Personal Enrichment   

Certain quick breads and flatbreads lend themselves well to baking without wheat protein (gluten). This hands-on, two-night class will cover the basics of baking without gluten, making muffins, cookies, granola, and pizza dough from scratch. If you or a member of your family is gluten intolerant, or you would like to remove wheat from your diet and still enjoy baked goods, then this is the perfect class for you!

To those in the know, even a stone by the side of a hiking trail can tell you quite a lot about its origins - and those origins trace back remarkably far. In this course, you'll learn all about rock-forming minerals; the rock cycle; and igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. You'll also take your knowledge into the field to study local geography and collect a variety of ancient stones, including 1.4-billion-year-old Belt quartzite, 50-million-year-old Challis porphyritic volcanics, and 6-million-year-old Columbia River basalt!

Smartphone photo quality is well beyond the capacity of your childhood Brownie film camera. Join this class to learn how to use your iPhone or Android smartphone to "see" interesting photo opportunities and discover your phone's simple but marvelous editing tools. The class will include PowerPoint presentations, field work, and sharing.

Each of us has a story to tell. Whether your story is fiction, creative nonfiction, a memoir, or an essay, the elements of writing are the same. Students will work on different writing elements each week and share their writing by reading it aloud, then critique the work of other class members.

Enhance your balance, gain strength, improve physical grace, and promote mindfulness and spiritual awareness with hatha yoga. We'll focus on the foundations of yoga postures (asanas) with movement and flow, as well as emphasize the benefits of hatha yoga to the body and mind. Join us for a lifelong journey!

Explore a series of thematically-related films. We'll engage in lively discussions as we analyze the films and our responses to them, while developing a sense of each film's creation, impact, and place in history.

Story is the fabric of life. Even though you may have run the idea for at least one story through your mind many times, you may have been reluctant to write it down, let alone share it with others. In this course, you will learn how to do both in safety and at your own pace. Learn the elements of good writing, work on a different element each week, and - once you've gained confidence - begin to share your writing. You will also learn how to edit your own stories and how to help other writers by making instructive comments about their work.

Despite the still-active myth of Jewish passivity during the Holocaust, Jewish people resisted the Nazis in every way possible, violently and nonviolently, in the ghettos, forests, concentration camps, death camps, and all countries occupied by the Germans. We will watch and discuss five films that deal with this resistance: The Pianist, Defiance, The Grey Zone, Korczak, and Defiant Requiem.

In this class, fellow students will rediscover American author Ernest Hemingway. We will explore his life, his world, his themes, his influence, his portrayal in art and film as well as his words. We will read several of Hemingway;s stories; watch some films inspired by him, including a biography; and discuss and debate his work. Come ready to explore!

Study Supreme Court cases from 1954 to present dealing with privacy, abortion, affirmative action, and the separation of church and state. How is the Constitution interpreted? What is stare decisis? What does it mean to say that a prior Court decision was wrong? Is the Supreme Court political? What are the Chevron doctrine, the major question doctrine, substantive due process, and originalism? By the end of this class, not only will you be able to answer such questions - you'll also have a stronger understanding of how the Supreme Court works, be better able to analyze recent Court decisions, and be well-equipped to defend or critique the Court.

Have you always wanted to read War and Peace but felt intimidated by its sheer length? Embrace this opportunity to finally start conquering the Mt. Everest of Literature with an encouraging teacher guiding you through it and supportive classmates alongside!

Have you ever wanted to tell the story behind an old photograph? In this course, we will discuss ways to potentially identify the dates, locations, and people in old photographs. While it's not possible to find an exact answer for every photo, details of your picture - including clothing, hats, hairstyles, type of photo, and background - can teach you much of interest. Using the factual details you've uncovered, you will write about all that you've learned, and then share your discoveries by reading aloud the story of your image to your fellow students. Writers of all levels are welcome!

Anyone can develop and produce videos by using the common programs already on their desktop computer, tablet, or phone! Create and publish your own art, photos, stories, and presentations in videos that are easily shared by social media, email, print, or even included as a code in written correspondence. Sharing our stories in current formats opens the door for more people to enjoy our families, communities, art, and history.

By the end of class, you'll have completed a short video that is ready to publish on YouTube, along with the practice and know-how to create your own longer stories. Share your videos with family and friends or publish on your own YouTube channel.