Free Online Activities For During Lockdown
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Lockdown has seriously changed the way we interact with others, with lots of family time now being online via video chat. Today I want to do a quick round-up of some of my personal favourite online activities I have found and enjoyed participating in with my friends and family.
Free Online Activities For During Lockdown
Of course, everyone has heard of PE with Joe and David Walliams reading children’s books and these are of course amazing. However, I wanted to share a few of the less well-known activities going on during lockdown – some of which are run by small businesses who are doing their best to continue from home.
This list isn’t exhaustive as there is just so much going on right now but I wanted to share a few of my personal favourite activities and will update this list as I find more.
Quizzing
I love quizzing and one thing I am really missing is my monthly pub quiz at my favourite bar. However, it has been nice getting together with friends online to do some quizzes as well as being home enough to catch ALL the daytime quiz shows too.
Jay’s Virtual Pub Quiz
Jay’s Virtual Pub Quiz is probably one of the most well known currently running on Facebook and Youtube. As lockdown has continued he has increased the number of quizzes each week but the main event is still the weekly live pub quiz starting from around 7.50 pm on Thursday’s.
Sporcle
Sporcle say they have the worlds largest collection of trivia and quizzes, and honestly, I don’t think they’re wrong!
I’ve had the Sporcle app on my phone for many years now and as an avid quizzer, I feel I’ve more than got my money’s worth on the £2.99 it cost. If you love quizzing, either alone or with your family and friends, this is the website for you, and unlike the app it’s free to use.
Perfect if it’s your turn to host the family quiz night and you need some questions in a hurry or if you fancy testing your ability to name every original Pokemon or listing the 10 smallest European countries.
Eventures
Eventures are a small business that were unable to operate due to COVID 19. They have instead turned their talents to producing quizzes, many of which have been themed. I like that they post the questions and answers on the page as they go along meaning those of us with a dodgy wifi connection don’t miss too much.
Also on occasions where I’ve missed a quiz, it’s been nice to scroll through the questions at my own pace the next day.
Family Fun
Cosmic Kids Yoga
My daughter Aubrey, aged 2, has recently discovered yoga thanks to Hey Duggee and his Yoga Badge. As she seems to enjoy it this is something I wanted to encourage, so we’ve gradually been working our way through some of the cosmic kid’s yoga classes.
They are easy to follow, fun and often feature well-known kids movies such as Harry Potter, Disney and Spiderman. If you’re finding P.E with Joe a bit intense, you may enjoy this much calmer approach to children’s exercise.
Harry Potter Escape Room
I love an escape room and having done a few with friends in real life I was keen to give this one ago. It’s not the easiest, so kids may need the help of an adult along the way, but it’s a great way to while away some time, do some critical thinking and Escape into the magic of the wizarding world.
Lots of the escape rooms I found online required payment, so I was thrilled to find this particular one was free.
Solitaired
For free, you can play as many solitaire games as you want online. Over 500 versions are available to choose from—you don’t need to download anything or register via email. The site loads quickly and has a mobile-friendly interface. Navigation is straightforward with the point-and-click system. In addition, each deck is beautifully designed! With these fun little classic games, you will improve your reasoning skills, memory, and processing speed.
In addition, each deck is beautifully designed! With these fun little classic games, you will improve your reasoning skills, memory, and processing speed.
Playing Cards
Playing cards offer a range of card games including checkers, cribbage and backgammon. You simply set up a room and send a link to your friends so you can play together. All moves the other player makes can be seen from your screen (although where only you need to see your cards they are only visible to you and no one else.
SolitaireBrain
To somewhat ease the boredom of being cooped at home, engaging in activities that stimulate the brain could be a great idea. With their educational card decks, learn the origins, history, and rules of solitaire along with more brain training games.
There is also a slightly less offensive version of Cards Against Humanity called Joking Hazard which relies on cartoons rather than phrases like the original. Not suitable for children (but a bit tame for my sense of humour) it was fun for a few rounds but we did get fed up quickly.
Skribbl
This online version of Pictionary is brilliant fun probably my favourite group activity tried online with my friends during lockdown. The player whose turn it is chooses from one of three words and then has 80 seconds to draw that word on a basic ‘paint’ style drawing board while other players try to guess the word in the chat function. When someone gets it right it says ‘bob guessed the word!’ so you can’t steal other players answers but the game still logs the answers and the scores as it goes. Brilliant fun for all ages.
Yoga & Dance with Mind Body Dance
Lisa runs regular dance and yoga classes from her Facebook page and has lots of videos on YouTube too. The classes include various dance styles and classes for children too.
Soliatire
The solitaire card game is played alone. Playing this game requires only 52 cards, so it’s perfect if you’re traveling alone or just bored and can’t sleep, or don’t have anybody else with you to play with. There is an excellent solitaire game available on the website Play Solitaire. Suitable for both children and adults, the game can be played full screen, keeps track of your stats, and is 100% free.
Adult Activities
Painting Classes with Elle Smith Art
I’ve followed Elle for quite some time, simply because I love her art. During lockdown shes been hosting live classes that teach you how to paint various animals in her style. The classes are quite long, around two hours, but they can be viewed again afterwards if you need to stop and start or catch up.
Cook along with Wagamama
If you’re missing you’re favourite restaurant foods, lockdown is the perfect time to learn to cook them. Wagamama is one of our favourite places to eat so it’s been fun trying out some of their recipes featured over on their Facebook page.
