My little sister has always had a rough life.  She's been very emotional and dealt with things that have led her down dangerous paths.  Although she's not as bad off as she once was, she still wants to open a tattoo parlor in a very bad neighborhood and makes other dangerous decisions all the time.

Due to some recent events in her life, I've been trying harder than ever to 'be there' for her, so each weekend, we've gone out to exercise and grab a bite to eat. Usually we go to a nearby state park, but we decided to try something different yesterday.  She kept telling me that she felt dumb and wanted to learn things.... and it really broke my heart.  She spent a lot of time living in trailer parks, has absolutely no credit, and has so much debt that I don't know when she will get out of it. Nonetheless, I took her on a 2.5 hour tour of the college I attended.  I showed her where my office was at, where certain events happened, the places with the best views.... I even took her to the library where we took down books and flipped through them.

She absolutely lit up during the tour, re-emphasizing with more and more determination, "I want to learn!"

I've been trying to find more positive things for her life, and I adore learning myself.  What would be better, than for us to do something together in which we learn 'stuff'?

How do you go about finding cheap / free classes?  I know my college allows students to audit classes and I plan on asking about it... but what about outside of college?  I'm sure she'd love to learn about anything, and I'd be right alongside her in anticipation.  I do worry though, about the college thing, because those are likely to reach above our scopes of knowledge.

Is there some type of location where you can usually find out about such things and what are they like?

Do you have any other ideas for positive learning experiences I can enjoy with my sister?

There are a handful of schools and organizations that offer free classes. I think MIT is one of them. Just search for free online classes provided by colleges. Perhaps she could also try to educate herself via certain websites. As a college student, I've discovered (and have been directed to websites recommended by peers and professors alike) websites that offer content for free.

One of them is Khan Academy, a great tool that I'd use. The creator, Sal Khan, made the website with the goal of educating students in all subjects. The site has lessons for everything, from 1st-8th grade mathematics, chemistry, physics, U.S history,  etc. I used it for my statistics class in school (my professor told us to use it).

Then there are other websites, like Codecademy, that teach specific things, like the basics of coding and computer programming. If tech and coding websites sounds interesting to her, then that can be done as well.

There are a handful of online classes, you just have to look for something specific. She can also go the route of learning things on her own through the aforementioned websites. Hope some of this helps.

nreid1 :  Thank you very much for the information, but I guess I also should have clarified:  I'd like us to find something that we can go -out- and do.... not something we can do online. I've actually used Khan Academy and other websites for learning, but I think it's important that she gets out and interacts with other people.

Singelli : I see. Finding classes should be the best route, then. I don't about your location, but the New York Public Library offers classes in a variety of subjects. See if there is any local library or facility that offers them. One thing you also forgot to mention is groups and clubs. They probably seem uncommon, but they exist. Finding a local group that does workshops in anything could also help, but as mentioned earlier, it depends on your location. Being in New York, there's literally hundreds of groups and organizations that do stuff for free that people can enjoy. Depending on what they do, she can learn new skills, hobbies, or even other forms of knowledge.

Well, I have been hearing things on the news about free community college! I think President Obama was the one who put this into effect. Now, I don't know if you still need this information, but it will still be valid!