The House Herald

The Grand Canyon

2012-08-27T11:04:00.001-07:00

Raphael House led 7 teens on a trip to the Grand Canyon for five days. These teens have been part of our Saturday Tutoring Program and have made great strides in the past year to advance themselves academically, personally and professionally in some cases.

We traveled 800-miles to see one of the most spectacular geological formations our country has to offer. See below for our first view of the Grand Canyon, which shows only part of the 277-mile expanse. On day 3, the group took a hike on Cedar Ridge Trail down into the canyon, which can get up to 1-mile deep—that’s 6,000-feet! We didn’t get that far down, but we did get far enough to see the many different rock layers that make the canyon’s walls . We saw compressed layers of shale, limestone, and other iron-rich rock that gives the canyon its distinctive horizontal striations that you can see clearly in the picture below. These rocks are also responsible for the rich reds and blues that become most vibrant later in the day when the sun is beginning to set. It’s taken 17-million years for the Grand Canyon to become the formation that we know today, and it is ever changing.

Some highlights of the trip were seeing a California Condor, an endangered bird with a 10-foot wingspan, two peregrine falcons, and last but not least our visit to the Hualapai reservation on the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. There, we ironically learned how to be cowboys; we practiced lassoing, (fake) gun-slinging, and archery.

Student perspectives of this trip will be posted in two weeks.

Independence Day Celebration

2012-07-25T15:16:00.001-07:00

Food, games, and plenty of sun—there was no better way to spend the Saturday after the Fourth of July than at Raphael House. Numerous AfterCare and Residential families joined Raphael House staff and volunteers for an afternoon on the roof to celebrate our nation’s independence.

The many games were a big hit with children young and older. There were balloon darts, giant tic-tac-toe, sack races, three-legged races, and more. Winners received some very festive prizes, from red, white, and blue pinwheels to rubber duckies dressed up as US presidents. There was also face paining for anyone interested. Everyone could see the work of the skilled volunteer face painters as butterflies, princesses, and even spidermen walked around the roof with their families.

As often happens after some fun in the sun, hungry guests could choose from hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad, fruit, cupcakes, apple pie, and popcorn to eat, all delicious!

If a family wanted to take a picture to remember the day by, they certainly could at a photo shop area decked out for the Fourth. Many families took time out to say cheese or to make a funny face at the camera.

Thank you to all of those who joined Raphael House for such a fun picnic celebration!

On the Bay for a Day

2012-05-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, ChildReach took a tour around the Bay in a boat called the Dauntless. We started our sea-trek at historic Pier 45. As we embarked and pulled away from shore we heard the deep, grumbling horn of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, one of two surviving and fully functioning WWII Liberty Ships. They start up the engines and sound the horn only once a month, our Captain Page informed us, and we were lucky enough to witness it. We took a closer look at the USS Pampanito, another historic WWII sea-vessel. The submarine looked menacing up close, mainly because none of us even saw it until it was looming 50 feet from our boat; the camouflage was incredible.

As our journey continued, we moved away from war history and closer to natural history. We spied sea lions playing in the bay, and more exciting than anything, DOLPHINS! Well, technically, they are harbor porpoises. We were only able to see them for brief moments; while it was a beautiful day, none of them seemed to want to play outside of the water. They came to the surface for two quick breath-fulls of air at a time. Here is a link to the Bay Nature Institute's article about Harbor Porpoises: http://baynature.org/articles/jul-sep-2011/safe-harbor. The article explains that which we are extremely lucky to see these creatures as they have returned to the Bay within only the last 30 years.

ChildReach and the families of Raphael House had yet another beautiful day in our beautiful City By The Bay.

Kayaking with ETC

2012-05-24T11:10:00.003-07:00

Kayaking on Richardson Bay is always a great experience. Six ladies, all new to kayaking, joined ChildReach on a 5-hour sea-kayaking voyage.

The folks at Environmental Traveling Companions, most of them teen-aged leaders and volunteers, have an uncanny ability to make first time water sporters feel confident, safe, and capable.

Our trip leader, Cheyenne, took us through avenues of house-boats. All of them were so curiously shaped and colored. We saw red houseboats, green house-boats, tall boats, triangular house-boats, long house-boats, and crooked house-boats. It was an absolute wonder that people lived in these houses that float serenely on water. They looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Our second special treat of the day was seeing harbor seals; we were witness to a baby seal nursing on his mother. It was such a beautiful and touching sight.

