Good Ideas for Coronavirus Lockdown

It can be dismal to be sheltering in place. Or it can be an opportunity. Here’s a compendium of good ideas when in lockdown, to help during this difficult and unsettling time.

Getting Food to the Table

Grocery shopping and cooking can be a challenge when you’re trying to avoid the grocery store. Here are some good strategies.

• Think like a yacht chef. Yacht chefs deal with limited storage space and there are no supermarkets at sea. They know great shopping and cooking strategies for a lockdown, according to Food & Wine magazine.
• What to do when you’re out of an ingredient? Make substitutions to avoid a trip to the grocery store, The New York Times says.
• When you do have to shop, follow these coronavirus safety tips from the Washington Post and NPR. Plus, check out my ideas of what to stock and recipes to try.

Entertainment During the Lockdown

Stuck at home; no vacation plans. Here are creative ways to keep you entertained.

• Take an armchair vacation. The popular TV travel host Rick Steves is offering every episode of his PBS show for free on RickSteves.com.

• Plan a delightful staycation by creating a hotel atmosphere in your home and enjoying vacation activities. The Washington Post shows how.
• From an online cocktail hour to picnicking with the kids on the carpet, the Guardian offers fun ways to survive the lockdown.
• Get out your color pencils! The Smithsonian Magazine reports that 100 museums are offering free coloring pages of their collections as part of an annual “Color Our Collections” campaign.
• From virtual museum tours to art podcasts, Fast Company provides links to give you your cultural fix–for free.

Good Ideas for the Grandkids

Here are some ways to entertain and educate the kids. If you’re locked down in separate residences, as we are, pass these resources on to their parents.

• Audible is making stories free for children for as long as schools are closed. Kids can stream from desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Stories include Stephen Fry’s narration of the first Harry Potter title:  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. 
• Time magazine’s Time for Kids is making its digital library free for the rest of the school year.
• Scholastic offers a free, Learn at Home website, featuring day-by-day projects to keep kids thinking, learning and growing. Each day’s plan provides enough material for about three hours of learning a day, including research projects and virtual field trips.
• Commonsense Media has links to free online events and activities for kids at home.
• And finally, from The New York Times, parents can learn how to introduce independent play to teach kids skills that will give them lifelong benefits, while freeing the adults to work at home.

Health and Safety

• From Johns Hopkins Medicine, Practice wellness while you stay at home, including how you greet the day, simple exercising, and eating well.
• From Zora, learn how to advocate for yourself during an emergency room visit, including what to pack for a go-bag to the hospital.
• And finally, from InStyle magazine, eight ways to support healthcare workers right now—from donating money and supplies, to simply saying thank you.