Self Isolation Boredom Busters

A Bit of Everything

Open Culture, a treasure trove of free online courses, lectures, eBooks, audio books, films, art, music, courses for children. There’s something here for everyone and it’s all free – http://www.openculture.com/

Getting Outside

While you need to ensure you’re following local coronavirus guidelines, it’s important for many people’s wellbeing to get outside most days – while, of course, ensuring distancing guidelines are stuck to.

The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch can be a great way of getting outside while remaining at home. More details can be found on our event page here: https://autisticuk.org/event/big-garden-birdwatch/

Entertainment

The National Theatre At Home – https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/at-home?queueittoken=e_safetyevent25mar20~q_4e41bf49-b908-44fc-bedb-face3efbc6a5~ts_1585333744~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_d848f75ee0d0ca27cefcd5a98b8f10da3d6359b2a1cc55153b8dc4c800fbe692

National Theatre YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/ntdiscovertheatre

The Show Must Go Online – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFQ2EezD1GPVTH6hug3zu8w

Nightly (23:30 GMT) Met Opera Streams – https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/

Royal Opera House online programme – https://www.roh.org.uk/news/the-royal-opera-house-launches-a-programme-of-free-online-content-for-the-culturally-curious-at-home

Coronavirus Theatre Club, get news on Twitter of their live performances starting Sunday 29/03 – https://twitter.com/ClubCoronavirus

Seal Point Ragdoll cat nestled amongst orange flowers. — **Our mascot Pixel!** ©Kat Humble, All Rights Reserved

Cookery

A lot of people are rediscovering cookery now that they have the time. We can heartily recommend Jack Monroe for inspiration on a tight budget. Here’s her web site with loads of advice and recipes (including vegan) – https://cookingonabootstrap.com/ and you can follow her on Twitter here – @BootstrapCook. Check out #JackMonroesLockdownLarder. Watch out for her on BBC One from 13 April 10:00 to 11:00 on Daily Kitchen!

Finding American recipes but having trouble finding some of the ingredients? Check this out – https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/food/american-food-uk-substitutions-ingredients-4196

A guide on what you can and can’t freeze. Very handy to cut down on waste. One food it doesn’t mention is coffee, either ground or beans. You can use it straight from the freezer, though if it’s beans, make sure to leave a few minutes before you grind them. – https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/health/coronavirus/can-you-freeze-milk-these-are-common-items-you-can-and-cant-freeze-cheese-egg-and-potatoes-2481982

A handy storage guide to make sure that your food will last as long as possible – https://www.goodness.com.au/blog/pantry-food-storage-guide/

Books

Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library – https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digital-collections/digital-collections-beinecke-library

The British Library’s digital collection – https://www.bl.uk/catalogues-and-collections/digital-collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a huge collection of art books here – https://www.metmuseum.org/art/libraries-and-research-centers/watson-digital-collections/metropolitan-museum-of-art-publications/exhibition-catalogs

Two Chow puppies, one lying facing the camera, one standing over the other. — Starting to relax? We specialise in fluffy here. ©Kat Humble, All Rights Reserved

Kid Stuff

Book for children explaining coronavirus written by a nurse – https://nursedottybooks.com/dave-the-dog-is-worried-about-coronavirus-2/

Fancy some tunes? Check out DJ Harry! Nine year old Harry has been throwing daily dance parties to help people through the lockdown – https://www.cornwalllive.com/whats-on/whats-on-news/meet-dj-harry-autistic-six-4011578 You can make requests on his Facebook page here – https://www.facebook.com/AutisticDJ/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARBkCgZNSVejK7hCoW0dYGe2k5tuhLnyih9oxk-Z8_8TrmklcuzbMjd8PNJIY0t-Ag4OfbWKrnhLqOvn and subscribe to his YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYl2t2nw52Y7hdnrtDuCxkw

Audible has made hundreds of children’s books free. You don’t even need to register – https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/editors-choice-book-reviews/a31401009/audible-stories-free-childrens-audio-books/

Daily Art Lessons at 18:00 GMT – https://www.kennedy-center.org/mowillems

The AKC Museum of the Dog Colouring Pages, Puzzles and Drawing Lessons – https://museumofthedog.org/events-and-education/childrens-programs

Children’s Museum of Manhattan Daily Activities for Kids – https://cmom.org/learn/cmom-at-home/

Things to Do with NASA at Home – https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1192/10-things-to-do-with-nasa-at-home/#click=https://t.co/Enm1W0vx04

YouTube Learning for Preschoolers (Nursery Age) – https://learnathome.withyoutube.com/preschool/

YouTube Learning for Older Children (Five and Up) – https://learnathome.withyoutube.com/five-and-older/

YouTube Learning for Teens (Thirteen and Up) – https://learnathome.withyoutube.com/creators-13-and-older/

Hamster sat on top of a play tube set up. — Yeti wants to play! ©Kat Humble, All Rights Reserved

Learn Something New

Open-Access JSTOR Materials Accessible to the Public – http://www.universitytimes.ie/2020/03/jstor-makes-database-accessible-to-the-public/?fbclid=IwAR0Pl5RPHrywDFyii-G8vOilY9Vr-A7TgPYGRpz775tsaobnxNQvlZrg0sU

Shaw Academy Are Offering Free Courses During Lockdown – https://join.shawacademy.com/?ClickID=QY6SsA3vkxyOU-6wUx0Mo3EWUknSeoWM23zb3Q0&irgwc=1&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=27795

Explore with NASA – https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1194/the-grace-of-the-worlds-beautiful-planets/

Maine Coon queen cat lying on a purple cloth, her front hanging over the edge of the table. — Time for snacks, yes? ©Kat Humble, All Rights Reserved

Arts, Culture and History

Arts and Culture from Around the World: Museums, Parks, Wonders of the World, National Parks and More – https://artsandculture.google.com/

Tour the British Museum – https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/

Tour the Louvre – https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

Tour Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum – https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/van-gogh-museum?hl=en

Tour the Rijksmuseum – https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en

German Shepherd dog with a flying disc in it's mouth. — But only in the back garden or a walk once a day when you can practice social distancing! ©Kat Humble, All Rights Reserved

Puzzles, Games and Activities

Download Colouring Pages from over 500 Collections From Museums and Libraries – https://library.nyam.org/colorourcollections/about/

Free Crosswords from The Globe and Mail Canadian Newspaper – https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-a-collection-of-the-globe-and-mails-giant-crosswords/

Join a Virtual Choir – https://decca.com/greatbritishhomechorus/

Meditation Guides – https://blog.calm.com/take-a-deep-breath

Beginner’s Guide to Buddhist Meditation – https://buddhismnow.com/2013/07/05/first-steps-buddhist-meditation/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Ginger tabby and white cat sunbathing on the kitchen table. — This meditation stuff is easy! ©Kat Humble, All Rights Reserved

Adventure

Tour the National Parks of North America – https://artsandculture.google.com/project/national-park-service

Tour the Great Wall of China – https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-china

Volunteering

The NHS needs volunteers! https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS?fbclid=IwAR1IN9lqu79Asp_BEit90q9db4Nu3qGI2sC0cvLNXoivYOa8pm4fKD71LM4

Also please check out your local food bank. They always need donations, now more than ever. And if you are in a position to volunteer, that would be very welcome! – https://www.trusselltrust.org/