Backpack...helping hands, healing hearts

     I ran across an interesting metaphor yesterday during an activity in the classroom.  Mrs. C. gave everyone a paper heart and told the class that they represented their hearts.  She took her own paper heart and crumpled a piece of it as she gave a pretend example of someone being disrespectful to her.  She crumpled another piece as she gave another example of someone making a rude comment.  She explained that this can be how your heart feels when someone does something to you that is not nice.  She then flattened it out and gave examples of apologies that can fluff a heart back up.  She then noted the crinkles that were still there.

     M followed along with the activity and then tore a piece of his heart.  A minute later I looked over and the tear became a missing piece of his heart.  I thought I'd metaphorically offer him a piece of tape and wondered how much help he may need using the piece of tape that I had offered.  I showed him the piece of tape.  He kind of looked at it, so I told him he could fix his heart with it.  What happened next was more metaphorical.  an I had thought this simple act could have been.  M said, "I don't know where the piece to my heart went." I helped him look for the missing piece to his heart.  It was nowhere to be found in that moment.  We haven't found it yet, but I'm sure M will be able to repair it in time.

 

Contributor:  Alan McGrath, Behavioral Interventionist, Laraway Backpack Program

 

Potato Picking Time

    
      How do YOU like your potatoes?  Baked...Boiled...French Fried...Oven Roasted...Mashed?  The possibilities are many for this versatile vegetable.  Laraway kids and staff harvested twenty-five pounds of potatoes grown in our kitchen garden.
      "Our kids get so excited when they hear that an item served in our cafeteria is from our garden," says Lisa Rock, Laraway's Food Coordinator.  "It's great for us to be able to use produce grown here in the breakfasts and lunches we make for kids."
      Getting kids excited about growing, tending and harvesting vegetables is one piece of the important work we do to help children and youth develop a strong, centering sense of place.
       And what will Lisa do with those potatoes?  They are scheduled to make an appearance very soon at breakfast as yummy hash browns!

Have Justice---Will Travel Founder Visits Laraway

Wynona Ward, Esq., founder of Have Justice—Will Travel, offered three pieces of advice for youth in Laraway’s foster care program:  “Get an education.  Establish short term and long term goals, and see the world, that’s really important, too.”

Ward grew up in rural Vermont in a family experiencing domestic violence.  She later crisscrossed America’s lower forty-eight states as a truck driver before entering law school.  She is credited with creating an innovative, mobile, multi-services program that assists victims of domestic violence through the legal process, from relief from abuse orders to self-sufficiency and independence.  Her model is particularly adept at serving clients in rural areas where geographic isolation can impede access to services.

“Wynona serves as a real inspiration to our youth,” said Becca Hemmer, Director of Laraway’s foster care program.  “She showed how personal life experiences can inform our career choices.  She helps victims of domestic violence engage the legal and social service systems to forge new and peaceful lives.” 

For more information on Have Justice—Will Travel, please visit www.havejusticewilltravel.org . 

Laraway Installs First Pieces of Its New Playground...get ready to play!



With tools in hand, Laraway staff members, with help from community volunteers, built the first pieces of a playground for their campus. Climbing structures and swings will enhance the farm site as will a basketball court that transforms into an ice rink in winter.

“Playgrounds matter for kids. Playgrounds promote healthy, active lifestyles” says Shellie West, Laraway Adventure Education Teacher. “If one of our kids needs a break, it’s great to be able to go out and shoot a few baskets or play on the playground.  It’s a positive way to alleviate stress.”

Private individuals, foundations and local businesses have contributed to our ongoing efforts to raise funds.  Laraway looks forward to hosting a community event in October to formally celebrate the playground.

How Does Laraway's Garden Grow? Move over Iceberg, lettuce, that is!

    Red romaine lettuce found its way onto the tables of royalty for centuries.  History records the presence of this vibrantly colored vegetable in the dining halls of Persian Kings as far back as 55 B.C. 
     Laraway Farm's bountiful---if somewhat less "royal"---gardens abound this summer with herbs, potatoes, garlic and all sorts of leafy greens simmering in the sunshine, waiting to be picked.  Red romaine, with its mild flavor and vibrant hues, is a great addition to Laraway's table.
     Kids and staff were out on a recent morning plucking lettuce from our fertile, organic soil.  With a high germination rate and minimal pests, red romaine towers over iceberg lettuce with more than five times the Vitamin C.  As kids learn to garden, they also get to feast on our Farm's best pickings in Laraway's cafeteria.  It doesn't get much better---or healthier---than this!

Going for the Garlic

     Laraway teachers Walter Wendling and Aaron McGee, with their students, planted a garlic crop at Laraway Farm last spring.  The plantings have proven resilient---not unlike the kids we serve---amid early summer's gray skies and torrential rains.
     Although the garlic bulbs won't be ready for picking until the fall, garlic scapes---the curling tops of garlic plants which are both edible and delicious---have been harvested for use in Laraway's kitchen. 
     Pictured in the photo at right are Lisa Rock, Laraway's cook, and Marcella Houghton, our Americorp volunteer.  Garlic scapes can be chopped like scallions and added to salads.  They can be pickled and sauteed.  They're also known to make a tasty green garlic pesto.  As summer progresses, we look forward to integrating more produce from our garden into the breakfasts and lunches served at Laraway.  Happy summer!

Laraway Staff Realize Milestones

     Jim Heath, Laraway's Finance Director, is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Lamoille.  This program, an initiative of the Lamoille Region Chamber of Commerce, engages emerging communty leaders in a 10-month course to explore the attributes and issues of Lamoille County.  Connections are forged among leaders within the business, educational and nonprofit sectors. For more information on Leadership Lamoille, please go to www.lamoillechamber.com
     Cornelius Murphy, Laraway's Farm Steward, was the illustrator for the newly-published book, The Resilent Farm and Homestead  by Ben Falk.  The text, issued by Chelsea Green Publishing, is described as a manual for developing beautiful, resilient and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transitions.  For more information, go to www.chelseagreen.com
     Congratulations to Jim and Cornelius!