Rhizome is pleased to offer a range of in-depth programming, facilitated by practitioners, for homeschoolers and afterschoolers. These will be small, friendly, relaxed classes focused on creative collaboration and open-minded engagement with the material. Please email info@rhizomedc.org with any questions. Scholarships available. Classes meet in-person at Rhizome except where noted.
Introduction to Music Theory | Mondays 9:30-10:30am | Ages 14+ or permission from instructor | January 9 - May 22
Collage, Assemblage and Mixed Media | Mondays 12:15-1:45pm | Ages 11-15 (flexible) | January 23 - June 12
Story Structure | Mondays 2-3:30pm | ONLINE OR IN-PERSON | Ages 12-15 | January 23 - May 22
Writing for Flow | Mondays 4:15-5:05pm | ONLINE OR IN-PERSON | Ages 9-11 | January 23 - May 22
Literature and Resistance | Wednesdays 10am-noon | Ages 14+ | January 11 - April 26 | FULL/WAITLIST except returning students
Literature and Composition | Thursdays 10-11:30am | Ages 12-13 | January 12 - April 27
Hands-on Botany | Fridays 10-11am | Ages 9-13 | March 3 - May 26 | FULL/WAITLIST except returning students
Writing for the Real World– Writing Studio on Exposition, Persuasion, and Making It Matter | Fridays 10-11:30am | ONLINE ONLY | Ages 14-18 | January 27 - May 19
No classes January 16 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), February 20 (Presidents’ Day), or April 3-7 (Spring Break). Additionally, no collage class April 10 or May 29.
Introduction to Music Theory | Mondays 9:30-10:30am | Ages 14+ or permission from instructor | January 9 - May 22 | $80-200 sliding scale
This one semester class will give an overview of western music theory, including both how it describes the classical music of western Europe, and how the same language is commonly applied to describe folk, blues, rock, pop, and jazz, including ways in which it is and is not adequate to describe those genres. We will start with the basics, including staff notation, key signatures, meters, scales, and triads. We will then move on to an overview of harmonic analysis, melodic theory, and form in western European classical music. Finally we will discuss how melody, harmony, form, and rhythm vary in other types of western music and how we can describe them.
This class is for high school students. Some musical experience will probably be helpful but is not required. This is not an AP course and is not intended to prepare students for the AP music theory exam.
Collage, Assemblage and Mixed Media | Mondays 12:15-1:45pm | Ages 11-15 (flexible) | January 23 - June 12 | $300-450 sliding scale
Considering mythologies, mysteries and symbols; our surroundings and selves, participants will create various 2D artwork and sculptural objects over multiple weeks. Participants will look at and discuss the work of modern and contemporary artists who create using collage and assemblage, trying out some of their techniques. Using pen and ink and paints, found and made papers, ceramic and wood as well as repurposed and natural objects, participants will create experimental and cohesive projects.
Story Structure | Mondays 2-3:30pm | ONLINE OR IN-PERSON | Ages 12-15 | January 23 - May 22 | $290-$430 sliding scale
For six imaginative people aged 12-15 who like to weave a yarn---
Bring your ideas, projects or ready minds to learn the secrets of a gripping plot, no matter your medium.
What makes a story go?-- The inciting incident, plus character development, setting, and Point of View.
What keeps us hooked?-- The midpoint transformation, plus internal and external conflict, failure, and struggle.
What makes a satisfying ending?-- The climax, plus putting our plot in moral context.
Polish and Communicate-- Guiding the experience through imagery, symbolism, and detail.
Throughout we will talk about Conflict, the essential ingredient for every story. We will hone a critical understanding of our own and other stories, explore archetypal and experimental plot structures, and frolic in the fertile creative ground of mixed feelings.
Upon registering, please include the participant's favorite story to share with the class. If we can read/watch/consume a few common stories, we'll benefit from the shared reference point.
Writing for Flow | Mondays 4-4:50pm | ONLINE OR IN-PERSON | Ages 9-11 | January 23 - May 22 | $160-$240 sliding scale
This is a play-based practice class for 9-11 year olds. Creative prompts, group writing activities, and in-class writing sessions-- great for enthusiastic writers but designed to entice the reluctant or inhibited writer too. Writing as a form of play helps shorten the distance between the thoughts in our heads and the words on the page. Go wild, and go for the giggles, while building stamina, confidence, and appreciation for the possibilities of the blank page.
