onLINE Activities
Fitness & Wellness
Senior Strength & Stretch Classes (via Zoom): Every Monday and Wednesday from 9:00 - 9:45 AM with instructor Becky Otte-Ford. The class includes light cardio, balance, strength training, and flexibility. To join, contact Becky at (608) 215-4119 or raonine@gmail.com. Cost: $20/month for unlimited classes.
Ballroom Basics for Balance: A fun way to improve balance and prevent falls through the basics of dance! In-person and online opportunities available. To learn more, visit: ballroombasicsforbalance.org or call Susan Frikken at (608) 692-8794.
MSCR Cardio and Fitness Classes: Madison School & Community Recreation created a library of fitness classes to help keep you active at home. New videos are added weekly. Free and available to watch anytime here. No need to register.
Tai Chi Health Videos
Bring yourself into the present (1 minute)
Practice Tai Chi with a Chair (for balance support when needed) (6 minutes)
Practice Tai Chi with a Walker (5 minutes)
Practice Tai Chi Seated (4 minutes)
Practice gentle range of motion exercises (3 minutes)
ZUMBA GOLD Classes: You're invited to join ZUMBA GOLD dance exercise, broadcast virtually via “Zoom” on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:00 AM. It includes zesty Latin music, easy-to-follow moves, and a party-like atmosphere. Please email Anne at astone@vil.oregon.wi.us for a link to join the class. There is no charge to participate (but please feel free to make a donation to the Oregon Area Senior Center Council on Aging).
Easy Yoga Plus
Led by Ellen Millar, classes are designed to improve flexibility, balance, and general well-being. They are held via Zoom weekly on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and Friday at 10 a.m. Contact Ellen via her website for more information and sign-up details.
YMCA Health & Fitness Videos for Active Older Adults
Active Engaging with good health, exercise, and fitness earlier in life is important but you’re never “too old” to start exercising and pursuing a healthier lifestyle that can help prevent, manage and treat disease and ailments.
Free, Virtual Gentle Yoga for All
The Stoughton Area Senior Center has partnered with Stoughton Yoga to bring you a free, 3-part virtual yoga series geared towards older adults (and anyone else interested!). Enjoy on your own schedule, in your own home.
QiGong Online Classes with Jo Chern of Five Element QiGong
For more information, visit her website at: fiveelementqigong.net and reach out to Jo at jochern5@gmail.com.
Tai Chi Fundamental Form Online Class
This is a fun and easy movement virtual class instructed by Rachel Sandretto, which involves all muscles, joints, ligaments, and bones of the body. Chairs are used for stabilization and no mats are necessary. Email Rachel at sandretto.taiji@gmail.com for more information on how to connect to this class.
Silver Sneakers Yoga
Ease stress, increase flexibility and build strength with this 7-minute do-anywhere routine.
Planet Fitness
FREE 20-minute “in-home” daily classes streamed live at 6 pm CT.
Go4Life Workout Videos
Physical activity is an important part of healthy aging. Try these FREE Go4Life workout videos to help you fit exercise and physical activity into your daily life.
Strong Women, Strong Bones
Angela Flickinger, Family Living Educator at UW-Extension Rock County, introduces a StrongWoman training program designed by Dr. Miriam Nelson and Rebecca Seguin of Tufts University. Flickinger leads participants in strength training exercises designed to maintain fitness and to increase both strength and bone density.
Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. (HMI)
Founded by world-renowned neuro-scientist Dr. Richard Davidson from the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, HMI, is dedicated to cultivating well-being and relieving suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind. These virtual events are FREE and open to the public. All are welcome! Please "like" and visit Healthy Minds Innovations on Facebook to see a schedule of all guided meditations offered: facebook.com/pg/HealthyMindsInnovations/events/
Classes & Skill Development
Creativebug
Online resource from Stoughton Public Library that has thousands of award-winning art and craft video classes taught by recognized experts and artists.
Badger Talks
UW Connects brings the resources of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to citizens of Wisconsin. This FREE program brings the Wisconsin Idea to life.
One Little Project: Love to cook, bake, craft, or create? Join One Little Project as they make things one little project at a time! They’ve got fun recipes, crafts/activities, DIY/craft projects, holiday projects and more!
Viking TV: Explore the world from the comfort of home. Viking TV provides free-to-watch livestreams at the same time everyday, and offers an extensive library of on-demand programming including short documentaries and interviews, lectures, musical performances, and much more. Tune in at: viking.tv
Vesterheim Folk Art Experiences: Opportunities abound for you to get connected with the Vesterheim Folk Art School community. Explore all kinds of online folk-art experiences (many at no charge!) including those in fiber, painting, metalwork, needlework, woodwork, and jewelry. Learn new skills, converse about Scandinavian folk arts, make new friends, all from the comfort and safety of your own space! Presented by Vesterheim, The National Norwegian- American Museum & Heritage Center in Decorah, Iowa. New offerings will be posted regularly.
