"Six by Six: Ready to Read," meet "Sixty by Sixty: Ready to Retire."
We work hard to make sure people are prepared with the skills they need to be successful and enjoy life. As a counterpart to our 6 by 6: Six Skills By Six Years early literacy program, we have developed our 60 by 60: Sixty Skills by Sixty Years program to help adults reach their full potential. Here are the skills every adult should master by 60 years of age:
First, know that the Six by Six: Ready to Read skills will carry you through life, whether you’re practicing them with a young person you love, or just on your own.
Here are the rest of the skills we have identified.
- Continue to notice print all around you
- Still have fun with books
- Keep talk talk talkin'
- Tell stories about everything ... but know your audience
- Look for letters everywhere: it'll help you win Words with Friends
- Take time to rhyme
- Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run
- Be able to spell “comittment,” "reccomend," and "acomodate"
- Be able to explain Brexit
- Make toast without burning it
- Know you can't change the weather, but you can change your attitude
- Know when expiration dates on food can be ignored... and when they can't
- Know the difference: it’s and its
- Always say no to Nigerian princes’ financial requests
- Remember all your passwords (without them all being your birthdate)
- Hold a coherent conversation about Bitcoin
- Know which is which: dystopia and utopia
- Resign yourself to the fact that flying cars will not happen during your lifetime
- Cook a perfect hard-boiled egg
- Taken a hard stance on “gif” versus “jif” pronounciation
- Know what the ancient terms “Betamax” and “VHS” refer to
- Know the “difference” between a pound sign and a hashtag
- Fold a fitted sheet
- Know the 5 second rule is a lie
- Realize your smart phone is not all that smart
- The ability to not accidentally open the front facing camera
- Resist the snooze button
- Know that it’s “Firefox” and not “Foxfire” (and that it has nothing to do with Fyre)
- Know which Hogwarts House you belong to
- Know not to get attached to any Game of Thrones character
- The realization that Chuck Norris is just a mortal man
- Your future great American novel will never be written
- Know that puppy videos are superior to kitten videos
- Know to renew your vehicle registration online
- Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy: all real
- Be firm in your position on the debate about "The Dress"
- Finally throw away all those Beanie Babies you were going to sell on eBay
- Know the difference between the “flossing,” “dabbing” and "nae nae-ing"
- Participate in at least one flash mob
- Have dabbled in at least one of the following fads: dancing the Macarena, the paleo diet, planking, fidget spinners
- Know how many degrees you are away from Kevin Bacon
- Memorize your license plate, social security and library card number
- Be able to make change without a calculator
- Knit an ugly Christmas sweater
- Master 5th grade math
- Like us on Facebook!
- And Twitter!
- Know if you’re winter, summer, spring, fall, or colorblind
- Decide for once and all: Yanny or Laurel?
- Know that kitten videos are superior to puppy videos
- Save your documents frequently
- Know what "literally" literally means.
- Read. Read a lot. Literally.
- Realize you were a hipster before it was cool
- Exercise your critical thinking skills as often as possible
- Be able to calculate a 15% tip in your head
- Know how to parallel park
- Don't always do what your GPS tells you to
- Set healthy boundaries. Know when you can, and when you can't even.
- Know that links online don't always go where you expect
As always, you can turn to your local Library for help developing and nurturing life skills - at any age.