District 214 Community Education

Join us for one or all of our quick-hit Medicare Zoom meetups. Featuring a 15-minute presentation followed by a 15-minute Q&A session, all meetings are free of charge, but a donation is appreciated. June: Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care: This MEDICARE MINUTES discussion will cover Medicare covered skilled care, your rights and protections, and where you can get help with your questions. July: Your Guide to Choose a Nursing Home or Other Long Term Services & Supports: This MEDICARE MINUTES discussion will review detailed information on choosing a nursing home, as well as cost & coverage August: 4 Programs that can help you pay your Medical Expenses: This MEDICARE MINUTES discussion will cover the federal and state programs for people with limited income and resources.

Are you ready to take your game design skills to another level? With Unity, an industry-grade design software, aspiring game designers will learn level editing, 3D modeling, impactful gameplay creation, as well as how to utilize scripts and variables. This is an online class. * A Zoom link will be emailed to you a few days prior to the first scheduled class. *Compatible with MAC and Windows OS only and requires a 64-bit operating system. * Do you have the hardware to participate in this class? Check here for tech requirements: Black Rocket Tech Requirements

The guitar is one of the most versatile and popular instruments around, and our beginning guitar class is the perfect way to get started! In this introduction to guitar playing, we will cover basic chord shapes, strumming patterns and simple lead lines, and apply what we’ve learned to popular and well-known songs. No prior experience is necessary, students must provide their own guitars.

The ukulele is quickly becoming one of the most popular string instruments. Join our beginner class and learn all the basics you need to start your musical journey! In this class, we will cover basic chords, strumming patterns, and simple lead lines, as well as learn how to read tablature while applying these skills to learning popular and well-known songs. No prior experience required, students must provide their own ukulele.

Tone muscles and burn calories while moving your body to an eclectic mix of music! Drills and combos that are based on belly dancing and folk dancing will be featured along with the Tai Chi principles of grounding and balance. Classes are non-impact and self-paced, all levels are welcome.

There’s no time like Christmas in Chicago! Join us as we celebrate the season. After a late morning departure we’re off to the colorful Christkindlmarket, an enchanting and inviting holiday village at Daley Plaza. Shop for holiday crafts at the most authentic traditional holiday market of its kind outside of Europe or walk over to see the traditional holiday windows at Macy’s on State St. On North Michigan Avenue, enjoy lunch at the Grand Lux Cafe, where you’ll dine on internationally-inspired cuisine in an elegant and relaxed setting which is reminiscent of Italian Trattorias, French Bistros and the cafes of Vienna! As the sun goes down we visit Lincoln Park Zoo for their annual Zoo Lights* celebration. See Lincoln Park Zoo as it becomes a twinkling winter wonderland with their Enchanted Forest and Light Maze. Later we’ll experience the sparkling Chicago Christmas Lights as our deluxe motorcoach drives along the Magnificent Mile, through the Chicago Loop and Millennium Park to see Chicago’s official Christmas Tree and the glistening ice skating rink. A great way to celebrate the Holidays! *Subject to schedule released in October. A substitution would be made if necessary.

Students will explore the acoustic side of the classic rock era, from Clapton and the Eagles to the Beatles and Rolling Stones. We will learn chords, riffs, arrangements, and jam together-forming our own unplugged ensemble. Students of all levels are welcome; basic chord knowledge recommended. Must provide own instrument.

Calling all future coders, programmers, & designers! Learn the basics of coding languages like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS through a series of web projects and design challenges each day and be on your way to becoming the next tech star! Whether you want to be a silicon valley CEO or the high school student who just made $1 million dollars for programming in her bedroom, this course has the essentials you need to begin your journey. * This is an online class. A Zoom link will be emailed to you a few days prior to the first scheduled class. *Compatible with MAC, Windows and Chrome OS. * Do you have the hardware to participate in this class? Check here for tech requirements: Black Rocket Tech Requirements

Learn about the common patterns of negative thinking that contribute to depression and anxiety and how to work on being “unstuck” in these stubborn thought patterns. We’ll discuss how to identify these negative patterns and explore methods of redirecting these problematic thoughts.

