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The other day, I was talking with a friend about online classes. I told her how much I enjoy taking free MOOCs as well as the free online classes offered through Khan Academy.
My friend then told me about free online craft classes she loves to take. I didn’t even know these existed. But I checked them out, and now I’m taking a class that’s teaching me how to make beautiful one-of-a-kind greeting cards.
If you love to create homemade Christmas gifts, then I know you’ll enjoy these classes. Besides, I think they would be terrific to share with your residents.
You could take a class with a group of residents and then do a craft project together. Or you could offer the courses to individual residents who wish to learn a new skill or enhance a skill they already enjoy.
Yes, you can find lots of craft classes on YouTube. But I think you’ll find a huge difference in the quality and expertise that’s found in the two online resources I’m sharing with you today.
Craftsy
While Craftsy offers a multitude of paid classes, you can also take classes free of charge with no strings attached. Simply enter “free classes” in the search bar on their website.
Last time I checked, they offered 54 classes that require no payment. Here’s the receipt for the class I’m taking:
You can refine your skills in all sorts of areas on Craftsy. Class topics include knitting, quilting, cake decorating, paper crafts, jewelry making, painting, weaving, and woodworking—just to name a few.
Craftsy offers all the supplies you need for your crafts at reasonable prices. They also sell fun kits that contain everything you need to complete a project. That being said, you’re under no obligation to order your supplies from them if you take one of their classes.
Creativebug
Creativebug also offers an enormous variety of craft-related classes, both paid and free. They even expand to areas not available on Craftsy such as ceramics and bookbinding. However, Creativebug doesn’t sell craft supplies.
At Creativebug, you can either purchase individual classes, or you can buy monthly or annual memberships. Free trial memberships are also available if you want to check them out before committing.
I love that Creativebug offers classes for a wide range of ability levels. For example, they have an absolute beginner knitting class if you have a resident who wants to learn to knit for the first time. Or, for the advanced knitter, you can find classes that teach specialized techniques.
When searching for free courses on Creativebug, you’ll find that the free classes are mixed in with the fee-based classes. So be sure to watch for the blue “Free” logo next to the free courses.
Have you ever provided online classes for your residents? I would love to see your recommendations in the comment section!
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