Stay At Home
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Here are some suggestions for apps and resources that can help you manage your mental health and wellbeing during self-isolation times and beyond. Let us know if you have any recommendations we can add to this list.
Keep in contact
Pick up the phone and call your friends and family. Use these apps to set up group calls with friends and family and get a chance to speak face to face while staying in your own homes. It is so important to remain sociable during social distancing.
Big White Wall
Recommended by Martha Warren
The Big White Wall is an amazing FREE resource that allows you to speak to someone whenever you need it.
Insight Timer
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
This amazing app, with several soundtracks for sleep and stress-relief, guided meditation and Teacher classes to support stress, sleep, and well-being; is available for free! A premium version is available which allows more features (you can get by with the free one just fine).
Headspace
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
This is a free app that focuses on wellbeing, breathing techniques and distractions. It can help for stress and anxiety, sleeping, motivation and more. Has both a free and a premium offer, and sessions are between 4 – 30 minutes.
Calm
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
Calm is a free meditation and sleep app. It can read you stories, play relaxing music, or give you motivational speeches as you work or exercise!
Daylio Journal
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
This app allows you to track your mood and activity for the day and can pick up patterns in your responses. No need to write it all down – by simply clocking the icons that correspond to your mood, it will log it for you on your app to check back on
Adult colouring pages
Recommended by Martha Warren
Colouring pages made digitally available and FREE by independent artists. We do recommend sending over a donation to the artists to help keep them afloat during these difficult times.
Activity Ideas to keep you sane
Recommended by Martha Warren
This work of art/motivational post is by Sasa a digital artist.
Social Distancing Wellness Plan
Recommended by Martha Warren
This is a great little plan created by Michelle Parry, a New York based Illustrator.
Physical Health
It’s possibly more important than ever that you look after your physical health; make sure you’re getting enough fresh air and exercise each day.
Take a break and move every 20 mins, even if it’s just standing up and stretching, or walking to the kitchen to get a drink. Sitting too long will make your muscles seize up, and staring at a screen is bad for your eyes.
Set some time aside each day to do something active; find an online workout or go out for a walk/bike ride if you can – just remember to physically distance yourself from others.
UWTSD Daily Workout
Recommended by: University of Wales Trinity Saint David Sports Centre Lampeter
Challenge yourself to complete this daily workout.
Aber A-Z Workout Challenge
Recommended by Aberystwyth University Students’ Union Sabbatical Officers
We’ve already completed the challenge, now it’s your turn! Spell out your name, your club's name or just TSDSU. If you film it, make sure to tag us @TSDSU.
Centr
Recommended by Martha Warren
Train, eat and live healthily, following Chris Hemsworth and team. There is a free trial available and after that it is a monthly subscription. It’s worth the money if you want to make a commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Morning workout – PE with Joe
Recommended by Martha Warren
Start your day off with a workout from Joe Wicks, this is great for the whole family and a perfect way to shake off those cobwebs.
10 Ways to Support your Immune System
Recommended by Martha Warren
These helpful tips were created by Megan Moore a registered dietitian.
28 Minute Workout
Recommended by Martha Warren
A great workout plan from Seven Layer Charlotte. She also has some ace recipe ideas on her website.
Learning from a distance
We know for a lot of you distance learning is new, but we have hundreds of students who chose this as their mode of study, and it is very doable; you just have to be strict with yourself and adjust to a new normal. It’s really important to keep to a schedule and find a routine that works for you. Set some time aside each day to work on your Uni stuff and set yourself targets for what you want to achieve, and by when. But don’t be too harsh with yourself if you don’t reach your targets.
Downloadable planners
Recommended by Laura-Cait Driscoll
I have created time planners as well as essay planners, to help you organise and structure your time. These are a great way to break down manageable tasks, as well as make sure you get a good work/life balance.
Download Essay Planner (English)
Download Essay Planner (Welsh)
Download Weekly Timetable (Word)
Calendar Apps
Recommended by Martha Warren
Use the calendar on your phone, laptop or tablet to help schedule your day. This is what we do in the SU and it is a great way to keep on track. Reminders can be set which lets you know how long you have before your next activity.