I hope that other first-timers will join us on a field trip in the future.

Play Time!

2012-03-24T15:20:00.004-07:00

On Saturday, Feb. 11th, ChildReach had the wonderful opportunity thanks to Alice Allick to coordinate with the Residential Program and have a family field trip to see a play about this classic fairy tale at the Legion of Honor. We all met at the Legion, where someone read the story of Rumpelstiltskin to the kids as we waited to take our seats. There was much excitement in the air as we entered the theatre and shortly after everyone was settled, the show began.

As the kids were laughing and following along, they learned about the man with the funny name who could turn straw into gold. The audience even got to interact with the actors and help them guess this man’s name: Rumpelstiltskin of course!

After the show, the actors were available for autographs; I think we got every single signature by the time we were done!

Then, we got to walk around the museum for free. The kids especially wanted to see the exhibit of a sculpture of the Medusa’s head. We read about the Greek mythology of Medusa and admired the artwork, entitled The Medusa, that was on loan to Legion of Honor from a museum in Rome, Italy. When we were ready to leave, we also saw some of Lincoln Park on our walk to the bus.

We were a little tired as we road the bus back to Raphael House, but it was worth it—we had so much fun and learned some new things too!

Picture taken from: http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/legion/calendar/childrens-theater-performance-rumpelstiltskin-2

March (Birthday) Madness!

2012-03-24T15:08:00.003-07:00

On March 17th, Raphael House celebrated with kids with March birthdays and their families. We all met in Raphael House’s dining room for a Saturday afternoon filled with fun, food, beads, and paint!

In honor of St. Patrick’s day, we had a bead project that was enjoyed by boys and girls alike. Kids could make bracelets and/or necklaces of all sizes and colors, but especially in green, gold, and white. Most kids chose to make jewelry for their moms, and some even for a staff member.

We also had a skilled face painter who decorated the face of any child who asked. There were kids bopping around with shamrocks, pots of gold, and even cars on their smiling faces. Then it was time to eat!

The Raphael House kitchen made a delicious deli platter, along with crackers, pasta salad, salad greens, and fruit galore. Still, everyone knew to save some room for birthday cake. The birthday kids gathered round to blow out the candles as we sang.

The cake, provided by the generous organization, Children of Shelters (COS), was delicious and beautifully decorated—we ate almost the whole thing! Finally, it was time for presents, and along with the fast ripping of paper, there seemed to be excitement in the air about the new surprises, such as books, games, and art supplies. A great way to end the day!

An Afternoon at the Movies...

2012-02-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

To start off the month of February, ChildReach invited movie lovers young and old to come to Raphael House on Saturday afternoon to watch the movie Hook, an adventurous twist on the classic story of Peter Pan starring Robin Williams and Julia Roberts (rated PG). Before starting the feature film, we stopped in the AfterCare Building to get the snack no movie would be complete without – popcorn! The kids really enjoyed watching the popcorn crackle, jump, and pop in Raphael House’s old fashioned popcorn making machine. After everyone had their own bag full of popcorn, some pizza, carrots, and juice were handed out and we were ready for the show. The kids thought the projector used to show the movie was so cool, almost like watching on big screen even! We all watched attentively from the comfy big red couches of the Teen Room as the story unfolded. There was laughter from all members of the audience, from the mother and grandmother who came to watch with their children, from the kids themselves, and even once or twice from the baby who shared the afternoon with us. We were not afraid to ask questions about the film if we did not understand something or to repeat a joke we thought was especially funny. If you have never seen Hook, those of us who got the chance to see it with ChildReach this past weekend can assure you that it is a movie worth seeing, one for the whole family. We had a lot of fun watching it together and so who knows, there may be more afternoon movies coming to Raphael House, stay tuned!

