What to Do During the Coronavirus Quarantine or Social Distancing

Let's face it, if we need to do Coronavirus quarantining or self-isolation, we can figure out how to be creative if we run out of toilet paper. After all, humans have lived for tens of thousands of years without toilet paper!

But as such a social society, trying to entertain our minds may be more of a challenge.  Out here in the remote high desert, we don't have many cultural opportunities. But I'm starting to see a silver lining in that staying at home may allow us some cultural opportunities we didn't have time to look into before or that simply weren't offered before (see opera near the bottom). Our kids, Desert Boy (age 12) and Desert Girl (age 10), would probably be fine binge watching various programs and playing video games. But my husband and I want them to make the most of this time of social distancing and when schools are closed and/or moved to online forums.

So we've made a list of some of the things to do during this time. I've also been looking for some new opportunities, and my, there are some fantastic ones.

So make sure you've got a good Internet connection (there are a few things on this list that don't require one, thank goodness, as ours isn't all that good), and dive right in!

 4-H projects (https://shop4-h.org/) - 4-H is the largest youth organization in the U.S., and it covers a whole range of curriculum including aerospace, small engines, electricity, entomology, and so much more! In addition to the national curriculum, we've also found great state curriculums available online.


History movies (e.g., Ken Burns) - We're not going to totally avoid movies. Desert Boy is studying Civil War in his history class right now, so why not look at it in more detail? There are several other series that look very interesting.


Online museum visits (https://www.travelandleisure.com/…/museums-with-virtual-tou…) I'm looking forward to visiting some places I might not ever get to go. And maybe checking them out virtually will make us want to add them to our travel list when all the chaos subsides.

Writing short stories (NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program) The kids both love to write, and NaNoWriMo (from National Novel Writing Month) has a great free program.

Coding (Codecademy.com) Desert Boy is very much into coding and suggested this. There is free content, then you can try the Pro content for 7 days free, then it's $20 a month. He wants to learn Python, so I told him that if he is serious about this, I will pay, but he will have to commit to learn it. 

Skype a Scientist - topics include Whales, fossils, glaciers, bats, and more, plus it's free

Reading (https://time.com/100-best-young-adult-books/ for suggestions)  We have some books around the house that they haven't read yet. The apps Overdrive and Libby let us take out library books (ebooks and audiobooks) for free. And Desert Boy also has a Sora account to take out school library books for free. He reads 1-2 books a week on that.

Cooking lessons My husband and I will continue working through this period (my husband on the ranch, where business never stops, and me a mix of telework and field work), so we think the kids should make more of the family meals. They like to cook anyway, so we will be encouraging them to try out some new recipes. They've enjoyed various cooking shows in the past such as Junior Master Chef.

Woodcarving One of Desert Boy's desires. Not sure yet how we're going to accomplish this! Developing hobbies will be a great thing to do during this time at home.

Sewing One of Desert Girl's desires. She's been getting lessons from two super nice community members. She also has the 4-H curriculum guide and a sewing machine I barely know how to use. Hopefully we can figure this out!

Starting our garden (indoors and out) - Yep, it's time! The kids will be a lot more involved this year.

Work on Tree House The one they built last year needs some work. Just no falling out of it is allowed!

Make short movies The kids recently participated in a student short film contest (because I made them, but they ended up loving it, like I thought they would). Now they're ready to make more movies. They are just using cell phones to shoot the footage, then simple movie editing programs like iMovie. It's a fun skill to learn that can actually be added to a resume later in life.


Travel to the national parks with Rock the Park Jack and Colton visit lots of national parks and wild areas and share their adventures on this fun show. Airs weekends on ABC, and also it's on YouTube. Also another great thing to watch to start making a bucket list of places to visit in the future. p.s. Check out our high desert gem, Great Basin National Park!

For more mature students and adults:

Metropolitan Opera They've cancelled live performances through March 30, but starting March 16 will be streaming a past performance every day! Check out the link for the schedule, which includes some biggies, like Bizet's Carmen and Puccini's La Boheme.

Open Yale Courses various free college course lectures, including Epidemics in Western Society since 1600

 I imagine this list will be expanding fast as more places make content available. What would you add? Feel free to leave a comment or email me at desertsurvivor @ live.com.

Thanks, and best wishes for getting through the Coronavirus well!

Remember, someday you'll be able to tell your Grandchildren, I survived the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. :)