The late Peter Beale, formerly of Eastlakes U3A, generously made the Keeping the Marbles Rolling (KTMR) program available for ongoing use by U3As. The only condition is that U3As must sign an agreement that it will be used solely for the U3A to which it is provided and not for any other purpose.
Aim Keeping your brain active is one of the ways by which you can maintain your quality of life. The KTMR program is designed to keep some of the functions of your mind in trim in the same way as you take physical exercise to keep your body in trim.
Brain functions our brain controls many aspects of what we do and feel including our emotions and our physical actions. The main functions helping us to do this are: verbal, numerical and spatial abilities; logic, or reasoning; creativity; and short and long term memory. We use these functions to a greater or lesser degree in the normal course of our lives. KTMR aims to help you exercise these seven functions systematically and regularly.
Presentation Keeping The Marbles Rolling is presented in a series of Programs to groups of between 10 and 20 people. A program consists of eight sessions of 1½ hours, generally given once a week. In each session there is at least one set of exercises for each of the seven functions except creativity, which is exercised by attendees in their own time. The method for doing this is explained in the KTMR Leaders Training Manual.
There is some progression from session to session in a few of the topics, but anyone can join the programs at any time. New starters will be helped as necessary by other course members and the course leader.
Students usually carry out the exercises individually, and the answers are then presented by the Leader, allowing time for group discussion and clarification. The exercises are intended to be fun, and there is plenty of social interaction.
Philosophy The exercises are strictly non-competitive. As with the body, regular exercise is important.
Peter Beale, was educated in England and in the Second World War, joined the Royal Tank Regiment and served as a tank troop commander. After the war he studied engineering at London University. In 1956, Peter emigrated to Australia and started work as a Management Consultant. He gained an Honours degree in Psychology and a Masters in Finance, then started his own business. Peter passed away, at aged 95 in May 2019.
The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. Pierre de Coubertin.
Access to Keeping the Marbles Rolling
Please use the email address shown below to Register your U3A to use the resource that is located on Dropbox. Access to the training manual, with the answers, for register U3A users will be by a folder on Dropbox. [Unfamiliar with Dropbox? Click HERE] Dropbox is quite usable and support will be available if needed. Sandy will also make herself available to advise groups running the program. It is currently running successfully in Eastlakes, Lake Macquarie, Tuggerah Lakes, Southlakes and other U3As across the country.
Agreement Process for KTMR
A U3A wishing to use the Keeping the Marbles Rolling program must nominate a representative to sign a the agreement on their behalf. This agreement commits the U3A to using the program solely by that group and for no other purposes. The agreement must be signed by the U3A representative and, following the recent death of Peter, the contact will be Sandy Freeman, of Eastlakes U3A. Sandy advises that she has been continuing to contact the current users and would be happy to provide advice on the process of accessing the program to other interested U3A potential users.
KTMR Contact: Sandy Freeman at sleefreeman@gmail.com.
