![]() You give, and you love, without expecting anything in return. ![]() Let yourself be curious, and see yourself as the object of this animal’s curiosity. ![]() Take this leaf, feed it to this creature. If you’ve fed a goat or petted a cat or taken a dog for a walk you probably understand time with another animal creates space from your worried brain and roots you to the present moment. He put a scarf around her neck and hugged her close, grinning.įor students, having time with the goats in a school garden has the same therapeutic benefits as having a pet, with a fraction of the responsibility. ![]() On a cold afternoon a few years ago, a student even thought to take his Christmas card photo with Mama Goat. Arlease from the cafeteria fed Mama Goat leftovers nearly every day. The goats attracted school staff, teachers at the end of a long day, volunteers on the weekends. Students could talk about what was happening in their lives while feeding the animals. Gradually, students in Discovery classrooms, students working with social workers and counselors and paraprofessionals, students who simply were having a tough day-they all came out to visit the goats. She liked it when students scratched her between her horns. When students learned about life cycles, they’d visit the chickens to collect eggs, walk to the spot in the garden where you can see a caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly, and finally they’d go pet Mama Goat and her baby Donkey. On garden workdays, when students pulled up plants that were ending their time of production in the garden, they fed them to the goats. Weeks passed, and the animals and children eased into a sweet comfort with each other. Students watched the goats ramble about and pushed leaves through the fence for the goats to nibble. To let the students and animals adjust to each other, the garden teachers brought students close to their pen but did not let them enter yet. Mama Goat, her baby Donkey, and another pygmy goat named Oliver from a breeder in Folsom became part of the school and garden classes. The goats formed bonds with kids, and kids formed bonds with them so fast it helped me feel connected to our work and our space.” Having these other living things to take care of was a good distraction. I was learning how to teach outside, learning how to teach in general. Matt Durham was in his first few weeks as a garden teacher when he watched Mama Goat give birth, ready to support if needed. Nearly immediately, he started hopping like Donkey from the movie Shrek and so was given the name Donkey. The black baby goat was born and licked clean by his mama. The team of garden educators watched from a distance to make sure everything went okay, and it did. They brought in the daddy goat to make her feel comfortable as she gave birth. Mama Goat went into labor a few weeks into her stay at the school. They didn’t know exactly what they were getting into, but they were game to learn. With school administrators’ support, the garden team prepped a shaded area for the goats, built fences and gates, brought in straw, made sure there were no poisonous plants in the pen, ensured a clean water source, and asked a lot of questions. There were chickens in the school garden, and the school director at the time acquired Mama Goat from friends who raised goats. When Mama Goat arrived at the Dreamkeeper Garden at Langston Hughes Academy in 2013, she was gentle, already a mother to grown goats, and pregnant again.
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