This summer, we’ve been delighted to host Kids Like Us on the farm. KLU provides year-round counseling and support for children affected by alcohol or drug use in the family. During the summer, each of the 6 weeks of camp (serving 6 different age groups) features one day at the farm. The kids always descend from the vans bouncing with enthusiasm. The kind-eyed counselors, Lauren and Murissa, follow behind.
Usually, they begin with bagged lunches in the farm pavilion or in the pine cathedral before making their way around the farm to visit with our animals. The kids are all full of questions and fascination out in the field with the horses, oohs and awws with our baby goats, delighted squeals at our cows, and gentle admiration of our chickens. After these animal visits, the kids and counselors make their way up to our fire ring.
At the fire ring, they make a fire and s’mores before burning their ‘peace box.’ The peace box is a paper mache box with a slot on top. All school year, the children write down their worries, fold them up, and release them into depths of the peace box. They know that when KLU comes to ThorpeWood, those worries will be burned up and released as smoke into the wooden mountainside. Our trees are proud to absorb and purify these worries – and then return peace to our KLU visitors’ hearts in their stead.