Picture taken from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102057/

Fire Engines Not Just For Fightin' Fires

2011-09-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, ChildReach decided to spend it riding a shiny big red fire engine. We took the San Francisco Fire Engine Tour from Fisherman's Warf over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and back. We definitely rode in style on a 1955 open top Mac fire engine. There were no doors, no windows and no roof so we really had to hang on (don't worry, we all wore our seatbelts). We even got to wear authentic fire jackets! We got a lot of attention as we drove through town, and we all made sure to wave and holler to let everyone know we were having a good time. Going over the Golden Gate was certainly an experience our families will not soon forget. Riding up above the cars with no top gave us an incredible view of the city and the bridge. Man, those columns are HUGE! As soon as we got over the bridge, the fog lifted and we were enjoying more beautiful bay views, but this time in the sun. We drove down the Sausalito strip, waving to everyone as we passed. Then we stopped for an ever important photo opportunity. Unfortunately, the fun had to come to end, and we had to bundle back up to cross the bridge back into the fog. Good thing we had our red caps to protect us from the wind! We had a great time, and look forward to chance to ride the big red fire engine again!

Back To School In Style

2011-08-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it is time for school again? Well, ChildReach kicked off the Back-To-School season with an incredible school supply give-away. It all started the week before, when volunteers generously gave their time and support to Raphael House through the stuffing of bags filled with school supplies. Pens, pencils, notebooks, crayons, and much more were stacked high and ready for the new students who will be using them throughout the coming school year. All told, our NCL (National Charity League) volunteers stuffed over 200 bags for children either living in shelter, or those that have previously. What a gift! Then the big day arrived, and we were ready for the families. They came through the doors ready for the first days of school. The work crew for the day actually consisted of former residents and receipients of these school supplies, who had come back to lend a helping hand and give back to others for all that they themselves have received. We had so much fun handing out supplies, that we almost even forgot we were working! Serving over 200 children is hard work though, and I couldn't have done any of it without the wonderful support of our donors and volunteers. Thanks to everyone, and we will see you again this time next year for another successful event.

So Far This Summer...

2011-07-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

This summer in ChildReach has been a busy one! We've been out and about doing cool things and enjoying the warm weather (well, trying to at least!) Here are few of the highlights from our summer around the Bay.

We've celebrated Birthdays:

Every month ChildReach hosts a birthday party for any kids who have a birthday that month. It's a great way for families and friends to connect over good food, games and of course, cake and presents. This summer the parties were no exception to this. The families had a great time and we look forward to continuing this special tradition.

We had fun and ate sweets:

One of our favorite field trips has become the Jelly Belly factory tour. Located just a short distance North of the city in Fairfield, the Jelly Belly factory is full of fun jelly bean facts and history, a working factory tour, and of course FREE SAMPLES! We had so much fun this summer at the Jelly Belly factory that I'm sure it won't be long until we return.

Play Time for Toddlers:

Habitot in Berkely is a children's museum designed with your little guy in mind. There was so much to do, we could hardly pull the kids away for lunch. There was a fire engine the kids could crawl inside, a veterinary and pet washing station, a place to practice walking and tumbling, a working car wash, and much more... Both kids and parents enjoyed getting down and dirty and using their imaginations. We staff enjoying kicking back and watching all the action.

Live Theater:
Another Raphael House tradition is the Mountain Play. Every year we bus up nearly 50 people to the top of Mount Tamalpais to watch a live production in their beautiful outdoor ampitheater. This year's production was Hairspray, and it was a great hit. The families got a chance to explore the area before the show, and watch a puppet show or take a hike, and I am still hearing stories about both... The show itself was full of singing, dancing and fantastic costumes and hairstyles. It was a great chance for folks to get outside, enjoy the mountain and some amazing live theater.

Art Education:

Our kids have such amazing creativity and are great artists! We thought we'd celebrate this by partnering with JellyFish Art Gallery to participate in their Storytelling exhibit. Families traveled to JellyFish, which is located here in San Francisco, and were able to sit with real artists and create their own amazing stories and artwork. They were also able to experience the exhibit and discuss what the art around them meant to each of them. Both the kids and parents had many wonderful interpretations and were able to share some great art and creativity with the entire group.

Indepence Day:

As anyone who knows Raphael House knows, we have a 4th of July picnic in Golden Gate Park every year. Well, this year we thought we'd try something a little different. We had an independence day celebration on our very own roof deck. The party was a great hit, there was BBQ, games, prizes, and even our friend Uncle Sam. We even had a family photo booth and everyone got to take home their own souvenier to remember the day by. The day was perfect, the food was delicious, and we are all eager to do it again next year!