Museum of Modern Art in New York
From developing your photography skills to honing your knowledge of select works in modern and contemporary art, these FREE classes are predominantly art-focused yet tailored to a broad audience.
PBS Wisconsin: Artist Talks
Highlights include FREE talks by contemporary artists Deborah Butterfield, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, and Jeffrey Gibson.
Ivy League Online Classes
Over 450 FREE online courses are available for free through all eight Ivy League schools.
Smithsonian Open Access
FREE images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.
NASA
FREE image and video library.
Chatter Pack
A variety of FREE online resources for enrichment: Virtual tours, online learning, geography & nature, music, arts & culture, literature, entertainment, anxiety & mental health, prayer.
StoryCorps
StoryCorps gives people of all backgrounds, typically two at a time, the opportunity to record meaningful conversations - archiving the recordings at the Library of Congress. Their mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.
FREE Continuing Education Videos:
Ted Talks, Talks at Google, BigThink, Luminosity, LearningRX
Social & Recreation
Wisconsin Veterans Museum: The Wisconsin Veterans Museum regularly presents a robust variety of free virtual events. All are invited to join Movie Nights, Drink and Draw, Trivia, Curator Conversations, tours, and workshops.
Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library—Free Online Classes: NAGC is an educational non-profit research center based in Madison with national and international scope. The Center collects, preserves, shares, and interprets resources for the study of Norwegian heritage. You’re invited to engage in a free, fascinating series of online classes designed to assist and instruct all researchers of family history, from beginning to advanced levels. More information at: nagcnl.org/webinars
Outreach LGBTQ+ Community Center Social and Support Groups
FREE Online Games:
Find some of your favorite games like bridge, checkers, chess, cribbage, euchre, majhong, sheepshead, solitaire, Sudoku or word searches on websites like: 247games.com, trickstercards.com solitairetime.com or cribbageclassic.com.
Brain Teasers
Test your logic skills and have fun!
Goosechase
A FREE virtual scavenger hunt you can play with friends and family, while maintaining safe social distancing. Recreational tier is free for up to three teams, unlimited missions.
Wisconsin History Word Search
The Wisconsin Historical Society offered free word searches in honor of Wisconsin, Black History, Earth Day, Women’s History and their online store!
Broadway Plays & Musicals
FREE 15 Broadway Plays and Musicals you can watch on stage from home.
Explore The Hidden Worlds of National Parks. “Visit” Bryce Canyon, Carlsbad Canyon, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and more! Follow rangers on a journey to places most people never go in stunning 360 video. Pair with headphones for the best experience.
FREE Coloring Pages
Coloring Pages: FREE from illustrator Mary Engelbreit.
Color Our Collections Coloring Pages: Launched by The New York Academy of Medicine Library in 2016, #ColorOurCollections is an annual coloring festival on social media during which libraries, museums, archives and other cultural institutions around the world share free coloring content featuring images from their collections. The coloring books from 2020 and previous years remain accessible year-round for free download.
Color with the Wisconsin Union: Looking for a way to pass the time while you’re staying home? Print, and enjoy these free, one-of- a-kind coloring pages designed by Wisconsin Union artists.
Free Coloring Pages by Artist Nancy Blum: Nancy Blum is best known for her large-scale public art and mosaics. She recently created coloring pages you can download, print off, and enjoy for free. Click in to each pdf for several pages of fun.
Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Tours
12 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings are now hosting FREE virtual tours!
Travel through Europe (virtually!) with Rick Steves
Full episodes of public television’s most-watched, longest-running travel series are available FREE-of-charge on Rick Steve’s YouTube channel.
Louvre Museum
Walk the halls of the world’s largest art museum, the Louvre in Paris, France.
Nightly Metropolitan Opera Streams
Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website, with each performance available for a period of 23 hours, from 6:30 PM CST until 5:30 PM the following day.
The Sofa Singers
Do you like singing with a group or in a choir? Then consider registering with The Sofa Singers! The Sofa Singers is a free, weekly online singing event from James Sills that brings hundreds of people together from around the world to spark joy and human connection.
Joy 4 All Project 1-877-569-4255
A hotline launched by youth to provide continuously updated messages of positivity. Call to hear pre-recorded kids speak on the following category choices: (1) Jokes of the Day, (2) Today’s Stories, 3) Poems, (4) Daily Dose of Kindness, and (5) Listen & Learn.
Connecting With Others:
YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest
