We are never too old to learn. The Chinese have a saying, "Huo dao lao, Xue dao lao" (活 到 老, 学 到 老) which is the concept of lifelong learning. For us seniors to continue learning, we must remain curious about things and want to learn.

Learning can be formal or informal. Most of us have experienced formal learning.  We can learn informally by reading books and the newspapers, by having a conversation with someone, by listening to the radio, by watching the TV, by travelling to another country, etc. For example, I came across the word “plogging” in the Straits Times” quite recently. I learnt that plogging started in Sweden in 2016 and it means jogging and picking litter at the same time.

There are ample opportunities to learn new things at no cost in Singapore. I have learnt the following by registering for workshops in the National Library Board (NLB) website: making a leather coin purse, Japanese flower arrangement, acrylic painting, glass painting, upcycling an old T-shirt into a tote bag, paper marbling. This may give you the impression that only art and craft workshops are offered. I am interested in art and craft, hence, my selection of these workshops. There are other event categories to choose from: business, health & wellness, heritage, science & technology, etc. More recently, I attended the Digital Clinic for Seniors held at the Serangoon Public Library, also at no cost. I maximised the 3-hour session by writing down all the burning questions which I have about my smart phone and using the session to find out more about its functionalities and new payment services like PayNow.

During the Silver Art Festival organised by the National Arts Council in September this year, I participated in two workshops free of charge: Personal Mindmap and Once Upon a Jar. The mindmapping session has inspired me to create my family tree and to record the significant events of my life in a creative way. For the workshop on Once Upon a Jar, we were given items like buttons, origami paper, ribbon, marbles, tops, kuti kuti (modern kuti kuti as they are in the shape of dinosaurs), lego blocks, etc. to create miniature worlds in a jar. I chose the theme of childhood games and included my own saga seeds. I also attended a session called Handmade Tales and learnt to weave a personalised placemat. After the weaving session, we were entertained by the Meltones and K.C. Meals & Gina Vadham (widely known as S’pore’s very own Patsy Cline) for an hour with songs sung by Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, John Denver, Neil Sedaka, etc. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

For those of us who have yet to use our SkillsFuture Credit, there’s the National Silver Academy for us to continue learning using the SkillsFuture Credit on top of government course subsidies to pay for approved courses.

There are also opportunities to learn new ways of keeping fit such as zumba and Kpop X Fitness free of charge at conveniently located venues in shopping malls such as Junction 8, City Square Mall, Nex, Hougang Mall, etc.

You are never too old to learn. Start today!