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Home » Free Online Classes Your Mom Will Love
Since retirement, your mom looks for ways to keep busy. Have you considered online classes at sites like EDX.org or Coursera.org? Many colleges and universities open their courses to people who want to learn something new.
Harvard’s Online Courses Through EDX.org
Harvard has two courses available for the beer and wine drinker. World of Wine delves into how grapes are turned into wine. The Science of Beer looks at how beers are made and what the differences are between ales and lagers, porters and stouts, and others.
The Science of Beer takes about six weeks to complete if your mom sets aside a couple of hours each week to read and view the materials. By the end of the course, she will understand the different styles and flavors/characteristics, know how beer affects her body, and understand how the ingredients work together to create a beer.
World of Wine is similar and takes about six weeks to complete providing she puts in about three hours a week. She’ll learn how different grapes turn out different wines. She’ll gain a better understanding of how grapes grow and must be managed to keep the vines flourishing.
Creative Writing
Does your mom enjoy writing or want to try? Coursera’s creative writing courses show people how to create vivid settings and characters, plot out a story that will entice readers, and bring those ideas to life. The course focuses on memoirs, short stories, and narrative essays.
The creative writing courses take over a year to complete. After completing them, your mom could pay to get a certificate in creative writing if she wanted. Otherwise, she is welcome to audit the courses without paying a penny.
Classical Music
Yale University offers a free in-depth course on classical music through Coursera. Participants explore the world of classical music by listening to different pieces, learning more about the musicians, and exploring how classical music has changed over the decades. The course lasts about nine weeks if your mom devotes three hours a week to the course.
Make sure your mom remains engaged and active after retirement. Free online courses help her achieve this, but getting out of the house is equally important. Elderly care aides can join her for walks in nature, take her shopping, and help her with housework. She gains a companion and has someone to talk to every week, day, or whatever her preferred schedule of elderly care services happens to be.