Do you want to prepare for the Accuplacer? It is the test required by many colleges around the country, including the University of Maine and Maine’s Community Colleges. Improve your math and reading skills so you can successfully pass the placement test and begin taking credit-bearing courses right away. INSTRUCTOR: Mary Angelini

Wells-Ogunquit Adult Community Education, in collaboration with the Wells Public Library, hosts monthly Afternoon and Evening Adult Book Discussion Groups. Discussions are facilitated by both Adult Education and Library staff. Books for the program are available through the MINERVA online catalog. Join us for lively discussions and shared insights. Please call the library at 646-8181 for a list of upcoming dates and book selections.

Learn a variety of the best techniques to preserve herbs in this hands-on workshop. We will discuss freezing and drying herbs, making herb pesto and infusing vinegars with creative herb combinations. Participants will receive recipes, enjoy samples of preserved herbs and prepare several preserved herb products to take home. Cost includes $20 for materials. INSTRUCTOR: Kate McCarty has been the Food Preservation Community Education Assistant at UMaine Extension since 2009, after serving in the AmeriCorps VISTA program. She has completed the Master Food Preserver program, an intensive, hands-on training in all aspects of home food preservation.

 

Communication is more than talking and listening. It’s also about sending and receiving messages through attitude, tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. As people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias progress in their journey, and the ability to use words is lost, families need new ways to connect. Explore how communication takes place when someone has Alzheimer’s, learn to decode the verbal and behavioral messages delivered by someone with dementia, and identify strategies to help you connect and communicate at each stage of the disease. INSTRUCTOR: Anne Romney has personal experience with aging parents, including the presence of Alzheimer’s. She has an M.Ed. in Counseling, a Certificate in Gerontology and is a trained educator/support group facilitator for the Alzheimer’s Association - Maine Chapter.

 

Challenge yourself by learning to play this mind-stimulating social table game for 3 or 4 players. It is much like gin rummy, using a set of checker-like tiles marked with Chinese symbols. Cost of Mah Jongg book and card is an additional $20 and available through Amazon. The instructor will provide information the first night of class. INSTRUCTOR: Beth Saidman is an avid Mah Jongg player and has been teaching for 18 years. She makes learning easy and fun.

 

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready for some fun. You will learn the Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba and Swing. Next time you attend a wedding, anniversary or other social event, you will be ready to dance the night away with confidence. No experience necessary. Everyone is welcome. Wear smooth-soled shoes; leather is ideal. Cost Per Couple $89., Cost Per Single $44.50. Instructor: Robin Shaw is a certified Fred Astaire dance instructor. She has been teaching dance since 2002 at the Portsmouth Ballroom and other adult education programs.

 

Beach profiling is a simple surveying technique used to measure the impacts of coastal erosion. Learn how citizen science is tracking sand erosion at beaches from York to Scarborough since 1999 through monthly data collection and collaboration with state and university researchers. This data is used to help beach management make decisions at the local and state level, and the data is shared at the annual Maine Beaches Conference. Find out how it’s done and how you can get involved as a volunteer. INSTRUCTOR: Jake Aman has been working at the Wells Reserve since 2008. He manages fisheries-related monitoring and restoration projects and works with volunteers to monitor coastal environmental conditions in Southern Maine.

This beginner guitar course aims to give new students the ability to become their own teacher on the guitar. Each student’s interests direct the learning goals to make practice time as fruitful as possible. After gaining some of the basics, students learn how to teach themselves and follow their musical interests with the guitar. You will learn: tuning and tuning resources, physical conditioning, stretching, practice techniques, reading tabs and music notation, chords (major, minor, 7ths, extensions, etc.), chord voicing, flat picking, strumming styles, finger picking technique, and basic guitar solo scales and licks. Students must bring their own acoustic guitar. INSTRUCTOR: Chrystoph (Kit) Demos was privately educated in classical and jazz studies since age 6 and has performed jazz internationally. He continues to perform and record throughout New England.