Boredom Busters

UK parliament - Politics, history, citizenship, etc. Written for children and young people, but lots of very interesting information, including how laws are made.

Historical Association - Learn about 20th Century history

13.8 billion years of history, online - FREE

Music

*Check the location/time zones of live-streamed concerts to calculate the UK start time. Time Zone calculator

BBC Classical music content - Culture in lockdown

Rotterdam Philharmonic musicians team up online to play Beethoven's 9th

Concerts online - Various concerts held without audiences to stream online for people having to stay at home - list of live streaming concerts

Free Opera - Dates confirmed until the end of March. Check the website via the link for future dates to be added

Metropolitan Opera online, nightly streams

Free classical orchestras - Live streaming performances

Free Chamber music - Live streaming

Berlin Philharmonic orchestra - Live streams and performance archive

Announcements/lists - of worldwide performances being streamed

Livestream concerts list - artists and bands

Bands and artists - streaming performances

Full-length concerts - watch online free

Celebrities performing on social media

Facebook Virtual Choir - Duet with a choir online

Chris Martin (Coldplay) streaming from his home - YouTube

Arts and culture

Parlia - The encyclopedia of opinion - mapping the worlds thinking

Adobe Summit - online

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals - streaming free online

J P Brewer - View classic paintings online

Walter's Museum - houses the highest artistic achievements from nearly every corner of the world. View some of the past, present, and future exhibitions

Rob Biddulph an artist posting draw-along videos via Twitter here

Google Arts and Culture - Learn something new every day!

British Museum - Free videos

BBC Radio 4 - The History of the world - podcasts

50 things that made modern economy - Podcasts

Marquee TV - streaming arts and culture

Teaching history - 100 objects from museums across the UK with resources, information and teaching ideas to inspire your students’ interest in history

Exploration of the day - Artistic website connecting people from around the world

Drama Online - Online theatrical performances

Black History - Telling the story of the black British experience

Literature online

Mindful poetry moments

Kindle Unlimited - 2 months free access

Guttenberg - Download free books, e.g. Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Frankenstein, etc.

Listening books.org - For people with Parkinson's Disease, visual impairment, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, mental health difficulty or learning difficulty such as Dyslexia, which impacts the ability to read or hold a book

Solomon Kingsnorth - Books in PDF, Word and audiobook format - Alice in Wonderland / Wind in the Willows / The Railway Children / The Jungle Book / Peter Pan / Black Beauty

Read great literature online - Free Ebooks, poetry, classic literature

Read Free Literature - also includes study guides

50,000 free ebooks - arranged by genre

Open Library Access - Free

Audible - Free for this period - Available in 6 languages

Learn a new skill or develop a current one!

A tutorial resource guide to photography and editing - Adobe

Learn to play the piano - Free Apple App

Teach yourself to draw - Advice / Where to start? / Drawing tricks! / Sketching-basics / How to get the proportions right - faces / How to draw faces

Free, 3 months lessons online - Guitar, Fender, Base, Ukulele

Teach yourself to sing - 14-day free trial

Music lessons with Myleen Klass - YouTube / Instagram

Teach yourself to dance - BBC ballet classes / Tap dance / Salsa dance / Dance Physique (dance fitness) / Take dance classes with Oti Mabuse - Facebook / Learn to Body-Beat with daily classes online

Tai-Chi - the moves and the method - BrightEducation

Craft projects - Sew, Knit, Crotchet, quilt, and fun for the family too!

