#9 So Much to Write About, So Little Time!

Doesn't it seem like yesterday that we were writing about washing the sheep??? Well time flies, and animals roll in the mud... it's a life cycle of sorts! Today, Kristen & Candi washed sheep with 3 boys from NW Academy... The sheep, (Percy, Thomas, and Babs) are all beautiful but our instructors look like they've been dragged behind the horses! One of our boys has tremors that make it difficult to even hold a pencil. Needless to say, holding the garden hose brought new meaning to communal bathing! Although normally difficult to raise a smile, this young man was belly laughing so hard that anything that had a chance of staying dry was equally soaked! Lucky for us, we've got instructors who are equally as easily entertained. Even their NWA teacher, Sarah, got drenched when the sheep did the ever popular dog shake! :) Water and suds everywhere, our volunteer Gloria, raised a concern that the sheep may not be rinsed well enough.... Since the yard looked like an Ivory soap commercial, complete with 3 foot suds, the vote was unanimous that the sheep were JUST FINE & finished!!!
As to other happenings, instructors Candi, Jan and Jill Browne have just returned from a 3 day corrective thinking certification. This curriculum, called Truthought, is used in correctional facilities across the country. Research has proven its tremendous value in working with both juvenile and adult offenders, and the gals predict that it may be equally as useful in managing the home front!! :) If you're interested in more info, talk to Rogie Spon at www.Truthough.com. As for future staff improvement, TLC will be hosting the equine-assisted psychotherapy founder, Greg Kersten, for a 1 day "taste of" workshop on March 28, and a 3 day certification training on May 8, 9, and 10. For information on these great workshops go to www.OkCorralSeries.com. And if you see volunteer coordinator / equine specialist, Candi Bowersox, be sure to congratulate her; she's just been promoted to the Light Center position of Associate Director. Kudos to Candi!!!
October proves to be a busy month as the farm hosts service days from both Dawnbreakers Rotary and the Woodstock Baird Warner volunteer gang. Our new fence materials have all arrived and we hope to be looking at the brand new configuration by months end. YEAH!!!! Our 4 legged friend, Rhett, has also returned to us from equine boot camp, so the new fencing will hopefully keep him reasonably distanced from his harem of equine lady friends. Ok, maybe we'll let one go to his side of the fence to play, but only one!!
On other kid news~ One of our hyperactive 8 year olds gleefully announces to her grandmother that she's "going to her job" when she arrives for programming. Her high energy makes her the perfect little "employee!" One of our boys, 11 year old Stu, says he plans on being our new park district spokesperson because he's the only kid who's officially "graduated" from our program. Of course he just can't stay away, so we hear he'll be coming back to actually ride the horses in the near future! Clare Woods primary kids have just completed the first 4 week rotation of the 2007-2008 school year, and we'll be seeing the high school vocational kids for the next 4 week rotation. However, rumor has it that the primary teacher is not eager to be giving up her spot and isn't moving over quite graciously. What was our spotlight word this week??? "Sharing???" Ha! Just kidding! Anyway, they had a great time and we're all looking forward to the next gang.
And less we forget, we've got a special thank you for Doris Dickerson from Hubbs Nursery. Doris is always generous in helping with our garden needs and has recently done a great deal of leg work in researching just which plants will work best for dried flower procurement. Not to mention donating a bunch of the plants for our fall planting! This is part of our new plan for next year's garden, so watch for updates for the '08 dried flower sale!
Well, I'm sure I've forgotten tons, so keep watching~ Blog #10 is sure to be just around the corner! I think I'll get Candi to spotlight our volunteer force in the next issue; you know, they are the unspoken heroes of TLC!
Keep smile'n,
Jan