We live in an unprecedented time. During the unnofficial Coronavirus quarantine, if you find yourself working-from-home, working remotely, homeschooling your kids, or doing all of it at the same time, be sure to make time for yourself too. That’s why we’ve put together a list of COVID-19 quarantine activities for kids and adults.
At Cohlab Digital Marketing, our team works from home every day. But in this extreme case, with many people kept in their homes 24/7, or without cafes, restaurants, and bookstores to socialize at, it’s essential to keep up social time, get outside, and keep in touch with the people you love.
Below, we have some tips for you to help find resources to maintain your health, teach your kids, learn new skills, and make time to play, all within your own home or hotel room.
Health
It’s incredibly important to maintain your health during the COVID-19 isolation situation. Keeping your distance doesn’t have to mean giving up all contact. Keep up your mental and physical well-being.
Mental Health
Watch out for your emotional and mental well-being. Stay in contact with your health professionals and keep extra medication supplies. Other than that, here are our recommendations.
Yoga With Adrienne
Adrienne does Yoga, but she also offers meditation through her work. Take care of yourself.
Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Etc.
If you need support and can’t get to your regular meeting, there are online meetings where you can choose to show your face via video, or just do voice. Get the support you need.
Stay In Touch With Friends/Family
Call, text, and FaceTime your friends and family. Pick one person to contact every day to keep your social network alive. Even write letters.
Physical Health
Hopefully, you have a few pieces of equipment at home you can use, like a yoga mat, some free weights, etc. But, if you don’t – don’t worry! Just keep moving.
Darebee Workout Plans
Sort through various workout plans by the area of your body you want to work on, the intensity, and more.
POPSUGAR Workouts
If you want a YouTube led workout, this video series offers Zumba, Pilates, and many other types of exercises of varying lengths.
Check-In With Your Local Gym
While they can’t host classes, many local gyms are finding ways to stream workouts through YouTube, Vimeo, Zoom, Facebook, and other platforms. Check with them to find ways to tune in with your friends through a local business!
Cooking
Many restaurants are closed. While we encourage you to help them stay in business by patronizing their drive-through or drive-up service while limiting contact, it’s important to keep up your health by cooking at home too.
Dinner In 20
If you’re just starting with cooking again, check out the Dinner In 20 section of Serious Eats. It’s organized into Pasta, Pizza, Chicken, Beef/Pork/Lamb, Fish, Soup/Stew, Sandwiches, Salads/Veggies, Desserts.
New Drinks To Try
Try these drinks – in moderation – to keep your tongue interested.
Kids
If you have kids at home who aren’t able to attend school, this may be an especially stressful time. There are lots of resources out there. We first recommend you get in touch with your child’s school and teacher, as they are able to offer specific resources and advice. But, if you’re on your own or just need something extra during the COVID-19 crisis, check these out.
Online Learning
Duolingo
Make the most out of staying at home by using Duolingo for free. This page has tips on how to help your at-home learners take advantage of Duolingo’s language learning app and website.
Khan Academy Kids
Fun, free, educational program for kids from 2-7 years old. Khan Academy has been teaching the world for free since 2005.
Scholastic Resources
Scholastic has free learning opportunities for students to complete on their own, with parents, or with teachers. Check it out.
Varsity Tutors
Keep kids engaged and learning with free K-12 School Days, and interest based Summer Camp programs. Free Learnng Tools also include practice tests.
PBS Newsletter With Daily Activities
Sign up for a daily newsletter from PBS with activities to do with your kids.
San Diego Zoo
Read, watch videos, learn fun facts, and more at the San Diego Zoo!
Yellowstone National Park
Get a virtual tour of one of the United States’ most famous National Parks!
Go To Mars
Go to Mars with NASA.
Exercise
Cosmic Kids Yoga
Teach Jamie is a YouTube Yoga instructor for kids. She puts out lots of different types of videos, with many popular kids characters like Frozen, Trolls, Minecraft, etc.
The Learning Station
If you have really little kids, The Learning Station is a great way to get them moving with fun songs.
15 DIY Teepees and Play Tents
Give your little one a place to adventure with these easy-to-make teepees and tents.
Learn
You must remember to grow yourself during this time. Whether you’re able to work or not, it can be tempting to just watch the news constantly and drive yourself crazy, or tune everything out on the other extreme and watch The Office on loop on Netflix. Learn something during this time and you’ll never regret it.
Read
Cambridge University Press
700 textbooks, published and currently available on Cambridge Core are now available for free until May 2020 in HTML format.
Challenge: Read Your Books
This challenge isn’t just about physical books.! Maybe you have a bunch of audiobooks downloaded but unlistened to. Or maybe your kindle library is bursting at the seams. Even include your kids in the challenge. This site has a printable tracker to use too.
Explore
United States National Parks Service via Google
Explore the national parks. Virtually. Awww yeah.
The Louvre
See all of the art and culture you can handle in Paris, France.
The Great Wall of China
Why not visit the biggest wall in the world in your free time?
Listen / Watch
New York Met Opera
Opera live-streamed every night at 6:30 PM Central Time, and available for 20 hours thereafter.
Seattle Symphony
Broadcast times will be updated soon, but should be able to be listened to via Facebook and YouTube.
Streaming / Terrestrial TV
I’m sure you all have access to whichever streaming service you prefer. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and all the major networks. Use this as a last resort – remember to expand your mind.
Online Classes
Free Ivy League Online Courses
As of March 18, 2020, Ivy League Schools are offering 496 online classes. They are organized through ClassCentral. Some are self-paced, others start at specific times. Sort by subject, language, and whether they offer a certificate at the end.
Khan Academy
The gold standard of online learning, Khan Academy has been around since 2005, trying to teach the world anything they want for free.
The Odin Project
Want to transition into web development? The Odin Project provides a full-stack, free curriculum online.
PluralSight
PluralSight helps organizations build tech skills at scale, and they’re offering free access to their personal classes in April 2020.
freeCodeCamp.org
Since 2014, more than 40,000 freeCodeCamp.org graduates have gotten jobs at tech companies.
Automate The Boring Stuff With Python
Learn how to talk to computers and get them to do things that normally would take you hours or days with Python.
Play
You may not feel very jovial, but if you have loved ones in your home, spend time playing with them. Whether they’re children or adults, find a board game, video game, or cards you can enjoy together.
Music
Girls’ Night In Spotify Playlist
Perfect Spotify playlist if you have a free account.
Free Online Games
We know you may have a vault of favorite purchased Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation games, but if you’re looking for something traditional, these may be up your alley. And free.
Girls’ Night In
This is a list of various online games available to play alone or with friends, including Codenames, Catan, Club Penguin, Untitled Goose Game, and more.
Online Chess
The traditional game you know and love, just online against a computer or human competitors.
Online Battleship
Play battleship against a computer, or against a friend by sending them a simple link.
Backgammon, Checkers, Mahjong, etc.
Basically every traditional game, but online vs. a computer
Board / Tabletop Games
Grab the games you already have in your closet and give them a try! If not, call up your local game store and give them some love.