How to grow food at home from food scraps - DIY and crafts

Improve your memory - Click the link and scroll down for a few free videos in this series

Learn to touch-type - Free access

Get creative with Digital Making at Home - New videos each week for 3 levels of experience

Miscellaneous & entertainment

Free Digital radio for over 70's

Great British Singalong - Radio stations unite

Daily Kitchen Live - From the makers of the Saturday Kitchen show

BBC Sport - Shares the greatest sporting moments

A Question of Sport - on BBC Radio 5 live

Football on the BBC - updated regularly

Radio 4 - Comedy podcast, 'Now Wash Your Hands' featuring guest comedians

Free coloring/relaxation images - To download and print

Free Photography Challenge - YouTube

Take part in making a Coronavirus time capsule / Make your own Time Capsule - Available in other languages / More ideas here

Zooniverse - Digital volunteering opportunities

Life Story Hub - Inspiring creative communication with the young and old using the arts

NASA's complete media library - now available online

Expeditions App- Free virtual Reality Augmentation app for all ages, to take virtual trips around the world to hundreds of destinations.

Podcasts - Free to download

Geopolitics - podcast

A HUGE list of fitness classes - taking place online

Musicals, shows, and movies
- 10 best Broadway shows to watch online free

- 76 free Musicals and theatre productions streaming online

- Wind in The Willows - How to stream the West End performance free

- National Theatre - Streaming shows on YouTube every Thursday

- Open Culture - 1,150 Free movies to watch online

Jamie Oliver - helps the nation with easy recipes, cooking tips, and ingenious hacks whilst many of us are staying at home. Jamie: Keep Cooking and Carry On starts Monday at 5:30pm on Channel 4

James Dyson Foundation - Challenge cards - how many can you complete?

Fun, accessible, activity and game Apps for people with disabilities

Board Game Arena - Play board games online free

Active Bingo Cards - ideas for movement breaks

Roll20 - Build your own game - or play games with others online

Latest free stuff - UK site (if you are outside of the UK, google 'latest free stuff' and add your location)

Holiday Pirates - Updated Coronavirus information on travel

Staying Put: A guide to planning for, arranging and funding care in your own home in old age including how new technology can help improve your lifestyle (£2.99)

Anxiety/Mental health/Loneliness

WeMeditate - Live streamed, guided meditation sessions

Learn4MentalHealth - How to stay calm

10 Minute Mind - Free trial - mindfulness

Tips for coping at home - Professor Susan Young

Free guide for adults with ADHD - understand it to manage it. Develop daily strategies that enable you to live successfully and play to your strengths

How to reduce high anxiety now: Thinking about past pleasant memories may help some people with immediate stress (article)

Free, daily meditation sessions online

WHO guidance to support mental health during this time

MIND coronavirus and your wellbeing

9 ways to stay positive during this period

Blog from Anna Mathur, Psychotherapist - dealing with Coronavirus anxiety

Sensory stuck at home - support group on Facebook for adults

Telephone befriending service for the elderly

Living life to the full - Free online course to change your life for the better

Mindfulness and meditation

Autistic Health and Wellbeing - a space for autistic people to share the things that they have found helpful and healing

5 Ways to wellbeing

Self-Help Resources for those with mental health conditions

Bereavement counseling

Get Sober - Free, online support for anyone struggling with alcohol addiction and staying sober during this period

After Cancer - advice, and support

Jan takes you into the woods to connect with nature during this period and to help with wellbeing

Prayer resources

*Check the location/time zones of live-streamed masses to calculate the UK start time. Time Zone calculator

Spiritualism - English version

Spiritualism - Spanish version

Catholic Mass - streamed online

Masses from around the world - streamed online

God stories today - telling the stories of ordinary people - YouTube

Jehovah's Witnesses - Online readings, videos, bible

ADHD and Me, by Claire Ryan, ChatterPack. Find out More

A handbook designed to help children and young people figure out what ADHD means to them as a unique individual.

Written in an ADHD-friendly format, the book includes tips and strategies to help children, young people and the adults in their lives to better understand their ADHD.

ADHD and Me is now available as a digital download! Find out more

Alternative lists of free resources, support, advice, and information for families - please do share the links for these with others/family/friends

School closures: Resources, information, and activities for families to support Home Learning

Support, advice, and resources for families of children with: speech, language, and communication needs & special educational needs and disabilities

Page updated

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