As COVID-19 has us all planning to stay in and keep to ourselves for the next few weeks, many people are wondering how to fill their time. Rather than looking at the two weeks from the perspective of what you can’t do, why not see it as an opportunity for what you can do? IS there a skill you’ve always wanted to learn? YouTube is a wealth of information on every possible subject, from beginner to expert. Here are 10 things you can start learning today. Imagine how far you will have come in two weeks from now!
- Play guitar
- You’re probably thinking I’m insane for saying you can teach yourself guitar with YouTube, but if you have any interest in learning (and have a guitar at home), check out Marty Music. Marty Schwartz has a huge collection of tutorials for free, starting right from beginner, and they’re all songs that you know and love. You can pick up your guitar for the first time today and be playing some Pearl Jam tomorrow.
- Knit/ crochet
- Sheep & Stitch ‘s channel has knitting tutorials for all the skills you’ll need to be whipping up garments in no time. Find her here.
- Teresa over at Debrosse is the master of crochet. Her tutorials are clear and all of her projects are simple and modern. Find her here.
- Hand lettering / art journaling
- Create a capsule wardrobe
- The basic framework for a capsule wardrobe (which is a very small collection of essentials that can be mixed and matched with each other) can be found at Net a Porter’s site here so you can get the general idea. YouTube has tons of capsule wardrobe videos, but they vary wildly depending on your style. Check them out here.
- Basic home repairs
- I’m probably dating myself here, but when I was a kid I loved watching This Old House when I was at my grandparent’s house and they only had basic tv channels. Thank goodness for PBS, amiright? They have how to videos for everything, from repairing an appliance to a full kitchen upgrade. See them all here.
- How to code
- Code Academy offers both free courses and paid courses on numerous programming languages. See their catalog here.
- CodeMonkey is a similar site that’s made for kids in grades K-8. Your kids may already be familiar with it, since they offer a fun Hour of Code program that a lot of schools use every year. See their courses here.
- History
- Oversimplified History, at first glance, might not look like it’s going to dig deep into the major events in history, but their videos have some of the best explanations of events I’ve heard. Check it out here.
- Baking & decorating
- There are TONS of baking and decorating tutorials to choose from. If you’re looking for something more basic, I like Baking with Ryan (he’s a teen who creates whimsical cakes, and his IG decorating videos are addictive) or if you’re looking for something complicated yet fun, try Rosanna at Nerdy Nummies.
- Foreign language
- OpenCulture has a whopping 48 languages you can learn for free, with formats ranging from YouTube to podcasts to spotify. Textbooks are available in pdf format. Find them here.
- Cultural appreciation – Ok, so these two items aren’t on YouTube, but they’re online and super cool.
If you try any of these out, please let me know what you think. Happy learning!
More in our 14 Day Edit series:
Looking for more activities to do from home? Check out these exciting virtual field trips to zoos, museums, and more!
Need something to listen to? Here are some of my favorite podcasts for the entire family.
Want something to watch? Here are some very bingeworthy shows to stream.
