Education & Classes in Salmon Creek

Founded by passionate nutritionist and Western Culinary Institute graduate Julie Merry, The Merry Kitchen is geared toward teaching healthy, seasonal cooking to students of all ages. Each class holds eight to 10 kids, ensuring all junior chefs will receive a high level of attention. Upcoming subjects include the science of baking Disney Princess Dishes for kids ages 5–10 on July 10 and the art of Off to College Quick Meals for teens ages 16–18 on July 25. Most classes run two hours and include all necessary materials. Check out the calendar for an overview of upcoming classes.

After several years of suffering through classes filled with tweens, or missing sessions because of rigid scheduling, Evie Graham started her own dance studio. At Vega Dance Lab, everyone from people who have never strapped on groove shoes to seasoned adult students can school their left feet or untalented dancing bears in nine dances on a drop-in basis. Shuffle-savvy instructors school pupils in burlesque-inspired choreography and rocking hip-hop.

Teachers also integrate dance into intensive workouts such as Cardio Funk, an exercise regimen set to hip-hop music, or Tease & Tone, a session divided between 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of dance. Lessons kick off six days a week in Vega Dance Lab's graffiti-decorated warehouse where students can test their latest moves in a spacious environment.

has the whimsical appearance of a fairy-tale cottage, its white siding accented by baby-blue paint and surrounded by fresh flowers and topiaries. The interior of the century-old house is equally exciting to youngsters, though not because of a prince or fairy godmother willing to do all of the heavy lifting. Children work hard at The Kids Cooking Corner, but the work is disguised in fun and rewarded with tasty snacks.

Helmed by chef, health enthusiast, and mother of three Heidi O'Connor, the staff at The Kids Cooking Corner strives to educate whippersnappers on nutrition, food safety, and food prep, often helping picky eaters try new foods along the way. Brightly painted walls, a playful party room, and a fully stocked kitchen provide a safe, exciting environment for kids to get crafty with edibles during each class, as well as during summer camps, birthday parties, and peaceful games of food baseball.

Are you ready to take your Spanish to the next level? Just like a professional athlete has a personal trainer you can now have a personal Spanish instructor. Reserve a 50 minute lesson that fits your schedule then enjoy a Spanish lesson that is personalized just for you.

After an eight-year career in minor-league baseball, Coach Victor Hernandez went on to instruct hitting in 1986 at Eastern Oregon University, where he helped the team set most of its hitting records that still stand today. These days, Coach Vic teaches youth baseball players the same philosophies that penned EOU into the record books. At his indoor facility, he perfects students' hitting techniques in a professional batting cage furnished with a Home Plate pitching machine that lobs baseballs at speeds of up to 90 mph. The multitalented pitching apparatus can throw fastballs, curveballs, sinkers, sliders, change-ups, and kitchen sinks with a slight rising action, emulating various in-game situations with pinpoint accuracy. Softball players can also hone their hitting fundamentals similarly with the cage's Atec fast-pitch softball machine.

During one-on-one or group sessions, Coach Vic unveils the elements of a homerun swing, including proper stance, bat grip, and load. Through a series of drills, he gets batters to focus on proper hand action through the hitting zone and teaches them how to repeat the motion in every swing. As an all-around baseball player himself, Coach Vic can also instruct pitching mechanics.

As the middle child in a large family of lawyers, it took Carole Murphy 40 years to embrace her artistic destiny. Now nearly 20 years after her first exhibition at the Robert Paul Gallery in Burlington, Vermont, Murphy’s works have been seen in more than two dozen galleries, museums, and art centers. An established expert in the field, Carole contributed a spotlight piece on her specialty medium, aerated cement, in a 2007 issue of Sculpture Journal, and her 15 years of teaching experience ensure classes engage participants with student-designed projects and individualized attention.