Family Day at the Farm sponsored by Jockey Being Family: Brooklyn

Adoptive, foster, guardianship, relative caregiver, and reunified families — Join us for a special event sponsored by the Wisconsin Family Connections Center and Jockey Being Family, in partnership with the CEDAR Center! Come spend the morning or afternoon connecting with nature and horses and find out how this can be a way to strengthen connection with ourselves, our family members, and other families. You will have the opportunity to experience hands-on games, activities, and art projects that will support communication, empathy, deepening relationships, and a sense of community. Horse activities will include brushing, grooming, and possibly leading. (The day will not include riding horses.) Snacks and drinks will be provided, as well as a lunch that will allow the morning and afternoon groups to come together and meet one another. All sensory and disability experiences are welcome. Information you provide about your children’s special needs will be shared with the CEDAR Center. This event will be held at beautiful Rising Spirits Farm in Brooklyn, WI. In the event of rain, we will use the barn and indoor arena. All participants will need to fill out a liability release form before interacting with horses.

Please register for the morning session (9:30am to noon) if your children are elementary school aged (approximately 6-12). Please register for the afternoon session (1pm to 3:30pm) if you have teens. If you have both younger and older children, choose the option in which you think your children would do best. Each family should sign up for only one session so that as many families as possible can benefit.

About our facilitator: We are thrilled to be partnering with Elizabeth Seeliger of the CEDAR Center for this event. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies and is an adopted person as well as an adoptive parent. She has training in Infant, Early Childhood, and Family Mental Health, which guides her work with families. For more information about the CEDAR Center or Rising Spirits Farm, visit their websites at https://www.cedarcenter.org and https://www.triquestrian.com/

This event is able to be offered to families at no charge thanks to funding from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families through the Wisconsin Family Connections Center.

If you have questions or would like to be added to the waitlist, please email Megan at mmiller@cclse.org.

Cancellations for events must be made at least 72 hours in advance. If 3 or more late cancellations or no-shows occur within a six-month period, the household’s event registrations in the following six months will default to a waitlist.

This event is limited to Wisconsin residents impacted by adoption or out-of-home care and their immediate household.