Skills for Life and Leisure

So, what can people do when they find themselves at home in the middle of a pandemic? Learn new skills of course.

There are people all over the world right now self-isolating at home and taking the time to learn new skills or to reconnect with skills they learned, but had been too busy to keep up with.

Things as simple as reading, cleaning and organizing have been keeping people occupied as well.

In case you were wondering, there are several companies and websites to help you find your creative side. Below is a list of skill-building resources, to brush up on some of your favorite things, or to learn something new. Some are free or minimal cost, some require monthly subscriptions.

Want to learn a new language? Rosetta Stone is offering three months free. You can sign up at https://www.rosettastone.com/freeforstudents/

How about those who have wanted to learn to play guitar, bass or even ukulele? Fender is also offering three free months of lessons. To claim your code and get those strings a strumming, visit http://www.fender.com.

Creative folks have a couple of different choices. Creative Bug has classes on just about anything craft related. You can get started with a free trial by visiting http://www.creativebug.com. After the free trial period. It costs as little as $7.95 per month. Bluprint (previously known as Craftsy) offers classes for crafts, cooking, and more. Some of their classes are free, while others are being offered at a discounted rate. Additionally, they are offering 50 percent off their annual subscription plan, or they have a monthly option.

Anyone looking to improve their state of happiness has options as well. And at this stage of the game, who doesn’t need a little more happiness? There’s a free online happiness course at https://www.onewayjourney.com/free-happiness-course-online . Once on the site, the option to listen to a Happy Hour Podcast is also available.

Those with blogs and websites can learn about search engine optimization, as well as other cool website managing information, at https://node-marketing.com/seo-training-course/#upcoming-courses

If getting organized during your time at home is something you’ve been meaning to do - you guessed it – there’s a course for that. Learn-Do-Become offers a free introductory course, podcasts and an option to sign up for continued training at www. https://learndobecome.com/. The Organizing Formula is also available for free (in English and Spanish) by visiting https://www.coursesbycaroline.com/p/the-organizing-formula.

Even some Ivy League institutions such as Yale, Princeton, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania offer free online courses on a variety of subjects including coding, science, literature and many others. You can access these free courses by visiting Class Central at https://www.classcentral.com/.

In preparation for spring, and the endless number of bird varieties in Montana, Cornell University has their Lab or Ornithology. You can read about and listen to various bird species by visiting https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/.

If none of the above strike your fancy, do a Google search for “free online learning classes during a pandemic.” There are lists of websites, and myriad options and skills to learn.