Overnight and Environmental Education:

Lake Tahoe:

Our annual Lake Tahoe trip is a great way for kids to connect with nature, get some sun, and enjoy being kids. This year we were joined by a group of amazing elementary kids. We swam and hiked during the day, cooked together in the evening, played games, and even had a talent show. The kids had a great time out of the city and enjoying true summer weather. All the children are waiting patiently until they can go again in the winter to see the snow.

Teen Whitewater Rafting:

This summer we also headed to the South Fork of the American River to raft down the river. Over the years, ChildReach has developed a great relationship with ETC (Environmental Traveling Companions) an environmental guide group who led us down the river safely. We camped for two nights and spent three days on the river, taking nature hikes, swimming, rafting and cooking together. This trip was a wonderful way for the group to learn new skills, challenge their fears and learn to work together as a team to reach a common goal.

Family Kayaking:
ETC also led us on a family kayaking trip this summer in Sausalito. That trip was another great opportunity for parents and kids to learn to better work together, communicate and appreciate nature. We paddled out along the bay, some of us using muscles we didn't know we had, but everyone pushed themselves to make it to our destination, and all felt great afterward. It was a lot of fun to get out on the water and also experience how connecting with nature can change your perspective on how we live our lives and what is truly important.

Rock Climbing in the Presidio

2011-07-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend a group of kids ages 6-12 headed into the Presidio to do some indoor rock climbing at Planet Granite. From the first minute the kids were having a great time. They got into their harnesses and our team leaders prepared them to climb the many levels of rock walls the facility has to offer.

It was a great experience for the student's some of whom had tried indoor climbing before, but most of whom hadn't. The kids were eager to get started, and some of them made it to the top on their first tries.

Rock climbing is an excellent activity for gaining physical strength as well as developing problem solving skills. A climber must evaluate where to move, and how to use their bodies to stay secure and reach new heights. The kids all seemed to pick it up quickly and spent the entire afternoon at Planet Granite climbing all the different levels of walls. Some of the kids even tried bouldering, where you can climb low rock walls without ropes.

After climbing we headed to the beach for a beach picnic in January! The sun was shining, the wind wasn't blowing, and it was so warm that some of the kids even made their way into the water. They made sand castles, new friends, and had a wonderful time being outside in nature and learning new skills.

Spring into Action!

2011-05-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

ChildReach has hosted a series of family fieldtrips in the past few weeks that have promoted activities such as exercising, eating healthy, arts and crafts and reading together. Making these activities into a family affair strengthens parent/child and sibling relationships, builds teamwork and other social skills in children, and also works toward creating stronger minds and bodies for every member of the family.

Exercise

Five families joined us in Golden Gate Park for an afternoon bike ride. Many parents were nervous about riding a bicycle in a congested area like the Park but were pleasantly surprised to find the roads closed to cars and a team of pedal-carriages to ride. (A portion of Golden Gate Park, along JFK Dr near the museums, is closed to cars every weekend) Entire families piled into these 4-6-seater carriages and worked together to pedal through the park. We raced up and down hills and all had a great time.

Another weekend, parent and child pairs joined us in Sausalito for a day of kayaking on Richardson Bay. I mentioned that parents were nervous about biking; that was nothing compared to how nervous parents were to strap themselves in a kayak. However nervous they were, parents kept a straight face and remembered that this was a first for both them and their children and that no matter what, they were excited about trying something new. Some of our participants couldn’t even swim. It was very courageous of them to come out and give it their all. We rowed for 4 hours, stopped on a beach mid-way, ate lunch and played games together. It was nice to be able to laugh and play on a deserted island; we could see the city from where we were but couldn’t hear it or feel the bustle. We all took advantage of this mini vacation, appreciated each other’s company, soaked up a little sun, and learned a little bit about marine life and the ecosystem of the Bay.

Healthy Eating

Diana Moscowitz, a trained dietitian, visited Raphael House and spoke to 5 families about the importance of eating good food, and of knowing what you’re putting in your body. She stressed that we look at labels before purchasing. We learned that nutritional facts can be deceiving depending on the serving size. For instance, we found that generally twice the recommended serving size is served in the morning. Parents and children joined this really important discussion on food, learned lots and asked for follow-up workshops.

Arts and Crafts

Our kite decorating activity was a fantastic success. 33 people joined us in the After Care Building to enjoy lunch and paint kites. Children enjoyed using sea animal stickers to decorate, parents liked the painting portion, and everybody loved stapling all sorts of shapes and materials on their kite-tails. Many parents mentioned that they had forgotten how relaxing and therapeutic art projects were, and how much they enjoyed working with their children.

