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Retaining Learned Skills Through the Summer By Andrea S. Gaboriault Keep your mind sharp and your learning fresh with these handy tips for better knowledge retention. Ah, summer! That time of year when we all look forward to taking some time off work to enjoy the warm, sunny days, preferably spending them relaxing on a beach somewhere, toes in the sand, a cool drink in hand... together with friends and family… or by the pool in the backyard... on a really hot day, even a sprinkler and an ice cream truck will do… being on a boat would be nice… maybe bass fishing... Wait, what was I saying? Oh, yes, summer. We tend to lose ourselves in summer. I swear my brain turns to mush and my thoughts feel as hazy as the humid air during the summer (remember that aforementioned TV snow?). I find it much harder to concentrate as my eyes tend to gaze more and more often out the window to the blue skies and bright sunshine. (And I won’t say how long it’s actually taking me to write this article.) Our children are not the only ones who seem to forget learned skills in just a handful of warm- weather weeks. There is no end to the amount of advice you can find over the internet for things you can do to help your kids retain what they’ve learned. Much of that advice can extend to our adult selves as well, and it doesn’t always have to relate directly to the workplace to have great benefit. Fun and Games Keep your skills sharp with brain games, board games and puzzles that challenge your thinking. And when you do vacation, visit museums, galleries and historical sites where you can soak up knowledge and fun facts like a sponge. These things may not be directly related to your job, but they can help keep your critical thinking and decision-making skills sharp. Plus, the next time you and your coworkers are gathered around the water cooler, you can regale them with all those fun facts you learned about the Mud masons of Mali at the Smithsonian. Try Something New Another way to challenge your brain and your muscle memory is to try something new. Our culture is currently obsessed with having experiences, rather than just touring a destination. So when you do plan a vacation, you can find no end to travel agencies and services that offer new and different experiences. For example, if you’re interested in both architecture and marine life, there are several hotels around the world where you can sleep with the fishes, so to speak. Experiential Learning Speaking of experiences, it is a well-documented fact that the best way to retain knowledge is to learn through experience. There are many theories out there as to exactly what “experiential learning” www.cadlearning.com 29