Coronavirus: Five ways to work well from home
Recommended by Martha Warren
The BBC has collated some great suggestions for working from home. While these might be aimed at people who’s jobs have moved online, many are equally as relevant for students now studying from home.
Learn a new skill
If you find yourself with time on your hands why not try to learn something new? Here are some resources that can help guide you on your journey to learn a new skill.
Why not also try picking up an instrument? If you don’t have one to practice on, you can download a digital piano on your tablet or phone and give that a go. Teaching yourself to garden is a great thing to also try; even if you don’t have any space outside, you can grow and cultivate plants indoors.
Duolingo
Recommended by Martha Warren
This is a great app that gives you daily reminders and short lessons to help you learn. You can start from any level and complete as many lessons as you like a day. I’ve found this a great learning tool to familiarise myself with speaking, writing and listening to and reading new languages. Best of all: it’s FREE!
Babel
Recommended by Martha Warren
Another language learning resource. Babbel teaches reading, writing, listening, and speaking for 14 different languages.
130+ Free Online Courses
Recommended by Sarah Cole
If you’ve got some spare time on your hands, why not complete a free online course in something you want to learn more about?
Get crafty with these Videos
Recommended by Martha Warren
There are loads of great YouTube channels, Facebook/Instagram pages dedicated to crafting tutorials. Have a browse and try something new. Always wanted to learn to knit? Put off that DIY project? What better time than to start now?!
Learn British Sign Language!
Recommended by Martha Warren
BSL is a language people always forget about. It is super handy to know, even just the alphabet. It is great fun and easy to learn. They have daily words to learn, as well as word searches to help
Pick up some Welsh basics.
Recommended by Elis Allsopp
Learn Welsh Youtube channel – learn a number of basic words and phrases lessons.
Cooking and recipes
Be careful! The temptation to snack or binge can be overwhelming when you’re stuck inside. Eating lots of fruit and veg will not only boost your immune system but will also give you lots of energy to go about your day.
Download my Cookbook
Recommended by Martha Warren
This is a collection of recipes we have put together, including some of our favorites here at TSDSU. This is not a professional book but should include some helpful tips and suggestions.
Your Sabbatical Team has compiled their favourite shows, games, and films into one big list for you to get your teeth stuck into.
Home Schooling
We know that homeschooling is a big concern for a lot of parents right now, and so we wanted to compile a list of the FREE resources that we have found to keep children occupied and learning whilst they are not in school, and you are working on your own assignments. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully, it will go some way to providing some easy resources and learning from home ideas.
BBC Bitesize
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
BBC Bitesize is an Educational website for those with children. Primary school, High school and post 16 study and revision. Learning resources & interactive games separated by key stage, subject and region, so this is ideal for students/families based outside of Wales, i.e. Birmingham/London students.
PE with Joe Wicks
Recommended by Martha Warren
Weekdays at 9 am but you can visit any time on YouTube to workout.
Carol Vorderman’s The Maths Factor
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
The Maths Factor is a brilliant website run by Carol Vorderman, the £2 a month subscription is being waived so it is free for those with children aged 4-11
Storytime with David Walliams
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
A free story every day from 11 am on his website.
Get Kids Cooking from Jamie Oliver
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
Kid-friendly dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The Cosmic Shambles Stay at Home Festival
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
Science with Professor Brian Cox, Robin Ince & Guests
Twinkl
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
Twinkl is offering free membership to all parents! Enter the code UKTWINKLHELPS for free access to all Premium resources. Twinkl also host free online Welsh classes which are great for all ages.
Sparkle Box
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
Sparkle Box is full of resources used by teachers for all subject areas a well as fun activities. No sign up needed.
Classroom Secrets
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
Learning Secrets is full of aged-based learning packs
Khan Academy
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
Khan Academy is best for secondary-aged users but can be adapted for upper KS2. Uses an American-based year group system, but easy to find your child’s year group. Sign up required, but free!
Teachit
Recommended by Becky Ricketts
‘Teachit’ websites- series of subject-specific learning resources for KS1 to KS4 (and some KS5), including Maths, Science, Languages (French, German and Spanish), English, Geography and History. Requires to sign up into an account, however all resources are currently FREE until the end of April 2020, and can be downloaded.
