Homeschooling (or emergency education, call it what you will) with children virtual learning at present, many households across the country are sharing a common goal: keep the small ones busy.

It’s a difficult landscape to navigate for parents. Many are trying to balance working from home with their children’s school work, while also minimising screen time.

With all this in mind, Irish Country Living has compiled a list of children’s podcasts, that can hopefully keep the children entertained for some period of time.

Podcasts have exploded in popularity over the last number of years, so here are some options for the kids.

Home School Hub

There’s a good chance if you have children of primary school age, you’re already aware of the RTÉ television programme, Home School Hub. Home School Hub also has a great podcast offering for children, which is very diverse. Episodes are uploaded most weekdays and include; quizzes, stories and interactions with listeners. A new podcast series recently started on here also, Adventures of a Young Pirate Queen, which charts an imagined first adventure of Gráinne Mhaol.

Niall Breslin – Mindful Moments for Children

Mullingar’s Niall ‘Bressie’ Breslin first made a name for himself as the frontman of The Blizzards, but now it’s quite likely you would recognise him for his work in the area of mental health and wellbeing. A well-known podcaster, last October Bressie launched a five-episode series of children’s podcasts, focused around mindfulness and meditation, to mark the release of his children’s book on the same topic. With it being an anxious time for many, some children may benefit from 10 minutes of soothing mindfulness.

Brains On!

If children (or indeed adults) think science isn’t exciting or interesting, then this is the podcast to prove them wrong. Brains On! is co-hosted by a different child each week, alongside Molly Bloom. Together they search for answers, checked by experts, to the fascinating questions about the world sent in by readers. These include ‘Do dogs know they’re dogs?’, ‘Why do siblings annoy each other?’ and ‘Why does green mean go?’ Also, be warned, there’s a whole episode dedicated to poo!

Super Great Kids’ Stories

And then, sometimes you just need a good old-fashioned story. This weekly podcast tells a different child-friendly story each week. From Odon the Giant to Kojo the Rabbit and How the Milky Way Got into the Sky, there’s great variety. It’s marketed as stories suitable for ages five to 105 and they’re told by different storytellers from around the world. The tales are usually from eight to 15 minutes, so they’re perfect for before bedtime.

Where can I listen to podcasts?

Podcasts are available across a range of platforms. Spotify and iTunes are two of the main ones. You can download these apps on your smartphone, but you must have an iPhone to access iTunes.

Don’t forget

The Irish Farmers Journal Weekly Podcast and Down to Agribusiness Podcast can be accessedhere. The Irish Country Living Podcast can be accessed here.

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