Education & Classes in Hollister

While her husband was in Iraq, KinderJam founder El Brown struggled to entertain her toddler with high-energy, enriching activities that would prepare him for kindergarten. Drawing on her master's degree in early-childhood education and more than a decade as an educator for children around the globe, Brown devised a program that has since become a preschool franchise reaching more than 1,300 children in four countries. The KinderJam curriculum, designed to mesh with NAEYC framework and Developmentally Appropriate Practice standards, fosters creativity and school skills with vibrant props, creative movement, and boisterous music. For younger participants, weekly BabyJam sessions strengthen bonds between infants and parents through music-fueled tickling, cuddling, and trigonometry-proof analysis.

Brad Cursio usually begins his golf lessons by telling his students to ignore the outcomes of their swings. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s a cornerstone of the Fresno State alum's cerebral approach to the game—one shaped during his years as a golf-school director, when he regularly watched amateur players go crazy obsessing about the length and accuracy of their drives. When he started his own golf school, Monterey Bay Golf Academy, Brad took his past experiences into account and instituted a method of instruction that charts the swing’s progress rather than the ball’s path.

Students at first skeptical of Brad's efforts to refocus their minds on swing mechanics should remember that he used the same method to become a PGA Class-A professional. To supplement his instruction, Brad utilizes the latest in swing-analysis technologies and sends his students home with DVDs packed with analyzed footage of their swings. He and his team of golf professionals also lead multi-day golf schools for all abilities. These schools focus on developing well-rounded players with lessons in swinging, putting, and wrestling mishit balls from the jaws of lake monsters.

Although Monterey Dance Studio is staffed by internationally competing ballroom dancers and a National Dance Council judge, it doesn’t cater exclusively to professionals. Rather, the instructors employ their collective wisdom to share the art of ballroom dance with students seeking to enter competition and participants simply looking for a sociable way to stay fit, have fun, and hold hands in public. Couples seeking training and choreography tips for their first wedding dance can also benefit from the studio’s private instruction.

For nine years, Gloria Walker has helped clients of all ages and fitness levels shape up with low-impact exercises. She puts her certification from the Aquatic Exercise Association to good use while leading exercises that strengthen muscles, lower blood pressure, and build endurance in both deep and shallow waters. Gloria outfits clients with hand buoys and flotation belts so that they can concentrate on toning muscles and flexing newly formed gills. To further reduce the risk of injury, Gloria—who is also a licensed lifeguard certified in advanced first aid and CPR—emphasizes body alignment and deep breathing.

Brimming behind a curved glass exterior, painstakingly crafted bisque pieces perch on sleek black squares while original drawings and paintings cascade across the light-strewn walls of The Chartreuse Muse. Inside, local artists showcase their pièces de résistance and helm classes in the dynamic space's art school. Sessions for all ages and levels tackle a bevy of media, such as clay, charcoal, and acrylic paints, and inspire students to draw, paint, or create mixed-media collages of their tax-return documents.

Youth and adult classes are scheduled on Friday evenings at either 6:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. and last 45 sock-rocking minutes. Feel free to bring your own guitar if you have one; otherwise, you can rent one of C.B.'s acoustic guitars. After the completion of your first lesson, you will have six weeks to complete the remaining three. C.B. Perkins is a family-owned business that has been repairing broken guitars and molding musical rock stars out of Jell-O since 1923. The talented, guitar-shredding instructors are willing to slow their pace to effectively teach students even the most basic guitar basics.