Celebration and Education

In an effort to celebrate the changing of the seasons and the joy of learning, we held a Spring Carnival at the end of April. We set up games on the roof, including an egg hunt, had a barbeque lunch and set up a library where parents and children could sit, read, and take home as many books as they wished.

This Carnival was a chance for parents to get some great literature in the house for kids to read, learn, and build their language skills. It was also a welcome opportunity for people to gather, visit old friends and make new friends. It was one of those rare, beautiful days in San Francisco, on which 80 people came out to enjoy this event and celebrate with Raphael House.

In an effort to celebrate each other, ChildReach has been hosting monthly birthday parties for children, which involve an art activity or game and a family-style dinner with members of the Raphael House community.

A South American Journey in Music & Stories

2011-03-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we enjoyed the music of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and the Trio Chaskinakuy. The trio plays traditional South American instruments, and they even took the time to explain them to our group.
On our journey we listened to the flute, bassoon, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, upright bass, charango, pan pipes, trumpets, drums, and the beautiful voice of Francy Vidal.

The performance was brilliant and the conductor was delightful! He was playful, ran around the stage acting out his music, let the audience clap and dance in the aisles. During the performance, we learned about lots of different instruments, including:

The CHARANGA, little brother of the Spanish guitar, which is traditionally made out of the back-shell of an armadillo:

Four different trumpets, two that were made out of cow horns, segmented and bound together with cow hide:

One trumpet made out of a shell that is most commonly known as a CONCH.

And the last was a 10-foot long trumpet traditionally used on farms where it is played on a hill into a valley to send messages to workers. The sound echoes against the surrounding mountains or hills and becomes so loud that it stretches across the field, and every worker knows at the same when to stop working or come in for lunch.

The last type of instrument we encountered was Pan Pipes. We had never seen such a diverse collection of pipes before. They are the quintessential community instrument, made with two rows of pipes so that they can be split and shared between two friends. The trio played pan pipes that were 4-feet long; these are known as “grandma” pan pipes and are known for making “the sound of the Earth breathing.” We also saw smaller pan pipes that were traditionally made out of the feathers of condors. Since condors are now endangered animals, the Trio had ones with feathers from a different large bird. These made the sound of the bird themselves, such a high-pitched sweet tune.

This concert taught us all much about the evolution of music and instruments; we learned that you can make music out of just about anything, and that music from around the world is delightful.

Lake Tahoe in the Snow

2011-01-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

Winter in Tahoe is spectacular.

Over the recent Martin Luther King long weekend, fifteen children between age 6 and 12 joined the ChildReach crew in the snow at Lake Tahoe. The trip to Tahoe is designed to give the kids a sense of what the changing seasons are like in places where there are distinct seasons, unlike San Francisco.

Everyone was eager the day of, so much so that many kids showed up early, packed and were ready to go. After we packed up our snow boots and warm coats we left Raphael House and headed for Tahoe.

As soon as we got to our Tahoe home, it was flooded with screams of joy, whoops for being out of the car, and hollers for the fun we were about to have. The sun set too early for us to play outside on the first evening, so we made grand plans to watch a family movie over some hot chocolate and popcorn but disaster struck!!! Half of the lights went out in the house, and all power to our televisions and DVD players. This may have been a challenge for another group, but our kids just played Hide n' Seek, and card and board games before retiring to bed. We did still get our hot chocolate, thank goodness for that!

The blackout was an unexpected lesson for us all in keeping our heads cool in an emergency, and how much we rely on and for what things we use power.

The adventure continued the next day. We ate a big breakfast, and braved the snow to sled on some mini slopes in the back-yard, have a giant snowball fight and make snowmen! Some children helped make a slope by fastidiously digging and shoveling snow to the top of the hill. Mostly, it got too cold and everybody retreated inside. Later in the afternoon we decided to hit the real slopes and found a great sledding hill where children slid down two by two. Some of us took a short walk to find gorgeous views of Lake Tahoe at sunset.

We then returned home to play more games, enjoy each other’s company and watch icicles melt from the roof through our windows. Next, everyone pitched in to help make a delicious dinner.

The electricity remained on and it’s a good thing too. We needed all of the stoves and ovens for we were feasting in honor of our birthday boy! We ate cake and cobbler to our heart’s content.

