Everyone needs to take a break now and then!
Close your textbooks for a few minutes, unclench your jaw, relax your shoulders, and enjoy some of the resources we put together for you to take a break from your school work.
image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/break-time-out-background-3788979/
Music
MCC Voices Soundcloud - The McHenry County College's literary arts magazine Voices has a soundcloud. Listen to some new music and support other students.
Podcasts
Serial - Serial is a podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one story — a true story — over the course of a season.
Selected Shorts - Actors read short fiction
image source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Headphone_icon.svg
image source: https://www.pikist.com/free-photo-vkjov
Crafts
Painted rocks tutorials: make a cactus rock garden, minions, and more (Tip: When you've painted a few rocks, leave them around town for others to find and enjoy! Read about examples here and here.)
20 Awesome Things To Do With an Altoid Tin
The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross
Sketchbook Skool - Coronavirus Creativity Guide: Relieve stress and connect with free resources
35+ Brilliant Ideas to Upcycle Toilet Paper Rolls
20 Old Clothes Recycle Ideas That You Need to Upcycle Old Wardrobe Items
Color
Free coloring pages: Star Wars, animals & nature, famous paintings, & mandalas.
Free coloring pages drawn by MCC Students! (see links below)
Vsauce - Did you ever ponder questions like "Is cereal soup?", "Did the past really happen?", and "Will we run out of names?", if so, Vsauce has an entertaining answer via video.
School of Life - The School of Life is "dedicated to exploring the great questions of emotional and psychological life." Videos include categories for self, relationships, work, philosophy, great ideas, comedy, and more. Some examples of videos include "How to Panic a Little Less", "How to Find Fulfilling Work" , and "What if We Never Find True Love?".
550 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing - From the New York Times. Click on a question to read an essay and then be inspired to write your own. A great way to learn about yourself.
Photo: <a href="https://foto.wuestenigel.com/think-cloud-with-did-you-know-text/" target="_blank">Think cloud with Did you know? text</a> by <a href="https://www.plaghunter.com/marco-verch/" target="_blank">Marco Verch</a> under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons 2.0</a>
Animal Cams
San Diego Zoo - Choose from 13 different live animal cams!
Katmai National Park's Brown Bears
Toys, Music, and Competitions
Jelle's Marble Runs YouTube Channel - Watch competitions!
Scott's Marble Runs - Two brothers trying to build the biggest and most epic marble runs.
DoodleChaos - "Synchronizing things to music and crazy contraptions."
5MadMovieMakers - Watch movies made with toys.
Rube Goldberg Machines - You can even register a team for next year's competition!
image source: https://www.needpix.com/photo/713157/video-template-website-youtube-layout-flat-flat-design-website-design-template-animation
25 Science-Backed Ways to Take Better Care of Yourself
10-Minute Full Body Scan Guided Meditation
Guided Meditation (20 minutes)
Self Care and Mental Health (includes a list of distraction activities)
Keep a Journal - Tips to get started
image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/self-care-umbrella-protection-2904778/
Staying Active While Social Distancing
Creative Ways to Stay Active at Home
Build Your Own Obstacle Course
image source: https://pixabay.com/vectors/runner-stickman-cartoon-activity-309053/
eRead Illinois- Check out popular e-books with your MCC library card.
Don't have a card? Send an email to librarycircdesk@mchenry.edu
and library staff can help.
Flipster - View and read entire issues of current, popular magazines electronically with your myMCC username and password.
image source: https://pxhere.com/fr/photo/1540775
National Parks
Image used with permission from the National Park Service and Rocky Mounty National Park
"Visit" some national parks, then download your virtual passport cancellations!
Museums Around the World
image source: https://www.goodfreephotos.com/united-states/washington-dc/smithsonian-natural-history-museum-washington-dc.jpg.php
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Louvre - Famous art museum in Paris. Home of the Mona Lisa.
Google Arts and Culture - Partnered with 2500 museums and galleries to offer virtual tours. Definitely something for every aesthetic.
Beautiful Vacation Spots
image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/dominican-republic-beach-vacation-1108199/
Hawaii - Island hop with Google Earth
Australia - Visit the Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough
Hundreds of More Tours Around the World - Pick a country and a tourist attraction. See Tulip Fields, the Taj Majal, Mt. Fuji, the Great Wall of China and many more.