#6 Mary Edwards & Kathee Michalski, this one's for you!

After taking the time to write these things, I must admit that I wondered if there was anyone out there who was actually reading them..... Wow, was I thrilled to find out we've actually got a little following!!! I went to a family reunion over the weekend and a couple of cousins (who unfortunately, I rarely see) were asking me when the next blog was posting! You could have knocked me over!!!!!!!!!!!! Mary says she actually gets a cup of coffee and sits down for a read! Way to go, cousins!!! You made my day! :)
Anyway, back to TLC, we're floating away out here at the farm! Like most everywhere in these parts, the rains just won't quit. Lucky for programming we can always see the kids inside, but we are called the "Light" Center and needless to say we're always looking for the sunshine! This week, many of our kids are off for a break between summer and fall sessions. We've got a number of individual participants, but overall it's a quiet, wet week.
Last week the NISRA summer camp was out and we spotlighted the word "Communication" for the whole week.
Both the younger kids and the teen group concentrated on non-verbal communication and what we can learn from the animals. We practiced making (and reading) faces; happy, sad, surprised, frightened, and we talked about animals that don't have facial expressions like our own bunnies and our silly goat, Carmel. We were also so very fortunate to have a well respected artist, Gerardo Trigueros of Costa Rica, work with us for 2 days. Gerardo showed the kids how to draw animals using circles, triangles, ovals, etc. And he brought in samples of his specialty, his own fantastic paintings of animals! Gerardo, was great with the kids and we often overheard him (in his heavy Spanish accent) gently saying things like, "sweet boy, watch how I do this... then we'll try this together." Gerardo has also volunteered to continue working with TLC throughout the next year. We are very fortunate! Anyway, back to the kids... We finished the week with a trip to Corbin's Exotic Pets in Marengo. One of our "Noahs" (we had two) couldn't get enough of the big snakes despite the fact that he wouldn't touch a single animal as the week went on! It was too funny to watch his unexpected fascination with his slithery new friend! The other kids had a grand time as well, with a particular intrigue for the tortoises and marmoset monkeys. Plus, Corbin's is wonderful for letting the kids touch and handle the animals. One of the teens was having a conceptual snag when Mark Corbin tried to get the parrot to say "hello." Each time Mark said, "say hello," the teen would reply "hello" while the parrot looked on in (I swear) silent amusement! Yes, it was non-verbal communication at its best and the bird was completely entertained by the humans!
Anyway, if the rains don't stop we're readying the barns to start marching our animals two-by-two! So until next time, or until you see a really BIG big boat floating away in western McHenry county... We're all here; waiting for the sunshine!
Jan