is also great for home schooling classes. Their CBeebies website is a good starting point for online creative projects including their 10 festive craft ideas that you can do at home.

If you’re planning on doing creative festive projects this month, please send us a photo of your artwork (email to comms@rosscdt.org.uk). We’d love to see what you’re up to over the next few weeks and we’ll post them online in January.