Keeping busy in the house

Sunderland Libraries

The libraries service is providing access to a wide variety of e-books, to get access check out www.sunderland.gov.uk/libraries

Media Savvy

The organisation is providing adult learning classes and live streaming to keep our minds busy and improve our skills and knowledge. Visit their Facebook page www.facebook.com/mediasavvycic for further information.

Active Families NE

This organisation is providing fun and active sessions for toddler, children, parents and carers. To join the fun, log onto their Facebook and message them for details - www.facebook.com/activefamiliesne

Bethany City Church

The church is providing virtual support to people living in Sunderland, such as virtual coffee mornings. See their website or Facebook page for further information - https://en-gb.facebook.com/bethanycitychurch/

Durham Wildlife Trust

The trust has launched a new initiative to keep people entertained. Wild@Home - www.facebook.com/DurhamWildlifeTrust

Offer support on keeping in touch online - www.bt.com/skillsfortomorrow

Change4life Sunderland

The Change4Life team are sharing great tips on keeping active and keeping children entertained. Check them out at www.facebook.com/Change4LifeSunderland

The FREE Smart Recipe app from Change4Life is an easy way of helping you and your family eat tasty, healthier meals the whole family will love. We all love tasty food but it's not always easy to cook for the family if you're short on time and the kids are picky.

Remembering ingredients and keeping track of portion sizes can be a hassle. But don't worry, the Meal Mixer will take care of that for you!

Download the app today and use it to:

Search over 160 easy recipes across breakfast, lunch, evening meals, puds and snacks
Plan delicious, healthy recipes for the day, with one click of our simple Meal Mixer tool
Easy to follow instructions and all the ingredients you'll need to feed a family of 4 for around £5
Get loads of tips, advice and support so you and your family can make healthier meal choices

The App is available for android and Apple devices:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.nhs.befoodsmart&hl=en_GB

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/change4life-smart-recipes/id583000807

Life Kitchen

Online cooking classes for to you to enjoy and try out. See their Facebook page for further details - www.facebook.com/LifeKitchenCookery

MBC Arts & Wellbeing CIC

Provide adult learning in arts, crafts and wellbeing. See www.facebook.com/mbcartswellbeing

Sunderland North Community Business Centre

The organisation is keeping the community informed of, and providing links to online activities and resources to keep children and young people active and supported through their SNCBC Youth and Play Facebook page https://en-gb.facebook.com/SNCBCYOUTHANDPLAY/

Find My Past - Family and Local History

You may have been intending to look into your family tree for some time but never got around to it. Now is the time to make a start.

The first step is easy - you need a library membership, to get your digital membership go to www.sunderland.gov.uk/libraries and click 'Join your library!' and complete the form, making sure to set a secure PIN.

Discover your family's story using a selection of free resources, Find My Past enables you to access thousands of records to investigate your historic past, who doesn't have any skeletons in the cupboard?

You can search through Census, electoral, parish and military records to get you started on the way to bringing your family history to life.

To access Find My Past for free you must be a library member and email enquiry.desk@sunderland.gov.uk to obtain access details.

You can also sign up and download the magazine 'Who Do You Think You are?' to help you further, just follow the library website for eMagazines, its all free!

Digital reading

Reading has been shown to help with anxiety by lowering the heart rate and relieving stress, reading is a therapeutic form of escape and stimulates the brain.

To access free reading resources, visit www.sunderland.gov.uk/libraries and join your library if you haven't already. Click 'Join your library!' And complete the form, making sure to set a secure PIN.

Use the links to access BorrowBox and RBdigital. You can download both apps to your smartphone, tablet or Kindle Fire from the App Store or Google Play and create your own personal account from the within the apps.

Browse the titles and download within seconds. You can choose from eMagazines from RBdigital and select from over a 1000 eBooks titles and over 750 eAudiobooks from BorrowBox, all for free. Create your own personal library.

If you're exploring your family history, try Who Do You Think You Are, from RBdigital, a magazine full of genealogy hints or tips. Try the BBC Good Food magazine or Good Housekeeping for delicious recipes to make those store cupboard staples go further. Or learn a new hobby with Amateur Photographer, Amateur Gardening or Computer Active.

Indulge yourself with Hello magazine or Women's Own or maintain your general health by downloading Mens Health or Womens Health magazine. You can save a fortune, build your own magazine library and receive an email when new editions are published.

Online learning for children

Children can keep their mind active and creative and stave off boredom using online resources such as our subscription Ziptales. visit www.sunderland.gov.uk/libraries and click 'Digital Resources'. Follow the link to the Ziptales website and enter your library card number to enter.

For toddlers you can make your own Rhyme Time session using the Wind the Bobbin app, all free to download.

There are plenty of children's ebooks too, all the favourite authors, including plenty of David Walliams, Jacqueline Wilson and all the Harry Potters!

Your library card number is the long number beginning with an 'L' on your library card or the 6 digit number given when you join online.

Here's what various celebrities are offering you and your children for free daily to help with their education while schools are closed:

9am - PE with Joe Wicks https://youtu.be/6v-a_dpwhro

10am - Maths with Carol Vorderman www.themathsfactor.com

11am - English with David Walliams https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/

12noon - Lunch (cooking with Jamie Oliver) https://www.jamieoliver.com/feat.../category/get-kids-cooking/

1pm - Music with Myleene Klass https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQh2wgJ5tOrixYBn6jFXsXQ

1.30pm - Dance with Darcey Bussel https://twitter.com/diversedance.../status/1241098264373592065

2pm - History with Dan Snow (free for 30-days) https://tv.historyhit.com/signup/package

4pm - Home Economics with Theo Michaels (Mon/Wed/Fri) https://www.instagram.com/theocooks

Non-daily events include:

Science with Professor Brian Cox, Robin Ince & Guests https://cosmicshambles.com/stayathome/upcoming-schedule

9.30am - Wednesdays - Geography with Steve Backshall https://twitter.com/SteveBacksha.../status/1242058846941712385

And something for parents - Free access for everyone to join Danny Clarke's Fast Start programme free for 30 days (for network marketing professionals only) www.jointhevip.co.uk/30days