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New Perspectives -
Sep, 1999 Issue #61
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RAINBOW HILL
Victor, Idaho
Thelma Hamblin, Director
208-787-3021
New Perspectives
Rainbow Hill is a ranch where boys ages 10-15, can take a break from a fast-paced
lifestyle to slow down and get in touch with nature and themselves. Thelma and her husband loved ranching and kids, so they decided
to open their home to young boys who could benefit from a ranch environment. Students come to the ranch to live for a year. They attend
the local public schools for education and see a therapist when needed.
The boys participate in regular ranch and farm activities. Each boy tends
his own calf, learns to milk a cow and learns to ride and take care of horses. Other down-home activities include making ice cream
the old fashioned way, churning butter, canning food, making cheese and gathering wild fruit. Take me home, country roads!
This home is located near Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, lending
itself perfectly to activities such as skiing, camping, and National Park visits. For extra entertainment there is the opportunity
for fishing trips, visits to a planetarium and participation in Boy Scouts.
The program’s owners believe that certain aspects of their program have inherent
therapeutic value. For example, they believe “the emphasis on nature enables a person to stop and listen, and thus gain a deeper understanding
of himself. Animal care is therapeutic because caring for another life helps a person to lose some of his selfishness. The program’s
focus on personal accomplishment helps students to learn that they can climb a mountain, build a fire without matches, survive without
TV, and raise their own calves; thus they begin to understand that they have control over their lives. Most importantly, students
learn about service to others, which the owners believe, will help them to obtain a good, strong character.”
Copyright © 1999, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without
prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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