The next morning we packed up, and headed home. The drive back was just as spectacular as Tahoe itself. The children noticed our rapidly declining elevation by the ear pops they suffered. They noticed that the vast snowy peaks and pine trees disappeared quite suddenly after a certain point, and that there was a stark difference between the alpine forests we left to the farmland of the central valley.

The kids that went on this winter trip will also get the opportunity to go in summer to compare the seasons and what they like (or dislike) about each. One child, who had been on the summer trip, decided that he liked the summer better because it didn't make his hands go numb, a common casualty of being in the snow too long. Another child said she much preferred the winter because it was so fun to sled down hills and the snow tasted just like water! We are all looking forward to what the kids will have to say about the next trip to Tahoe!

A Christmas Story

2011-01-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Every year at Raphael House, we celebrate Christmas morning by re-enacting the Christmas Story, the story of the journey of Mary and Joseph and the birth of the baby Jesus.

This year's play was another stirring success. The children were all in costume as they acted out the story of how the Wise Men followed the star, and came to Bethlehem to bring the baby gifts to welcome him. The children, parents, and our community and neighbors all enjoyed the show immensely. We are all looking forward to next year's production.

Birthday Parties Are Fun For the Whole Family

2011-01-12T16:05:00.002-08:00

ChildReach has recently started hosting monthly birthday celebrations! This is a great opportunity for kids and parents to come back and connect with Raphael House through dinner, games, and friendship.

This event is 1 ½ hours of family time, where we serve a sit down dinner, including birthday cake and presents.

We start off the festivities with a chance for everyone to mingle and make friends through birthday games such as pin the tail on the donkey, scavenger hunts, or musical chairs. Then dinner is served! After dinner comes cake and presents! Each month proves to be a great way for families to make valuable connections and for the children to have a true birthday party experience.

Holiday Heroes

2011-01-12T16:05:00.001-08:00

The month of December was jammed packed with fun and festive parties and celebrations, and the Holiday Heroes party was no exception! We had a great time at AT&T Park looking out at the baseball field. But the party itself was filled with food, games, music, and even face painting!

Everyone had a fantastic time, and enjoyed the opportunity to stay out late, meet Santa and enjoy a truly fun holiday party.

Adopt-A-Family Holiday Extravaganza

2011-01-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

This year Raphael House was able to provide over 240 families with Christmas presents and/or holiday meals during the Holiday season. By being active participants in the Raphael House After Care program, these families were matched with community donors who generously provided the necessary gifts and food to make their holiday that much brighter. The event began in October, when wishlists were sent to families. Through October and November information was collected and distributed to donors. Once December arrived, the house was abuzz with excitement over the piles of presents and food that came pouring in the doors. The ChildReach staff could barely keep up!

But we all worked hard and focused on making the holidays bright and wonderous for all the families we serve. Volunteers generously donated their time to sort gifts, making sure that everything went as smoothly as possible.

The fun of meeting the donors, and seeing the expressions on the faces of the children as they came to pick up their gifts made all the work worth it ten times over! Some kids wanted to know why we were giving them their gifts and not Santa, and we explained that we work with Santa, and that he was so busy this year he had to enlist our help. One child even wanted to know if I was married to Santa. Although it was a flattering statement, I could never fill the shoes of Mrs. Claus...

But in all seriousness, this year's program was a huge success and the contributions made by our amazingly generous donors really did make this holiday one that will live on in the memories of the families and the staff of Raphael House. So, a HUGE thanks to all the families and donors that participated, and we look forward to next year’s Adopt-A-Family give-away!

Capuchins and Chimps and Polar Bears... Oh My!

2010-11-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

Our family trip to the zoo couldn't have been on a more perfect Saturday. The ocean air was cool and clean by the San Francisco Zoo. For many of the children, it was their first visit to the San Francisco Zoo. From the outset, they ogled and cooed at the Zebras and Giraffes. While looking at the Chimpanzees, we couldn't miss the fact that they were so like humans. Children and mothers alike pointed out the Chimps' prerogative to bask in the sun. The one chimp that had taken enough sun in, was lying under the rafters cuddled in a blanket; many of the girls told us that he was just like their father! We were awed and impressed by how big the grizzly bears were. We were fortunate enough to view them practically nose to nose (through a thick pane of glass, of course).

