Expand Your Horizons with a Continuing Education Class

The Community and Continuing Education Department at Kalamazoo Valley Community College provides innovative and relevant lifelong learning opportunities to community members of all ages. Classes emphasize personal enrichment, professional development and community outreach and are not a part of a degree completion program.

A small sampling of the classes follows:

FITNESS CENTER BASICS remains an option for community members who wish to exercise in the Wellness and Fitness Center at the Texas Township Campus. The $75 course runs through May 4.

A NEW FIT KIDS CLASS is also offered this winter at the Wellness & Fitness Center runs from Jan. 24 - Feb. 28 on Thursdays from 11 - 11:45 a.m. Instructor Elizabeth Huff Willis incorporates kid-friendly music, obstacle courses, games, simple dance choreography, and yoga-stretching for ages 3-5. Cost $40.

THE MASTER RAIN GARDENER TRAINING COURSE Wednesdays, 5:30 - 8 p.m., Feb. 20 - March 27 at the Food Innovation Center. The $45 fee covers everything needed to create a living rain garden. A rain garden mimics nature by letting rain water soak into the ground. It’s a garden bed planted in a shallow depression with plants especially adapted for dry and wet conditions.

BEEKEEPING 101 offered at the Food Innovation Center, 224 E. Crosstown Parkway. Beekeeping 101 runs on Tuesdays from 6 - 8 p.m. Feb. 26 - April 2. This is the first course of the three part beekeeping series. Instructor Charlotte Hubbard will cover introductory bee biology, equipment, apiary preparation, options for obtaining bees, and how to get them into their new home. The fee is $140.

BEEKEEPING 102 also $140, runs from April 30 - June 4 on Tuesdays from 5:30 - 8 p.m. This course is the second in the three part beekeeping series. Weather permitting, students will work in the Kalamazoo Valley apiary each week, evaluating hive strength and health and learning how to support growing colonies. Classroom review with instructor Charlotte Hubbard will cover swarming, splits, integrated pest management, and a further focus on biology through the season and keeping bees in Southwest Michigan.

CIDERS AND SYRUPS FOR WINTER WELLNESS taught by Herbalist Brenna Pixley, 6 - 8 p.m. on Feb. 18 and 25. Participants will take home samples and recipes for products made in class that can be easily recreated at home. Pixley also teaches Herbal Household Products class on Feb. 21 from 6 - 8 p.m. for $30 and Spring Foraging and Herb Walks on Thursdays, April 18 - May 23 from 6 - 8 p.m.

SPRING BAKING CLASS with Kalamazoo Valley culinary instructor Chef Cory Barrett, 5:30 - 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 also at the Marilyn J. Schlack Culinary and Allied Health building. In this hands-on session, Chef Barrett will explain how to create simple baked goods that feature the seasonal foods. Cost $65.

VIDEO GAME ART WORKSHOP at the Center for New Media with instructor Michael Beyene, March 24 - May 12, on Sundays from 1 - 4 p.m. Participants will learn the basics of 3D modeling, texturing, animation, and how to integrate work into a game engine and 3D viewer. Learning to work with a team is vital in this industry and participants will learn to work together to build beautiful asset packages for game environments. Knowledge of using a PC is important. Knowledge of using e-mail is a must. Knowledge of some Photoshop is helpful. Geared to ages 15 and up. Cost $200.

There are also cooking classes for youth, Coffee and Conversation book clubs, a Families in Transition workshop designed to help children cope with divorce and dozens of other offerings.

At the Groves Campus, a number of corporate training courses are available. LEADERSHIP: COACHING ON THE FRONT LINE is a popular offering. The next session runs on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m., April 16 - May 14. The course, taught by Fred Brown, helps leaders improve in their evolving role and learn to build leadership skills through the use of: feedback, communication, coaching, improving and performance.

To review the complete list of Community and Continuing Education courses, visit www.kvcc.edu/community,