The center on Monday will begin its first series of Learning Enjoyment After Fifty (LEAF) classes for residents looking to expand their knowledge in a wide range of skills.
Classes will be conducted from 9:30 to 3 p.m. on Mondays from Sept. 28 though Nov. 16 at Woodstock Community Church on Main Street downtown.
The fee to participate is $25 for as many as three courses. Today is the last day to sign up for classes in person at the center, which is in the Woodstock Community Center at 108 Arnold Mill Road downtown.
A nonprofit educational program, LEAF will offer classes in such subjects as painting, singing, crocheting, local history, grandparenting, yoga, knitting, mah-jongg, greeting card creation, bridge, basket weaving, woodcarving, mosaics and exercise.
Betty Rice, senior center coordinator, said the idea to start the program came from witnessing the success of the Enrichment of Life Movement, or ELM, program in Marietta.
Like LEAF, ELM is a nonprofit, non-denominational enrichment program for adults older than 50 and has its classes on Tuesdays during the fall, winter and spring months.
She said the seniors at the Woodstock center have been clamoring for such a program.
"We have an active group of people here," she said.
Thirty people have already registered for the classes, Mrs. Rice said.
The classes will give many people an opportunity to take classes they've always had an interest in, she said.
"This would be something that would enhance the senior center program as well," Mrs. Rice added.
Volunteers are needed to teach more classes, and Mrs. Rice said anyone who wishes to teach a craft can call her at (678) 445-6518.
One volunteer who also teaches at the ELM program in Marietta is excited about teaching more students in the Cherokee County area.
Sutallee resident Karen Morris will teach crocheting and knitting to LEAF participants.
"It's good for your mind," she said of both hobbies. "It works both sides of your brain."
She and her 79-year-old mother began going to ELM classes when Ms. Morris said she noticed her mother didn't have any hobbies.
Ms. Morris eventually began teaching classes at ELM, where she now has about 40 students.
A retired teacher from the Cobb County school district, Ms. Morris said residents not only can "delve" into subjects that interests them, but they also meet new people and build strong friendships.
Woodstock resident Vicki Tap agrees. She will teach beginner and intermediate bridge classes as part of LEAF.
A long-time advocate for bridge, Mrs. Tap said the game relies on thinking and counting, something she said anyone older than 50 would greatly benefit from.
"It's just a way to learn new things at any age," she said of LEAF.
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