Staying Busy All Day: Why Not Expand Your Mind And Have Fun Too!

Here is one site that is free, fun, does good for others, and stimulates your mind: www.freerice.com.
For each correct definition you choose from a multiple-choice vocabulary quiz (and you can control the difficulty level), 10 grains of rice are donated to the needy through the World Food Programme. The rice is paid for by the advertisers on the site.

Here's the background from snopes.com (a site that explores "urban myths"): http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/charity/freerice.asp

Talk about food for thought! Give it a try.

Jan Cullinane, author, The Single Woman's Guide to Retirement (AARP/Wiley)

For those not living near a college that participates in the Osher program, another option is online courses. There are thousands of courses offered, some by major universities, that are little or no cost. Just do an online search for online courses; free online courses, online university courses, etc. Some of the sites include: Udemy; CreativeLive; Coursera; Duolingo; Class Central; Open Culture; and CrunchBase.

The Osher program at the University of Richmond (osher.richmond.edu) is outstanding. In addition to a very wide variety of course offerings, it provides an opportunity to meet people with similar interests in the same phase of life.

LS - Very good suggestion. I love CourseRA.org's free on-line classes from renowned professors (and I'm still working). I took a few weeks' course in nuclear power, and it's been a very, very long time since high school physics LOL. I struggled and sweated, but managed to get through all of the on-line classes and tests and earn the certificate. There was a huge sense of accomplishment. My next class from them was a lot lighter (marriage in the movies), and I'm about to take a course on rock n' roll -- I just couln't face another science class, but it's nice to know there's such a wide range of free options! I'm really looking forward to taking lots of classes in retirement.

Thanks Kate, I am excited about the www.CourseRA.orgs online classes. They have Business classes!

I have to smile when i read about talking academic courses. I received my Bachelor's degree at age 54 and my Mastor's degree three years later. I am so over taking courses! (But i did enjoy the school work while i was taking it. :)

There are a lot of options here beyond academic work, Community Colleges have vocational courses, auto repair for one. Mine has a pottery course I've been looking at (I like working with my hands) EGA (Embroidery Guild) chapters have lessons at their meeting (BTW this is a mixed group, men as well as women enjoy stitching.) ANG (American Needlepoint) has a project each year broken into 12 segments on their website as well as a lot of other info. Both have a yearly gathering with courses which moves to different parts of the country. It may take a year or two to get close enough if you want to drive. These are the ones I've enjoyed and I don't do really large gatherings. So try something different that just sounds good, it may turn out that you like it.

I am always excited to see colleges providing free or low-cost courses for retired people. My frequent disappointment is that most of the courses offered here in St. Augustine meet in the evening. Many retired people have difficulty driving at night and there may not be public transportation available. I know on-line courses are an option, but you miss the opportunity to meet and interact with others which enriches the learning.

I know Flagler College might find it difficult to open up a daytime slot for elder learning but perhaps colleges could consider running thesw courses in the latter part of the afternoon when its is easier to see and when senior transportation is more readily available.

Jan, Love the freerice.com site. Thanks!

Yes, Jan. Great fun! Makes me feel smart; a miracle! :)

Ella.... Can I say.......? "You go girl!" Congratulations too!

Thanks, Caps. Try it, you'll like it!
:) Your friend,

Also love the freerice.com site - thanks for the tip. Got to level 42 on the vocabulary test and hit a word I didnt know. Very humbling when I saw there are 60 levels. I'm afraid to try the other subjects LOL.

Hmmm, did't realize there are levels
Thanks, Kate!

I'll never say never! I loved the ten years I spent in college. Gets harder on the ROI during your middle years, however.

I would love to go to a Medical training course here in town but I refuse to take out student loans to do so. I know I could get a Pell Grant but after that, I don't know where to get money.

Check out www.edx.org and www.coursera.org for education courses taught by the best colleges. You can audit courses for free or pay a small fee 50 -100 dollars for a verified certificate. Courses are streamed, some start/end on certain dates, others you can start "on demand". If you want to complete a certificate, check out their certificate offerings at www.edx.org/xseries and www.coursera.org/specializations. On edx, I completed a three course certificate offering on the Civil War taught by Eric Foner, Columbia University professor an world renowned historian. Great sites!

Another great site is https://www.futurelearn.com/courses.

Admin. It would be nice if some of the websites could be gathered up and placed somewhere on the blog for future reference. Maybe called: Reference Materials. There is some good information that will just get lost in all the mish mash of comments.

"The Great Courses" has courses on DVDs taught by highly acclaimed college professors on every imaginable subject. Watch for when they go on sale. They make great gifts !!
My biggest challenge is my unwillingness to commit my time to Anything too rigid and time constraining. I guess after working all these years, I'm enjoying the freedom to do what I want to do, when I want to do it.

The Osher program, offered at universities around the country, is a way to learn new things and meet people. My husband and I participate at the University of Richmond and thoroughly enjoy it. In addition to learning opportunites, they have interest groups for travel, plays, bridge, hiking, and so forth. The cost is quite reasonable.

These are great ideas. I would also like to find out more about any college or university learning programs for Seniors. There used to be a summer program for seniors at colleges and universities around the country that involved groups of seniors staying in college dorms and taking courses, allowing seniors to explore topics as well as different parts of the country. Does anyone know if this still exists? Many years ago, I had a friend who taught one of these peograms in the summer at a local college.

MaryNB - It was called "Elder Hostel" and has morphed into Road Scholar. (see them at Roadscholar.org ) They mostly have accompanied trips - in the US and international. They look like a lot of fun.

We aren't quite retired yet but are looking forward to also participating in the Osher Center for Life Long Learning courses at the local college. My parents took a number of classes at Univ. of Delaware - several had trips available to round out the course. They had a ball!

First We are also hoping to move then volunteer, take local classes and get some exercise so I figure we will be busy enough. Perhaps a few months of R&R to start :-)

MaryNB and HEF- Thanks so much for bring up Road Scholar. I went to the website and really got sucked in! There's so much there I'd absolutely love to do. Bookmarking the site for future reference. Thanks.