Tuesday was the first day we took kids from Lincoln Middle School out to Hearts and Horses.
The kids were amazing as were all of the horses, volunteers and staff. We put so much prep work into this and it paid off beautifully. The theme for the day was building RESPECT through trust and acceptance. Much of the work was done in silence in order to allow all participants (adult volunteers and us facilitators included) the opportunity to enter the world of the horse. Horses don't use words. They communicate in body language and, in the words of Temple Grandin, pictures. They have tremendously keen observation skills and recognize people's intentions. As prey animals, their ability to discern others energy is critical to staying alive.
So, we were silent as a means of enhancing communication, not stifling it. The kids were amazing with this. They worked in teams of four; two students, one horse, and a volunteer. They were very "present" and each team seemed to develop its own unique synergy. The long periods of quiet had a kind of meditative quality. Not once did we have to remind the kids to be silent.When we debriefed at the end, the students were very engaged and willingly shared their thoughts and feelings. Two quotes that I loved were "it was so great to be here and feel liked. I have never felt really liked before, I am not used to it" and " I have never had a sense of success about myself until today".
I think we all FELT a genuine sense of respect by the end of the day!
Below are the rules and goals we established as a part of our charter for the program:
Open Door Goals
Learn to be nice to others
Use the chance to do different things
Learn how to take care of horses
Support students/each other to succeed
Repeat the experience from last year
Take off stress
Have fun
Learn more about horses
Learn about students/each other
General Rules
Maintain good grades
Please use body language that shows you are listening, paying attention and being
respectful
Please use speech that is respectful
The kids were amazing as were all of the horses, volunteers and staff. We put so much prep work into this and it paid off beautifully. The theme for the day was building RESPECT through trust and acceptance. Much of the work was done in silence in order to allow all participants (adult volunteers and us facilitators included) the opportunity to enter the world of the horse. Horses don't use words. They communicate in body language and, in the words of Temple Grandin, pictures. They have tremendously keen observation skills and recognize people's intentions. As prey animals, their ability to discern others energy is critical to staying alive.
So, we were silent as a means of enhancing communication, not stifling it. The kids were amazing with this. They worked in teams of four; two students, one horse, and a volunteer. They were very "present" and each team seemed to develop its own unique synergy. The long periods of quiet had a kind of meditative quality. Not once did we have to remind the kids to be silent.When we debriefed at the end, the students were very engaged and willingly shared their thoughts and feelings. Two quotes that I loved were "it was so great to be here and feel liked. I have never felt really liked before, I am not used to it" and " I have never had a sense of success about myself until today".
I think we all FELT a genuine sense of respect by the end of the day!
Below are the rules and goals we established as a part of our charter for the program:
Open Door Goals
Learn to be nice to others
Use the chance to do different things
Learn how to take care of horses
Support students/each other to succeed
Repeat the experience from last year
Take off stress
Have fun
Learn more about horses
Learn about students/each other
General Rules
Maintain good grades
Please use body language that shows you are listening, paying attention and being
respectful
Please use speech that is respectful