As you probably know by now, my kids do a variety of classes, clubs and workshops with Outschool. Despite the name Outschool isn’t a school; it’s an online platform connecting passionate professionals who want to share their skills and interests with children and teens- and at Christmas the offering really ramps up! (At the bottom of this post is a $20 free credit to try any Outschool class or session!)
During non-holiday time, kids can take classes in everything from axolotl care to French patisserie baking, and from beginner stock trading to coding in Minecraft! With over 140,000 classes it is almost guaranteed that you’ll find something relating to your child’s favourite hobby or interest and we’ve found it absolutely incredible in the quality of the teachers and lessons.
We’ve really enjoyed some of the seasonal sessions that the teachers put on; there were some brilliant Halloween sessions such as baking traditional English oat cakes as well as learning about the science behind fireworks.
Now it’s time for Christmas classes and there are some absolutely fantastic and engaging ones this year! With a range of focused and subjects there are plenty to keep kids busy during the school holidays so you can have some peace to wrap gifts and peel sprouts (or, y’know… just have a cuppa!)
Christmas Drawing Club
In this ongoing club, kids aged 10-15 will learn how to draw beautiful pictures of seasonal characters and landscapes such as polar bears, Santa’s workshop and Christmas trees. Students will learn different pencil and sketching techniques, and each session will be spent focusing on one specific picture so they can dip in and out of classes as they like. Techniques focused on including proportions; blending and shading; burnishing coloured pencil and creating shadows with layering.
Christmas Escape Room
In this seasonal session kids will solve clues and riddles in order to travel through 4 countries and make it back in time for Christmas! This class is for ages 5-9 and teacher Helen has a Masters in Education so is well equipped to help your little ones if they need a hand.
Christmas Freeze Dance Party
This will really help kids aged 3-8 get into the festive spirit- and the best bit about it is that it is intentionally inclusive so students with ADHD, who speak English as a second language or who are autistic are super welcome! Gabrielle Hughes is an autistic advocate who specialises in helping autistic and neurodivergent kids have a brilliant time while learning. Kids will love dancing to popular songs such as Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is coming to town- and Gabrielle will throw in extra challenges such as ‘pose like a cat’ for added fun!
Grinch Themed Storytime and Craft
Kids aged 4-9 will love listening to “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss and then socialise by playing “Find the Grinch” in their class group. Kids will get to chat about their favourite things about Christmas while creating their own Grinch!
Christmas Birds Class
This must be one of the most fun ways to learn about natural biology- kids will learn about the birds of Christmas, from penguins to a partridge in a pear tree! Kids will learn fun facts and life histories of each bird and are welcome to join in with discussions but are not obliged to.
These classes are just some of the brilliant sessions Outschool are offering over the festive period. Online classes and workshops can be a great way for kids to discover new interests, make friends and develop skills in a safe and fun environment. The fact that teachers create and offer seasonal sessions is brilliant as it keeps things fresh and is another way to spread Christmas cheer to your family- use my code to get $20 credit to try any class for free!