Summer is a great time to enjoy learning opportunities without missing a day of school. We’re offering a series of terrific workshops for educators - classroom, arts and SPED teachers, para-educators, administrators, out-of-school providers, librarians and media specialists, parents, and all those interested in inclusive education. Check out our Arts in Inclusive Learning page to read about - and register for – these low-cost workshops: “The Inclusive Arts Classroom”; “The Art of Writing (Turning words, sentences & stories into unique, student-created books)”; “Arts Across the Curriculum”; “Puppets! Puppets! Puppets!” (Making & Using Simple Puppets to Promote Learning); “Universal Design for Learning” (one or two days, starting with UDL 101 and continuing with UDL in Action); “Successful Inclusion” (a workshop for teaching artists); and “Singing Books” for early-childhood educators and care providers. These workshops address the needs of all learners, including students with disabilities and other learning challenges; they’re all hands-on, stimulating, interactive, and fun - and they all offer ideas you can immediately use in your classroom or other learning settings. Professional development credits are offered and scholarships are available.

Please join us Thursday, July 27, at 6:30 pm at the White Mountain National Forest Headquarters in Campton to meet 2017 WMNF Artist in Residence Steve Wilkes, and to hear about his work and his residency plans. Steve, a professor in the percussion department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, will be with us July 24 through August 12; he’ll initiate the process of creating an aural map of the Forest through field work that will include recordings of wildlife and insects, waterfalls and rivers, as well as human activity. The recordings will be mapped and made accessible online. Wilkes will also offer a series of programs with the ultimate intent of providing residents and visitors the tools - and know-how - to continue this work and contribute to the ongoing sound file collection. Read more here.

Free classes for adults 55 and older continue to be offered as part of our "Experience/Arts" partnership with the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council, made possible by one of only 15 national grants awarded by Aroha Philanthropies through its Seeding Vitality Arts initiative. These programs are intended to inspire and enable older adults to learn, make and share the arts in ways that are novel, complex and socially engaging. Community members are invited to a special celebration of our “Working with Clay” class Wednesday, July 26 at 7:30 pm at Horse Meadow Senior Center, 91 Horse Meadow in North Haverhill. There will be light refreshments, music and a chance to see the outdoor path-lights in action! (The indoor/outdoor exhibit can also be viewed this month whenever the Center is open.) And watch for our second round of classes this fall, in Plymouth, Lebanon, Littleton and Haverhill! Read more about "Experience/Arts" here.

Summer's officially here; we're soaking up sun -- and finalizing plans for next year! We invite educators, administrators, parents' groups, librarians, and all those interested in cultural programs throughout our region to help us finalize plans for the 2017-18 school year by completing this Program Survey. And educators and youth workers are also encouraged to fill out our Professional Development Survey -- click here to access it. Your feedback is hugely important to us! We also welcome comments, ideas and suggestions now and throughout the year.

We spent the month of May showcasing our member/partner organizations and member artists as part of our 30th anniversary celebration; click to see the 30 slides posted, honoring the work of individual artists, cultural organizations and nonprofits and businesses whose work incorporates the arts.

We have concluded this school year's formal regional artist residencies, but we're still working with many school and community partners on custom-designed programs, from workshops to community performances to one- or two-day residencies. If you'd like to piggyback on one of these opportunities, or develop one of your own, email us at programs@aannh.org. We also invite you to help us plan! As we prepare for the summer and for the 2017-18 school year, we're eager to work with you. If you're interested in cultural programs, partnerships and outreach opportunities, we encourage you to email or call us to let us know, and we'll be glad to talk or meet with you.

Are you a high-school or college student who'd like to learn more about the arts this summer? We're creating a series of opportunities for involvement for young people who'd like to experience hands-on arts and nonprofit work as part of their summer activities. Contact us at info@aannh.org if you'd like to hear more - or if you know someone who might.