This part of the website is an attempt to provide ideas to help people pass time if they are self-isolating or have children at home etc.
For parents with children at home here are some ideas for on-line entertainment and learning. And the list includes plenty for adults as well with audio-books, visits & tours, exercise and learning:
- The South Downs Learning Zone, although designed for educators, is a user-friendly site packed with downloadable resources on everything from wildlife to woodlands. Why not spend a couple of hours learning about the natural world and doing one of the fun indoor activities?
- The Twinkl Home Learning Hub may also be of interest: qualified teachers upload new lessons and activity ideas to help you get involved with learning and create a new routine
- The Buriton Heritage Bank holds lots of interesting information about life in the parish in years gone by and is well worth dipping into via: www.buriton.org.uk and http://buriton.org.uk/history/
- And, if you’d like to contribute to a ‘Time Capsule for the Future’ by jotting down some ‘lockdown’ stories and feelings, click here.
- If you want to reduce screen time, audio-book service Audible has lots of free stories available, which can all be streamed from a laptop or smartphone while you're doing other things. Lots for kids, too.
- Hampshire County Council is sharing a free e-book about the virus for parents and carers to read with younger children to help them understand the situation and the rules they must follow to stay safe.
- And the County’s Library Service is now providing free access to its digital library via this link.
- Buriton’s monthly Film provider (Moviola) is sharing a different film to watch each week (with an opportunity for online chit-chat afterwards). Click here for more information.
- Although the Hampshire Record Office is closed, they have set up an online service so that people can enjoy local archive film footage spanning from the 1910s to the 1970s. Clips are being shared at 9am daily via their YouTube channel and also on their Facebook page (HampshireArchives) and their @HantsArchives Twitter feed. Might be worth a look?
- Apps like Duolingo allow you to spend just a few minutes a day learning a foreign language, in a fun game style. It’s free and there’s even an app for kids.
- Travelling may not be possible at the moment but you can still visit places on-line. Some of the world's greatest museums offer free online tours, including the British Museum, The Louvre, The Smithsonian and The Vatican, while Look Up London allows you to take to the streets on a virtual guided walk through a selection of historic London locations with a Blue Badge Guide.
- Now may be the time to consider an online fitness class? There are plenty of free options including The Body Coach TV, fitness coach Joe Wicks’s YouTube channel: full of free exercises you can do at home, with no equipment needed.
- And the YouTube channel Yoga With Adriene is another source of free videos for all levels.
- If you are working from home during the lockdown, using some sort of temporary workstation, you may find that your shoulders, neck or back are hurting after long days spent sitting awkwardly. A guide to some useful exercises is attached as a pdf document at the bottom of this page
- This collection of boredom busting resources might also be of interest to help keep households entertained and educated
- If you are spending more time than usual in your garden and would like a wide range of helpful tips about starting to grow your own fruit and veg, you might find this website particularly helpful. It has special sections on: 1. How to create your veg bed; 2. Getting some spuds on the go; 3. Broad beans; 4. Know your onions!; 5. Dwarf runner beans, beans and carrots; 6. You say tomatoes, I say terrific!; 7. Salad crops; 8. It’s courgettes and squashes today!; 9. Winter veg – why you need a PLAN; 10. Today it’s chard, spinach and kale!; 11. What about some fabulous fruit?; 12. Herb heaven
- And the South Downs National Park Authority’s interactive map of local food and drink suppliers may also be of interest: it’s assisting local businesses and helping people find sources of supplies without having to travel far from home.
- Videocalls are an easy way to stay in touch and to hold meetings during the lockdown. There are many videoconferencing platforms available but ‘Zoom’ seems to be popular at the moment. Some guidance notes about Zoom have been produced for the community and are attached as a pdf document at the bottom of this page. Age UK has also developed some guidance on using video calling which might be helpful for anyone who hasn’t used a video call device before.
- Sadly, coronavirus related scams are on the rise as fraudsters seek to take advantage of the uncertainty during this difficult period. Some reminders of common scams to be aware of, and advice on how to avoid them so as to stay safe, are attached as a pdf document at the bottom of this page with other details available here.
As time passes it may also be possible to organise some on-line activities. Details would be posted here. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions, send an email to info@buriton.info
