Click on any of the underlined headings/links below to find out more. (last updated - 08/01/2021)
Hello everyone!
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of your messages, emails, and comments. It means the world to me to know how many people from all over the world are benefitting from this resource list.
ChatterPack is run on a voluntary basis in my *spare* (!) time to help share information and resources to those who need it. Have fun, explore the world from the safety of your home, and please stay safe.
Huge love to you all.
Claire Ryan
P.s. You can find my book, ADHD and Me - a guide for children and young people, at the end of this list - please do share the link with others who might be interested, and/or get in touch if you have any questions :)
Alternative lists of free resources including 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
- Register for support if you are a vulnerable person - Government website (England only)
- Free, worldwide App connecting isolated people - chat on the phone with others who are isolated at home - Quarantine App
Virtual tours, and live webcams
- NASA Live: - Watch the earth from space
- Crystal Bay webcam - Lamai, Koh Samui, Thailand
- Explore Venice - through multiple webcams
- Arctic Travel Experts created 'virtual lights over Lapland' tour
- Future Learn - Explore the architecture and history of Rome, walking around a 3D digital model of the ancient city, with this free online course.
- Explore a Roman fort
- Museums from around the world - Virtual, online tours
- Access to 500 Museums & Art Galleries - Free, online
Animals
- Gorilla Webcam - from the forest corridor
- Alligators - Swamp cam
- Edinburgh Zoo: Pandas / Tigers / Koalas /Penguins / Rock Hopper Penguin Cam
Explore the oceans (underwater cameras)
- Aquarium – Otters, sea lions, pirana, jellyfish, and many others.
Birds
- Nests: Decorah Eagles / Giant flying fox / Hummingbird
- Falcons - Cliff view / Great Horned Owls
Online learning
- Introduction to Engineering - YouTube videos
- Open Learn - exploring children's literacy
- Open Culture - 1,500 free courses from top Universities
- 450 Ivy League courses - you can take online FREE!
- Open Culture - learn 48 different languages online - FREE
- University of Alabama - Free online archaeology and Egyptology Uni courses (create an account to log on)
- Open Learn - Free, online courses, Open university
- Future Learn - Free, online courses including languages, health, coding, wellbeing, creative arts, etc.
-
BBC languages - Learn languages online free
- Speak English fast! - 15 free ESL lessons in advanced English
- FrenchTeacher.Net - Free French study packs
- Sociology courses - Free online study
- Creative courses - Free online study
- Cambridge University Press - ALL 700 textbooks are currently available FREE in HTML format
- Cambridge university - Higher education/Undergraduate courses and resources
- Royal institute - Christmas lectures. A series of lectures presenting scientific subjects to a general audience in an entertaining manner.
- Learn 10 useful things to say in...
- Milan Presse - French magazines available to download
- Periodic videos - Science-related YouTube videos
- Infobase databases and video streaming collections - Username: JCS_Distance and Password: learning to access:
- iDEA - An international programme that helps you develop/demonstrate your digital, enterprise and employability skills for free
- U3A - Online courses for mature students
- Blocky games - Games to help beginners learn computer programming skills
- Scratch - Beginners computer programming games/projects
- T.K.S.S.T - Smart videos for curious minds of all ages
-
Guidance, and Support for International Students during COVID-19
Geography, nature, and history
- Tutorful - Top Geography websites, YouTube videos, and resources
- Project Noah – Global site where you can view and share wildlife
- Seterra - Free world geography, online quizzes
- Online film festival - Resistance in the Rainforest
- Kent Wildlife association - Simple ideas you can do in the garden to help wildlife
- World games - Geography games
- Wild Science - Podcast
- 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
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
- Kindle Unlimited - 2 months free access
- Gutenburg - Download free books, e.g. Shakespear, 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
- 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
- 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 colouring/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?
- 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)
- Autistic Health and Wellbeing - a space for autistic people to share the things that they have found helpful and healing
- 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
- Support, advice, and resources for families of children with: speech, language, and communication needs & special educational needs and disabilities
Wow, this is a brilliant list!
Thanks so much :-)
Wow! I’m a secondary school teacher with an Autistic 12 yr old and active 4 yr old. This is an AMAZING resource, I’m truly astonished by the range and depth of activities and interests you’ve collated here. Truly inspiring and immensely helpful,not just in times of corona.
Thank you so very much.
Kirsty
Amazing list It will give me some things to do with my grandchildren via Zoom and screen sharing
Thank you
A great resource
Thank u for your amazing list of things to do so helpful
Excellent. You deserve praise for this work alone without your brilliant work as part of NHS. Take it easy and stay safe. I will forwarding this to my grandchildren now about 10am. They will love it. Pity it was not more widespread around.
An amazing resource .
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thanks for sharing this information!
Thanks so much for sharing these! There is something for everyone and I will enjoy so much every time I come back for a visit.
Just WOW!!!
Thank you so so much!!!
Hello form Denmark 😀
Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful list. It will mean a lot to so many people.
Thank you. What a wonderful list.
What a brilliant and comprehensive list, very supportive, thank you so much
Thanks! An absolute Godsend!
Highly appreciated.
thank you so much for compiling and sharing this, all my friends have found it so helpful!
Thanks for making it available and FREE to all.
FREE math resources for Prek-6th grade at www.origoeducation.com :) I didn’t see that you had a list for math so thought I would help out! Thank you for this list of resources that you put together!
How do you find the time to do this? It’s a fantastic and comprehensive list that you update regularly. And at 8pm I’ll be leaning out of my window clapping you!
Thank you so much! What a wonderful resource, so much to learn and enjoy. Best wishes, Maxine.
This is a fantastic link which I have shared with family in Singapore and USA plus friends and family in the UK
This is just fantastic I have shared with many people. Just brilliant at a time like this . THANK YOU SO MUCH
Absolutely blummin’ amazing resource.
This is amazing. The resource I have been looking for for a long time. x
i didn’t realise we could thank you directly. Thank you so much for putting this together. you are a star.
Amazing selection on offer…will make Lockdown a real challenge as there won’t be enough hours in the day to dip into a fraction of these stimulating treats. Thank you for your great effort to help during this stressful time.
These are truly wonderful! So grateful to you for compiling this list, and for the great work you do.
Thank you so much for all these resources. I have shared them around the world!
Thank you so much for this resource, have shared with work colleagues and friends and family and they are all saying fantastic. This plus your work with the NHS says you are an amazing person. Much love to you and your family.
My sister when I told her about the live stream links from zoos was that of a 5yr old – very excited :)
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