Taking advantage of a beautiful morning, the moms and children from the MOMS Club of Clevland, TN got together to do some painting. Not walls, or murals – today, they painted bird houses for the Tri-State Reinbow Riders program.
Reinbow Riders is a therapeutic riding school for children with physical or emotional challenges. Through the use of hippotherapy, they strive to build children’s physical and/or social strength to achieve the child’s therapy goals and, in some cases, so they can ultimately control their horse on their own.
The bird houses the chapter painted are designed to be used during therapy at the center. Each house is painted to resemble the animal that lives inside. The houses are then mounted around the riding area. During therapy, children are given a stuffed animal to hold and then are asked to find its home. Once they match the animal and get their horse to its home – they can place it inside. The therapy itself engages the children in many ways and the use of stuffed animals and little houses makes it especially fun.
The riding center was especially dear to the chapter as several of the members’ children attend therapy programs there and know first hand how beneficial it is.