The Daily Distraction
A series of interesting, entertaining and sometime silly distractions to keep you occupied and engaged during our hiatus.
MAY
Thursday, May 7
Durgee's Virtual Art Show
Wednesday, April 1st
Follow the @natgeo Instagram account
Download the Audubon Field Guide App on iOS or Android
PopSugar Fitness YouTube Channel
Get a public library card from OCPL
Draw Every Day with JJK
Snopes.com
BookCon Read-A-Thon (<-- watch, login here)
Video Game Based Book Recommendations
Quarantine Reading Suggestions Based on Your Mood
Meditation Resources from Calm
Hogwarts Digital Escape Room
Livestream The Hunger Games
Tuesday, March 17
Virtual Field Trip to the Cincinnati Zoo
World's Best Cookies
Wonderopolis
First Chapter Friday, Courtesy of Ms. Hopkins
Yoga with Adriene
Free Audio Books on Audible
Durgee Teachers of Instagram
Skittles Art
Attend a Virtual Concert
Participate in the Durgee Joke Contest
Get a public library card from OCPL
Thursday, May 7
Durgee's Virtual Art Show
- Students in Mrs. DeCaro's, Ms. Robinson's, and Ms. McCaffrey's art classes are continuing to create fantastic art from home. We're pleased to showcase some of their work in Durgee's Spring 2020 Virtual Art Show. Check out the online gallery
Wednesday, April 1st
Follow the @natgeo Instagram account
- If you like interesting stuff, this one's for you. Amazing photos and mini stories about people, animals, and places.
Download the Audubon Field Guide App on iOS or Android
- Sit in front of a window and watch the birds in your yard. What birds visit? What's super common? What's more rare? Use the field guide to identify them. It's kind of like playing Pokemon Go without leaving your home. :)
PopSugar Fitness YouTube Channel
- When we workout, our bodies release endorphins - feel good chemicals that can improve our mood and increase our pain tolerance. If you're looking for some great workouts, PopSugar Fitness has TONS to choose from. My personal favorite right now is a Hip-Hop Tabata workout. :)
Get a public library card from OCPL
- You can use this public library card to access any of the library's virtual resources, including Hoopla and OverDrive - that's TONS of FREE books and movies. Don't pass up this deal!
Draw Every Day with JJK
- If you've read and loved Hey, Kiddo, then you're familiar with its author, Jarrett J Krosoczka. Jarrett started a YouTube channel and every day gives a drawing lesson for would-be comic book artists. Check them out!
Snopes.com
- Durgee Students - we've trained you to evaluate information! If you see a headline that sounds fishy, put your skills to use! Lateral read about the source (what's Wikipedia got to say?) and check headlines on Snopes.com YOU are equipped to handle misinformation - now's the time to apply what you've learned.
BookCon Read-A-Thon (<-- watch, login here)
- Attend the BookCon Read-A-Thon to hear your favorite YA authors read their books LIVE! The Read-A-Thon is scheduled for Saturday, April 11th from 12:00 PM - 8:30 PM. View the schedule of authors here.
Video Game Based Book Recommendations
- Maybe you've spent hours of play time on Animal Crossing (it's just sooo soothing!), but now you're ready for a book! What to read? Epic Reads has suggestions based on your favorite video games!
Quarantine Reading Suggestions Based on Your Mood
- Want comfort? An escape from this world? Looking to live vicariously through someone else? Epic Reads has you covered with these great recommendations based on your mood.
Meditation Resources from Calm
- Life right now is far from normal. All the changes we're experiencing can be stressful and some of us are feeling anxious or maybe not sleeping well. A healthy way to combat these problems is meditation. There's tons of scientific evidence that meditating can improve your mental health. Calm has collected a page of resources with great meditations and sleep stories to help you find a little peace in our current times.
Hogwarts Digital Escape Room
- Are you a Harry Potter fan? Love escape rooms? This distraction is for you! Check out the Hogwarts Digital Escape Room for some solid entertainment and challenges.
Livestream The Hunger Games
- Lionsgate Live! A Night at the Movies will be hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis will be joined by special guest celebrities and YouTube personalities. Tune in 4/17 at 9:00 PM to catch The Hunger Games!
Tuesday, March 17
Virtual Field Trip to the Cincinnati Zoo
- Meet animals and their keepers every day at 3:00 pm for a live Q & A session on Facebook. Afterwards, you can check out the videos on YouTube. Monday's video featured the world-famous hippo Fiona, who was born at least 6 weeks premature and became a world wide celebrity.
World's Best Cookies
- Working in the kitchen is a great stress reliever. And baking yummy desserts that you can eat is even better! These "Quaker Oatmeal Vanishing Raisin Cookies" are pretty much my family's favorite thing on earth, except that we can't stand raisins, so we trade them for chocolate chips. A delicious swap! :) Did your parents stock up on oatmeal? See if they'll let you use some for a cookie project.
Wonderopolis
- This is a perfect distraction for curious minds (or anyone who wants a leg up in a trivia contest). Wonderopolis's "Daily Wonder" offers fascinating insight to questions like "How often is once in a blue moon?" or "Do birds get shocked when they sit on wires?"
First Chapter Friday, Courtesy of Ms. Hopkins
- Listen to Ms. Hopkins read the first chapter of Everneath.
Yoga with Adriene
- One of my FAVORITE mind/body breaks is to take an online yoga "class." I especially love Yoga with Adriene. She's got hundreds of high quality FREE yoga classes designed for every need. Feeling anxious? There's a class for that. Want to do yoga at your desk? There's a class for that. Only got ten minutes? There's a class for that. Seriously, you deserve some yoga in your life.
Free Audio Books on Audible
- Audible has released more than 100 YA audiobooks for you to enjoy for free! No credit cards or sign up needed. Just head to Audible and start listening!
Durgee Teachers of Instagram
- See links in post
Skittles Art
- Dudes, this one is easy. Place Skittles in a pattern around the edge of plate. Pour in a 1/4" of warm water. Art! For fun, record a time-lapse with your phone.
Attend a Virtual Concert
- NPR put together a great list of concerts from a huge range of musical genres. Check out the list and show up (virtually) to see your favorite artists perform. Highlights include Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong, Young Ra, Tinashe, Diplo, Reggie Watts and more
Participate in the Durgee Joke Contest
- Add your best dad-joke, knock-knock joke, riddle or even funny Tik-Tok style video using this link: https://flipgrid.com/7032c38c
- Head on over to the grid to vote for your favorite joke by liking it! We’ll ship person with the most likes a book of their choice. A winner will be declared on April 14th. Submit your joke early for the most views and likes. View all the jokes here: https://flipgrid.com/9cb6ce04
Get a public library card from OCPL
- You can use this public library card to access any of the library's virtual resources, including Hoopla and OverDrive - that's TONS of FREE books and movies. Don't pass up this deal!