When we visited the tropical house, we had to search for water turtles as they were so well-camouflaged. We did not, however, have to search for the giant anaconda they house there. The anaconda was 18 feet long and as thick as the children's waists. He (or she) was quite terrifying, especially since he was pressed against the aquarium window.

Over all, after seeing creatures like koalas, pelicans, polar bears, flamingos, and monkeys, everybody got a good sense of how diverse animals on this planet are.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

This October ChildReach was off with the families of Raphael House for our annual visit to the Arata Farms pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay. This was great opportunity for families to spend time together celebrating the fall season. There was a hay maze, train ride, haunted house, petting zoo and of course lots and lots of pumpkins.

Everyone had a wonderful time playing, laughing and most of all taking time to relax and enjoy each other and the season. We are all looking forward to this time next year when we can get together again and celebrate the fall.

Slide Ranch

2010-11-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

This weekend, the ChildReach team visited Slide Ranch, a small educational farm near Muir Beach, in Marin County. We started the day exploring the grounds, upon which we noticed many small, crooked houses. They were all two stories, and about half the size of the houses we normally see. These are the homes of the farm's caretakers. Slide Ranch offers year-long internships to adults who wish to experience life on a small farm and are interested in becoming environmental educators. Two of these interns, Abalone Ashley, and Salamander Sam were our guides for the day. With them, we were able to meet goats, catch chickens, and make cheese! We learned the rules of Slide Ranch are 1) Get Dirty! 2) Try Something New! 3) Have FUN!

We split into two groups and named our teams, The Wildlife Kids and the Ranch Kids, and took names for ourselves like Black Cat Naema, Sunflower Selena, and Great Dane Diamond!

When visiting the goats we learned that Slide Ranch owns two or three of the many species of goats in existence. We were able to pet both black and white sheep, whose fur was fluffy and thick compared with the coarse fur of the goats. Salamander Sam taught us that the taste of goat milk can change depending on whether or not they live near a male goat. The goats at Slide Ranch do not live in the same pen as their male companion, Gobi, and so their milk is sweet and mild tasting.

After petting the goats we took turns milking one! The goats get milked twice a day, and produce a few pounds of milk during each milking. When Sam and Ashley milked her, they squirted milk straight from the goat's udder into our mouths. Most children thought this was strange at first, but in the end agreed that the milk was delicious. For many of us, we had abided by rule 2 of Slide Ranch, and tried something new.

We met the Ranch's chickens who were all from different species. We saw freshly laid eggs that were all sorts of sizes and colors, from brown, to beige, even blue! They were nothing like the eggs you find in stores. They had been laid so recently they were still warm and we could still here the egg-laying song chickens sing just before they are ready to lay an egg (that's right, an egg-laying song). Whether, they sang "Hey Hey, get out of my way" or "I beg, i beg, for you to take my egg! my egg!" we were not sure. We were just happy to hear it.

The cheese was quite easy to make, surprisingly. We warmed milk, let it simmer, added apple cider vinegar, and ran it through a cheese cloth after the milk had curdled and the curds had separated from the whey. We even added some fresh herbs, lemon balm and lavender, from the Slide Ranch garden, to our cheese. While this process was happening, we swapped stories of science experiments we had all done in school. Every child was engaged and had a story to offer. The one that stuck out in my mind, was the boiled egg in a bottle experiment, in which you create a vacuum in a class bottle, place a boiled egg on the opening, and in a matter of seconds, it will get sucked into the bottle, and be stuck!

We ended our day eating our cheese, along with fresh kale, chard, spinach, and blossoms in the garden. Our lavender-lemon cheese was DELICIOUS! When asked about their favorite and most interesting part of the day, the Raphael House group, without prompting, spoke about making food from scratch, understanding how much hard work is put into getting food from farms to our tables, and how grateful they are to have the sun and the earth and the plants work so hard to bring us food as well. The group of children that joined us at Slide Ranch is a bright and intelligent group that already had ideas about the importance of food and where food comes from. Their visit to Slide Ranch merely solidified their ideas, and made them appreciate the idea of farms, and animal raising even more.

Harvest Festival 2010!

2010-11-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

Raphael House's 2010 Annual Harvest Festival was a great success. More than fifty families came to join in the fun; people from all walks of life came, including Spider Man, princesses, fairies, and even giant bananas!

