AARP Rewards Community Learning & Earning Contest August 2022

I do the continuing education required for my job. It keeps me up yo date and challenges me to remember new things.

I play Words with Friends, Wordle, Quordle, Nerdle pretty much every day, read regularly, take walks, belong to a monthly book club and a women's spiritual group that discusses all sorts of issues. Of course, spending time with the grandkids keeps one active in many ways.

Active gardening, short walks, book reviewing, puzzle solving, news watching, and experimenting with different recipes, photographing interesting scenes, and phoning friends from the past. 

One of the best ways to keep the brain active is to engage in AARP activities which include reading articles, taking quizzes, and watching videos.  To keep my mind creative, I make interactive greeting cards for friends and family which have pop up elements to create movement.  Knowing how to assemble the cards, choosing color palette or coloring parts of the cards, and die cutting is a good exercise for the brain.   I have an extensive collection of crafting tools in my inventory that needs to be kept organized, so remembering where those are stored is a good challenge for my brain.  Exercise and staying fit is my way to keep the body and mind healthy.

Engaging with my 2-year old grandson keeps the mind young.  I make him interactive flash cards to teach color, shapes, and alphabet letters with cute animal die cuts.  To see the delight from a child in learning is very fulfilling.

I try to keep up with the basics of enough sleep, a good diet, and regular exercise, since I find that when I do, it's a lot easier to really engage my mind in everything, whether it be work tasks or leisure activities!

I am a book club leader, so I am always reading and learning about new things in order to lead discussions. Exercising every day, just walking my little dog (my personal trainer) helps me think more clearly and feel less rusty. It's easy to play Words With Friends and other word games on my I pad.  I challenge myself to play games that aren't word games to work the parts of the brain that aren't natural to me! Number Match, Sort Puz, and Wooden Block all stretch me. Also learning to play Canasta - I think trying new things that aren't already in your natural skill set is important! 

I play games,  read a lot, take walks 

I work full time and play tennis, which is physical,mental and social all at the same time. 

I take a 4 mile walk in my neighborhood almost every day and listen to free audio books from my library.  I like complicated Nordic mysteries to keep my listening skills challenged.

My wife and I both read lots and read with our grandchildren. We watch and discuss science documentaries, and love doing science projects with everyday objects when the grandchildren visit on weekends!