Literature and Resistance | Wednesdays 10am-noon | Ages 14+ | January 11 - April 26 | $450 (sliding scale available if needed) * THIS CLASS IS FULL except for returning students - others who sign up will be placed on a waitlist *
The focus of this class is literature that emerges from, responds to, or enacts forms of resistance. We will read essays, poetry, and fiction, watch films, and listen to podcasts that address political struggles, social injustice, and/or resist power structures. In response to the literature, students will experiment with various essay forms, with opportunities for creative writing as well. While considering principles of composition and rhetoric, we will be asking: What are authors accomplishing in their work, and how do we engage with them? How can we most effectively express ourselves?
This class will help students develop their ability to express complex arguments and analyses, as well as sharpen their attention to details of grammar and style. We will focus on what makes writing effective and enjoyable to read, as well as how to feel confident with one's writing voice. Classes will involve short lectures, discussions, writing, and small group work.
Literature and Composition | Thursdays 10-11:30am | Ages 12-13 | January 12 - April 27 | $325 (sliding scale available if needed)
In this class, students will strengthen their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. We will read works of fiction and nonfiction, and write stories, letters, poems, and creative essays (among other things) in response. Class time will be devoted to discussions, writing activities, and language/storytelling games. Our goal is to challenge ourselves and enjoy literature and writing. Students will be expected to read roughly 50-100 pages a week, and there will be optional writing assignments outside of class.
Hands-on Botany for returning students | Fridays 10-11am | Ages 9-13 | March 3 - May 26 | $170-$250 sliding scale * THIS CLASS IS FULL except for returning students - others who sign up will be placed on a waitlist *
Students will learn and practice plant identification skills, explore the plant groups that grow in different ecosystems, discuss the relationships between plants and humans, and learn practical uses of area plants. Each student will keep a nature journal throughout the class.
*This class meets in different locations (all within a couple miles of Rhizome) from week to week including: Spring Park in Takoma Park; Carter Barron at 16th/Kennedy NW in DC; Rock Creek Park in the vicinity of Takoma; Wangari Gardens in Columbia Heights.
Writing for the Real World– Writing Studio on Exposition, Persuasion, and Making It Matter | Fridays 10-11:30am | ONLINE ONLY | Ages 14-18 | January 27 - May 19 | $290-430 sliding scale
Students will engage in a rigorous routine of reading, writing, and revising. Using model writing samples, we will learn to read like practicing writers instead of language arts students. Then students will apply their learning to their own writing, and each other's. The goal is for students to both master and move beyond writing for an audience of teachers and admissions staff. In this class, we write clear, complex, careful prose that people want to read.
About the instructors:
Leslie Bumstead is a writer and educator who teaches literature, composition, and creative writing in the DC area. She has taught in various settings: homeschooling cooperative, public high school, AIDS clinic, university, prison, and summer camp. Her collection of poems, Cipher/Civilian, was published by Edge Books in 2005. Other works, including essays and translations, have appeared in anthologies and literary magazines. She loves to collaborate with students and facilitate their own engagement with literature and writing.
Chris Helzer is a telecommunications engineer and amateur electronic musician. In addition to occasionally teaching courses in the workplace, he has taught physics and computer programming in a homeschool cooperative, and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for various subjects with his students.
Anna Josephson is a homeschooling parent in the District. She grew up in Alaska, where she received Socratic seminar education starting at age 12. She is a published author currently shopping her first novel.
Caroline MacKinnon is a parent, artist and educator who lives in Takoma Park, MD. She teaches ceramics classes to children and adults at the Takoma Park Community Center. She also holds art workshops for small groups in area schools and has previously run arts camps at Rhizome. She likes meeting people, making art and collecting things.
Holly Poole-Kavana was a budding botanist at a young age, and followed her interest to earn a BS in botany from Cornell University in 2000. She started studying herbal medicine in 2005 at the Pacific School of Herbal Medicine in Oakland, CA after her experiences with health care work led her to seek out new option for healing. She went on to apprentice with herbalist 7song at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, participating in medicine making, free clinic consultations, and wildcrafting in addition to classroom learning. She also completed the Sacred Plant Traditions Clinic II program in which student herbalists see clients in a free clinic under the supervision of experienced mentors. She practices herbal medicine in Washington DC. She has led countless plant walks and taught a range of plant-focused classes to all ages, including to several local homeschool groups.