This year's festival was an attack on the senses. The ghoulish entryway led to a scrumptious feast of tea sandwiches, cupcakes, and cauldron of liquid luck! (aka lemonade). Whoever dared to travel onward, encountered a friendly popcorn dealing gnome before entering the games area, where the real treats were.

Around the room were various games to enjoy with the family, including Ned's Head for the little ones, which is a game that helps develop sensory skills. Children dipped their hands into the Ned's GIANT head to find things like a giant ant, a used cotton bud, an alien, and more!!! (all fake of course).

Our next game, pin the heart on the skeleton, had children practicing their surgical skills while blindfolded. The next games developed children's imaginations by having them dip their hands into buckets of oily boiled eggs for eyeballs, jumbled jell-o for BRAINS, and spaghetti for WORMS!!!!

Our photo booth, which magically transformed kids and adults into a friendly witch and vampire for pictures, was a nice respite from all of the gross out games. The bag toss, also a nice break from the sensory games, was a great hit and had every child who played it kept coming back for more. We ended the evening with a visit from Mother Goose, and a rendition of many of her well-known nursery rhymes.

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers, this event ran smoothly and was a ton of fun. Until next year....

St George and The Dragon

2010-10-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

Recently, the families of Raphael House were able to join together for a fun-filled evening of story telling and treats. Sept 29^th marks the celebration of St. George’s defeat of the dragon, and, as is tradition at Raphael House, we put on a play to tell the story. The families were able to sit back and relax while the Live-in Community donned medieval costumes and acted out the narration.

The story follows a king whose village is being tormented by a dragon, with no relief in site. After leaving his daughter, the princess, tied to a tree as a sacrifice, the king flees back to the village. While she awaits her fate, the valiant St. George appears to free the princess and defeat the dragon.

After fighting the dragon back to its cave, St. George tames the dragon and frees the village from its evil grasp. The short play, while fun and exciting, carries an uplifting moral: with God’s help, we all have the ability to conquer the inner dragons that weigh us down.

Following the show, smiling faces surrounded the dragon which led to photo ops and the kids trying out the costume themselves. The families were able to unwind later with desserts they had prepared the previous week as the children colored pictures of their favorite parts of the story. It was an enjoyable night for both the families and staff.

Jelly Beans For Me Please

2010-10-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend the ChildReach team was off to the Jelly Belly Factory in Vallejo and we had a pretty SWEET day. The Jelly Belly Factory is a real, working factory and the tour led us through the whole place. We saw from above all the equipment that is used to produce each little delicious jelly bean.

We learned the history of Jelly Belly, and even how Ronald Regan loved jelly beans, and used to pass them around during meetings when he was California Governor. He loved jelly belly so much that is was forever remembered in his very own jelly bean portrait.

We had a great afternoon learning about how jelly beans are made. Did you know that there are four stages to the process, and that each jelly bean is polished and stamps before leaving the factory? The tour was a fun way to see a real factory at work. There were conveyor belts, machines and even robots, who danced for us! But the best part of course was the jelly beans. The sample bar after the tour was filled with every flavor jelly bean. Even some truly gross flavors like pencil shavings and skunk. Ewww...

We had a great time at the Jelly Belly Factory and look forward to our next visit!!

Winchester Mystery House

2010-10-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

This October, a trip mysterious Winchester Mystery House was just the right way to kick off the month. The house is a great piece of Bay Area history and the kids got the unique opportunity to learn not just about Mrs. Winchester and her house, but also how the area has been changed by historical events such as the 1906 Earthquake.

The story goes, that Sarah Winchester, after the deaths of both her young daughter and husband, consulted a psychic who told her to move out West, buy a house and build on it, but never finish. The psychic explained the reason her family had died was the spirits of all the people ever killed with the Winchester Rifle were punishing her. So Winchester moved out to San Jose, California and turned an 8 room farmhouse into a 160 room mansion that is now visited by thousands of visitors every year. The house comes with stairs that lead down to go up, doors that lead to walls, and even a door that leads to nowhere.

Our group got to see the house, which was remodeled over 600 times while Mrs. Winchester was alive, along with the behind the scenes places like the stables, agricultural buildings, and even the basement. What a treat to see how such an eccentric person lived and the piece of history she created.

And what Raphael House field trip is complete without a picnic lunch? And perhaps a little swing competition...