Core Aquatics is a competitive swim team for swimmers ages 6 years old through high school. We believe in starting from the foundation and focusing on stroke proficiency while incorporating all racing aspects. The team centers on maximizing efficiency as the foundation to competitive racing and building speed through technique precision. We plan on attending two swim meets this summer, meet details are still TBD. Please note: All swim team members must also be members of USA Swimming. Membership applications will be provided by Core Aquatics, there is an $83 per year additional fee for the annual membership. Payment may be made online by enrolling in the class section called "USA Swimming Membership Fee". Orange squad: This is the first introduction to swim team and racing. Proper mechanics are required with an emphasis on racing and competing. Open to graduates from our Swim Team Prep program or swimmers who can demonstrate ability to swim all 4 competitive strokes as well as show confidence diving from blocks. Primarily a 7-8 year old age group. Choose to attend 3 of the 4 practices offered per week. Blue squad: The Blue Squad focuses on stroke technique and endurance as key aspects for advancing all four competitive strokes. Open to former Core Aquatics Orange Squad members or swimmers who can demonstrate an ability to legally swim all four competitive strokes for 50+ yards, including proper turns and diving off the blocks. Primarily a 9-10 year old age group. Choose to attend 4 of the 5 practices offered per week. Silver squad: The Silver Squad features continued race training and development of advanced swim techniques for Junior High aged and advanced younger swimmers. Open to former Core Aquatics Blue Squad members or swimmers who can demonstrate an ability to legally swim all four competitive strokes for 100+ yards, including proper turns and diving off the blocks. Must be able to swim 1000+ yards of freestyle nonstop. Primarily an 11-12 year old age group. Choose to attend 4 of the 5 practices offered per week. Navy squad: The elite Navy Squad is for senior level and advanced swimmers training for success at the high school level and beyond. This level is based on invitation only from the Head Coach and requires additional commitment to training and dryland opportunities. Open to former Core Aquatics Silver members or swimmers who have experience swimming on their high school varsity team. Must commit to 90% practice attendance per week, on time arrival for all practices, and commitment to train at a high level for the duration of the season. Choose to attend 5 of the 6 practices offered per week.

This class focuses on water adjustment, floating, and breathing all while building water confidence in younger swimmers. Each swimmer will progress through our robust curriculum individualized to their own skill level. Skills learned will include: developing comfort with water on their face and submersion, moving through the water on their own, rising and floating on both their fronts and backs and eventually incorporating kicking and movement, introduction to breathing techniques including maintaining the float position while breathing, mastering strong propulsion for recreation and pre-competitive swimming, basic water safety and the dos/don’ts of recreational swim. Please visit the Aquatics page on our website for a detailed program curriculum.

Swimmers will learn fundamental racing stroke mechanics in all 4 racing strokes as well as developing endurance in this swim team training program. Open to graduates from our Learn 2 Swim program and swimmers that can demonstrate the ability to swim 25 yard freestyle and/or backstroke plus some rudimentary ability in breaststroke.

Our Core Aquatics Water Polo summer season is focused on developing newcomers as well as more seasoned players who want to gain knowledge, technique, and skills. Coaches will divide players up based on age and skill level groupings while using drills and practice routines aligned with the best practices to help prepare athletes for success. Age Groups will play games during regularly scheduled practice times. High School Groups will play American Water Polo (AWP) league games on Wednesday evenings in lieu of Wednesday morning practices. Final summer game schedule has not yet been determined. Please note that all players must pay a $50.00 yearly membership fee through the American Water Polo website, americanwaterpolo.org, in order to participate in AWP games.

The basics of crochet and knitting will be taught to beginners, while experienced artisans will receive advice and instruction to create projects of their choice. All beginners should bring a skein of 5-8 oz. light-colored worsted weight yarn (#4), a pair of small scissors, a three-ring binder notebook to hold letter size handouts and a pen. Crochet beginners bring an I-9 crochet hook; knitting beginners bring short number 9 knitting needles. Experienced artisans bring their own projects to work on.

You will remember why you fell in love during our Connecting through Candles Date Night. Each couple will take home one 8 oz. Love Affirmation candle, which has a soy and coconut blended wax with a mix of lavender and patchouli essential oils. There will also be the option to add in flower petals and/or herbs. There will be different love affirmations to choose from to intend into the candle you get to bring home. Candles will need to cool overnight.

As the saying goes “communication is the foundation of a healthy relationship.” Communication has the power to bring partners closer together or push them away from one another. Frequent challenges when discussing important issues can lead to feelings of anxiety, disappointment, resentment, decreased trust, and sometimes a lack of desire to share parts of yourself with your partner. Mindful communication is rooted in being intentional about how you express your thoughts, feelings, and needs with your partner. This session will provide some practical strategies to use in your relationships to increase maintain an emotional connection with your partner. Incorporating greater awareness of mindful communication can make the process of repairing and resolving relationship differences less challenging, and help orient the relationship toward a stronger connection and a more satisfying relationship.

This class will focus on stretching the hip flexors, IT bands, hamstrings, shoulders, back, chest and legs for increased range of motion, flexibility, relaxation and relief of sciatica, back pain or injuries. Bring a mat to class.