Education & Classes in Stratford

Jackie Harris, mother of two, uses the knowledge she gleaned while studying art at Kenton College to kindle a passion for art in every child she teaches. She believes art can not only unleash a child's imagination, but also improve their self-esteem. In her family-oriented Kids Creation Art Studio, Harris and her experienced team engage pint-sized artists with paint-your-own pottery, daylong or week-long summer camps, 12-week art classes, and blank canvasses coated in sugar. Troupes of youngsters can also visit the studio for art-filled birthday parties that include two hours of studio time, facepainting, and sweet treats.

Instinct Windsports gives humans the means to defy gravity and evolution. Everyone from beginners to experienced hang gliders can learn the ways of flight, with instructors making safety their top priority. Ground schools explore the gliders and their underlying principles before a scooter-mounted towing winch and a computerized simulator let beginners ease into flight. Although not included with this Groupon, more experienced students can work through certification courses that give them the techniques necessary to soar on their own.

For a safe, immersive introduction to the world of hang gliding, the center’s certified pilots also offer tandem flights. A high-powered winch or an ultra-light airplane tows the duo to as high as 1,500 feet before releasing the glider to the instructor’s control. During the next 10–30 minutes, adventurers gain a birds-eye view of the surrounding area and the possibility of controlling the glider so they can brag to their land-bound pets after landing.

Cofounded by dancing legend Fred Astaire to train new generations of rug cutters with his signature easy grace, Fred Astaire Dance Studio uses a unique curriculum to create comfort on the dance floor. Instructors start with steps and rhythms common to most social dances, steadily building toward more specialized combinations of moves for a variety of rhythm-dance styles such as cha-cha and samba and smooth-dance styles such as the foxtrot and waltz. Once they've learned to follow, lead, or just pare down unnecessary finger snaps, students can take to the purple-walled dance floor to practice their steps and try on new partners at social parties.

Helmed by Chef Suki Kaur-Cosier, Cooking Matters invites chefs of all experience levels to nourish their love of the culinary arts in fun, hands-on classes. Every month, she designs a lesson plan that literally expands the horizons of her pupils—many classes highlight cuisines from countries as diverse as Morocco, Italy, Thailand, and Never-Never Land. Other classes help locals adapt to dietary restrictions such as gluten intolerance or calorie restrictions with bold, delicious recipes. The class structure is simple and practical: students step up to the stove and actually prepare a four-course meal on their own. As they work, the chef patrols the room, offering suggestions and scolding watched pots that refuse to boil.

The instructors at Waterloo Dance don't believe in age restrictions—after sorting students into groups of their peers, they steer 5- and 90-year-olds alike through ballroom and Latin steps. Whether they are prepping performers for a competition or schooling first-timers on basic spins, they cater their lessons to each visitor's goals. Top 40 hits boom throughout the classes geared toward teens, where pupils learn lifts, dips, and how to send texts to their partner in mid-twirl. Meanwhile, children's classes emphasize the confidence-boosting elements of dance while honing motor skills. The studio hopes to foster new social connections between its guests, assuring solo dancers that they need not bring a partner to practice styles such as the waltz, tango, jive, and cha-cha.

Focusing largely on watercolours, acrylics, and oils, the resident instructors at Forest City Decorative Artists help students create paintings showcasing vibrant objects such as folk-art fruit baskets, twinkle-eyed cats, or a trio of multihued umbrellas perched in the sand. Other media, from coloured pencils to sculpture, have tiptoed into the curriculum as well. These techniques allow burgeoning artists to expand their repertoire as they shade portraits in various, non-smearing hues or mould expressive figurines known to hopscotch across the pages of paint-by-numbers books.