The sun broke through the fog while mom and I spent the day with the kids from Barbara's day care. Those are some lucky kids. Every summer, Barbara creates a summer field trip calendar so the kids are doing something special every day. In the past, we have been to museums, California missions, a visit with a bee keeper, swimming, bowling, making pizza and so many unique experiences. Yesterday, they were all here on the coast to visit the Elkus Ranch, which is owned by UC Davis.
We had a new docent this year and learned a bit more. They are now raising Angus cattle along with lots of sheep, goats, chickens and a couple of hogs and rabbits. At the end of the day, the kids were so excited to rake out the donkey stalls and add the wheelbarrows of "stuff" to the growing pile, which is dried and sold as miracle soil!
This summer, Barbara had two new children in the group and we loved watching them open up to the experiences of feeding the sheep and touching the lanolin in the fur, grooming the goats, holding the chickens, carding wool, making bracelets, planting edible plants into cups to take home and just enjoying being together. They arrived a bit hesitant but by the time they were grooming the goats, there were lots of smiles and they were both totally engaged.
That is why I love Barbara and the work she has done for the past 35 years. She offers children experiences that they would not normally have. She also makes sure the children are kind to each other, always with a light touch of words and a smile. Remarkable. Because of her, this is always an amazing group of children. There are no arguments and they really like each other and work together.
Afterwards, they all headed to the beach, which is always a special treat as they live across the Bay. It was a bit wild yesterday, everyone was soaked and fun was had by all. Just another summer day at Barbara's day care!
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