It’s a weird time of year to get cabin fever. Usually this time of year brings spring sports, college visits and school decisions, cramming for the AP Exams and the start of t-shirt weather. Instead, colleges are closed, school is virtual and students are stuck at home with nowhere to go. If you’re burnt out from staring at a screen all day and getting antsy, we get it. We know you’d rather be touring the quad at your first-choice school or wearing your new college colors with your high school pals. We also know that the best way to chase away the quarantine blues is to do something that engages your body and brain. There’s plenty to do in and around the house to stay sharp and unplug from e-learning.
- Puzzles: Picture puzzles are a great tool to practice spatial thinking and pattern-finding. Grab a puzzle and a flat surface and you’re ready to go. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of finding the right piece for just the right space.
- Arts & Crafts: If your extended family members ever gave you some arts and crafts kits as a kid, now’s the time to break them out. Weave friendship bracelets, fold some origami, or make one of those charming bead lizard keychains. Or grab some sidewalk chalk and write friendly messages to passersby.
- Shakespeare: Are you a theater kid longing for your days under the spotlight? Try creating your own spotlight by learning and performing a famous speech from Shakespeare. There are so many memorable soliloquies – from Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” to Lady Macbeth’s dirty laundry – and chances are you have a copy of a Shakespeare play lying around the house from your English class.
- Mat Exercises: If you miss going to the gym for your exercise sessions or yoga classes, there’s good news – you can start a new exercise regimen at home. Grab a yoga mat and a flat surface and start those reps of crunches, sit-ups and planks, or chill out to a guided yoga lesson.
- Creative Scholarships: Did you know that there are scholarships for works of art, musical performances, videos and even creative radio PSAs? In fact, if you’ve listed your artistic pursuits in your Scholarships.com profile, you may have already seen these scholarships. Not only do you have more opportunities to work towards these scholarships, doing so will help you fill your time and earn you potential scholarship money. Not bad!
- Word and Numbers Puzzles: Word puzzles, like the crossword or wordsearch, and numbers puzzles like sudoku or KenKen are easy to find in your local newspaper, or you can grab a big book of puzzles or print out ones from the web. The Merriam-Webster daily online crossword comes highly recommended.
- Pet Fostering: Since the coronavirus hit, city animal shelters around the country have found their kennels empty for the first time ever. That’s all thanks to the people fostering (and adopting) dogs and cats. If you have the means and a love for animals, this is the perfect opportunity to try fostering yourself. You might find a new friend along the way.
- Gardening: Spring is the perfect time of year to start a garden. It’s easy to order seeds online, and you might have a bag of dirt lying around your garage. Start seeds out in an empty egg carton and transfer them to a pot or to a flowerbed when they’ve grown. Then you’ll have flowers and plants to enjoy all summer long.
- Essay Scholarships: Got a love for the written word? Now you’ve got time to do some writing of your own. Scholarships.com has a large selection of essay scholarships for aspiring wordsmiths. Take your favorite notebook outside and try writing scholarship essays while enjoying the spring air.
- Backyard Activities: Remember the good old days of jump rope and hula hoop in the backyard? As it turns out, those games are also good exercise. So dust off your hoops and ropes and get moving. More of a ball sports fan? You can use the garage door as a backboard for a bouncy ball or practice your footwork with a soccer ball.
No matter what activities you choose to do, know that you’re doing your part to not only flatten the curve but also take care of your mental and physical health. Those are two great skills that you’ll want to bring with you to college – and life in general. And if you have a moment between classes, head on over to Scholarships.com and start a free scholarship search. Whatever your next academic year looks like, one thing’s for certain – scholarship money is always a plus.
