Learning Something New With Grandchildren, Brain Games, and Leaving a Legacy

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History (Non-Fiction): The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson – This sweeping history tells the story of the Great Migration through the lives of Black Americans who left the South in search of greater freedom and opportunity.

Memoir: I Persist by Dr. Patricia Smith – This personal memoir traces a journey through adversity, perseverance, and the determination to keep moving forward despite formidable obstacles.

Self-Help: How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price – This practical guide explains how to create a healthier relationship with your phone, reclaim your attention, and spend more time on what matters.

Romance: Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage – A professional barrel racer returns to her Wyoming hometown and finds an unexpected attraction growing between her and her brother’s best friend.

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Children often think of grandparents as people who already know how to do everything. After all, you've spent a lifetime learning, solving problems, and building experience.

But one of the most valuable lessons you can share isn't showing what you already know—it's showing that you're still willing to learn.

When grandchildren see you trying something new, they discover that curiosity doesn't have an age limit.

It's easy to assume that children only learn from adults who have all the answers. In reality, the most important lesson they can receive is how to learn in the first place. And the first step in that lesson typically comes when they see how adults respond when they don’t know something.

Perhaps you're learning to paint with watercolors, trying a new banana bread recipe, identifying birds in your backyard, taking up pickleball, or learning a few phrases in another language before a trip. Regardless of what you’re learning, letting grandchildren witness the process—including the stumbles along the way—teaches them that learning is something to enjoy, not fear.

Many adults hesitate to admit they don't have an answer. But saying, "I'm not sure—let's find out together," can be one of the most powerful things a grandparent says. It shows that curiosity is more important than pretending to know everything and that learning is something people continue doing throughout their lives.

Grandchildren don't expect perfection. They enjoy seeing a puzzle slowly come together, a garden gradually grow, or a pan of brownies improve after a few attempts.

When they watch you practice, adjust, and try again, they get to see that becoming good at something happens one small step at a time. That's a lesson they'll carry into school, work, and many other parts of life.

Some of the most enjoyable moments happen when neither of you has all the answers. You might

Instead of teacher and student, you become two people discovering something side by side. Not only do they get to see how you go about learning something, but they also get to participate in the lesson alongside you.

Enthusiasm has a way of spreading. When grandchildren see your excitement after finding the first tomato in the garden, finishing a challenging jigsaw puzzle, or recognizing local wildflowers, they begin to associate learning with enjoyment rather than obligation. Your attitude often leaves a stronger impression than the activity itself.

Perhaps the greatest gift is the example you're setting. Without saying a word, you're showing your grandchildren that life doesn't stop offering opportunities to grow. There will always be another skill to learn, another question to explore, another book to read, or another hobby to try. That's a wonderful way to look at the world—at any age.

Grandchildren don't just learn from what we teach them. They learn from how we live. By letting them see you embrace new experiences with curiosity, patience, and a sense of adventure, you're passing along something far more valuable than a single skill. You're showing them that learning is one of life's ongoing pleasures.

We're looking for seniors who are embracing life with enthusiasm, purpose, and adventure. Whether you're traveling the world, starting a business, volunteering, pursuing a passion, learning new skills, or simply making the most of every day, we'd love to hear your story.

Think that might be you?

Email [email protected] with a photo and a short bio. We may feature you in an upcoming edition of Seniors Magazine.

There are people you haven’t met yet who will be glad they met you.

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“The Year I Learned to Drive a Bus”
From the life overview of Marilyn T., 78, Columbus, Ohio. Shared with permission.

It was the fall of 1967. At twenty years old, newly married, and still trying to figure out what to do with my life, I got a job driving a city bus in Columbus. My husband, Carl, worked at a machine shop. Money was so tight for us that we kept a jar of quarters on top of the refrigerator for groceries.

When the bus company hired me, I had to complete several weeks of training before I could start working. I had to learn the routes, of course. But more importantly, I also had to learn how to operate a forty-foot bus without destroying a mailbox. My instructor, Mr. Hanley, sat beside me with a clipboard. His face suggested that he’d seen every mistake a person could make. On my first day driving alone, I missed my turn downtown and found myself on a street I had never seen before. Three passengers noticed the mistake before I did. One man simply asked, “You know this isn’t Broad Street, don’t you?”

I eventually got comfortable with the job. I even learned which passengers wanted to talk and which ones preferred to be left alone. I knew the regulars by their stops. For example, there was Mrs. Pritchard at the bakery, two high-school boys who always argued about baseball, and a nurse who rode home every night carrying the same brown paper bag.

I drove that bus for almost three years. I quit when Carl and I had our first child, but decades later, I still recall that strange sense of pride I felt when sitting behind that enormous steering wheel. During that time, I was the young woman who knew every corner of Columbus—and could get forty people to their destinations without hitting a mailbox.

***

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Retirement can give you something that creative hobbies often require: uninterrupted time. That doesn't mean you suddenly need to become a painter or write a novel. Creativity can mean photography, pottery, woodworking, music, quilting, gardening, writing, or simply learning how to make something you've always admired.

The easiest way to find your creative outlet is to experiment rather than wait for inspiration.

Try several activities without immediately buying a roomful of supplies. Many libraries, community colleges, museums, art centers, and recreation departments offer inexpensive workshops where materials are included.

Online classes make experimenting even easier. Creativebug offers classes in painting, drawing, sewing, knitting, quilting, jewelry, and other crafts, while Domestika has courses covering illustration, photography, woodworking, ceramics, writing, and dozens of other creative subjects.

If drawing interests you, try a free beginner drawing course that starts with basic sketching and gradually introduces skills such as proportions, perspective, line work, and shading. All you need to begin is a pencil and paper.

"Learn watercolor" is a large goal. "Paint one postcard-sized landscape" is something you can do this weekend.

Try taking one interesting photograph every day for a month, writing a one-page childhood memory, knitting a scarf, making a small mosaic, or learning one song on an instrument. For writing inspiration, Poets & Writers' prompts provide regularly updated ideas for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Creative hobbies become easier to maintain when they're part of your routine. Look for a local sketching group, pottery studio, quilting circle, photography club, community orchestra, or writing group. Meetup can help you find groups by interest and location.

Most importantly, don't make being "good" the price of admission. You can paint badly, write strange poems, take hundreds of photographs, or make a slightly lopsided bowl and still have a terrific time.

The point isn't to discover a hidden talent. It's to discover which kinds of making leave you eager to do them again.

A short survey promising a gift card or prize can seem harmless. But some “surveys” are really designed to collect personal information, steal payment details, or lure you onto unsafe websites.

Fake surveys often begin with an unusually generous reward: answer a few questions and receive a $100 gift card, expensive product, or cash prize. Other warning signs include countdown timers, claims that only a few rewards remain, and messages saying you were “specially selected.”

Be particularly cautious if the survey asks for a credit card number to cover a small shipping or processing fee. A legitimate survey shouldn’t need your banking password, Social Security number, or other highly sensitive information.

A familiar company logo doesn’t prove the survey came from that company. Scammers can easily copy logos and branding.

Instead of following a link from a text, email, pop-up, or social media post, visit the company’s official website yourself and look for the promotion there. If you can’t verify that the survey is genuine, close the page. A promised reward isn’t worth handing personal information to an unknown recipient.

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