Education Portal (List View)

This class will discuss the evolution, history, biology, behavior, and mysteries of buzzing insects with a focus on the honey bee. I will give a brief overview of beekeeping (this is not a how-to-keep-bees course) and honey bee products. We will learn the difference between bees and their wasp and hornet counterparts. We will explore the challenges facing bees and native pollinators, and you will discover how you can support bees and beekeepers. We’ll discuss some big names in the bee world and the amazing research they’re doing. There will be myriad stories about cool things and experiences. Note: This is NOT a Beekeeping class, however, it may give you an idea of what beekeeping entails and the amount, kind, and frequency of care involved. Also, I can certainly refer you to resources relevant to your geography (America only). [show less]

After completing the Quenya course, this ongoing Creative Quenya Translation group aims to take the Quenya learned in the course and apply it to more active creative endeavors: exploring the further poetic writings of Tolkien in Quenya, and translating classic texts into Quenya while working towards a conversational Quenya book. Prerequisite Note: This course is intended for students who have either completed Beginning Quenya or who already have a strong foundational understanding of Quenya. If you feel confident in your ability to engage with translation work and are comfortable navigating Quenya grammar and vocabulary, you're most welcome to join! [show less]

It turns out that writing dialogue can be tricky. A writer has to accomplish a lot through the way in which a character speaks, and how that speech is described. How do people talk to one another? Do they orate? Do they exchange fast and witty quips? Do they lecture one another to impart tons of needed exposition material? Does what they say and how they say it tell us anything about who they are? In this class we will experiment with different ways to write dialogue and incorporate it into a story. We'll explore how details of character diction can change how a reader understands the text of what a character says. We'll do exercises designed to practice achieving particular goals Finally, students will apply what we're working on to their own writing and will receive feedback using our Collaborative Feedback method. We're going to do a fair bit of writing, some in class, more outside of class as (optional) homework. By the end of the class a student should expect to be able to decide how a character should sound and then write dialogue that meets that goal. [show less]

When you think about your favorite stories, chances are you conjure the memory of a scene: the charge of the Rohirrim at the coming of the new dawn, Luke turning off his targeting computer as he flies down the trench, or when Ged finally acknowledges the identity of the shadow being that has followed him literally to the land of the dead. Stories are built out of scenes, and scenes like the ones above make stories memorable. In this class, we'll look at how to build scenes that accomplish specific things, according to the needs of the author and the story. We'll practice achieving specific goals, advancing the plot, expanding a characterization, even providing an opportunity for exposition. We'll do this through assigned exercises, and by looking at how to apply these skills to the students' own stories. We'll read each other's scenes and use our Collaborative Feedback method to help one another to sharpen our work. We'll be writers together helping each other's stories thrive. [show less]

One of the most crucial elements of education for millennia was teaching the ability to harness the potential of the memory. From the time of Homer until the 19th century, bards and bureaucrats both would have used established methods to organize and categorize their thoughts and remember crucial pieces of information. The legendary memories of men from Homer to Cicero to Shakespeare had less to do with their unique genius and more to do with their application of ancient methods of memorization, that can still be learned today. In this module, students will learn the ancient memorization techniques that allowed bards to recite thousands of lines of poetry and Shakespeare's actors to perform dozens of complicated monologues, and discover its applications to life in the 21st century. [show less]

Is your child struggling to learn how to read? Do they have trouble sounding out words, or understanding the meaning of new words? Do you struggle to explain why "one" begins with an o, and not a w? Then come learn more about the Science of Reading! This introductory module will show you all about the Science of Reading, and why everyone should understand these fundamental linguistic principles throughout their reading journeys (not just kids!). We will discuss the history of the American Reading Wars and how they have impacted reading instruction, what happens in your brain as you learn to read, and how to use systematic, "building-block" approaches in your own home when reading with your little ones. If you're interested in the "why" and "how" of reading, then this module is for you! [show less]