As my memory turns back the pages of time to the 1920’s, I recall the day our 4th grade teacher had set aside as “show-n-tell” time. All the well-to-do kids had all sorts of interesting things to bring in that special and we were glad for them. But, after we had exhausted the supply of rich kids in our class, it came down to us regular kids to show our treasures.

The teacher didn’t realize we had nothing worth telling about and that we were in an embarrassing predicament. Charlie Brown was asked to be the first of us regulars. Read the rest of this entry »

Another month, another lesson learned. Just when I think I’ve kind of got it made in this world, I get another knock on the side of my head. It’s like the Universe is saying, “Look I gave you a lesson last fall when I sent you to the hospital with a minor stroke, but you didn’t heed the lesson, so I guess I have to give you another.” I spent the last weekend in the hospital. I went in on Friday night, had two units of blood, had a test on Saturday, another on Sunday and the final one on Monday. I was bleeding internally and was down to a hemoglobin count of seven when it should be fourteen to sixteen.

I was up most of the night on Monday the sixteenth throwing up and having diarrhea. I then spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday in bed feeling weaker and weaker and finally had enough sense to call the doctor on Wednesday. When I went in on Thursday, she was shocked that I had no color and knew I was anemic right away. She called on Friday after getting the results of the blood tests, and told me to go to the hospital for a transfusion and tests. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, learning can be fun. Just ask the young people who attended the 4-H Camp Clover and Chef School in Peoria Heights in June and July. Lessons were taught in food safety, nutrition, their community, and science.

Now, the fun part comes in. To learn these valuable lessons, these young people made puppets, wrote and performed in their own skits, followed a recipe and learned how to cook. These children’s parents attended the last day of Camp Clover as the “original productions” were performed.

Both Camp Clover and Chef School are programs of the Peoria County Office and are designed, for young people between the ages of 8 to 12, to provide life skills education with a fun learning environment. Each is taught by Peoria County Office Staff who have a concern and a heart for the young people they are instructing.

These two programs were made possible, in Peoria Heights, because of the vision of the Richwoods Township Board of Trustees who realized the need to provide fun, educational experiences for the children of Richwoods Township. As a result of their concern, Richwoods Township entered into a partnership with the Peoria County Office to provide financial support for both Camp Clover and Chef School. In addition to the partnership with Richwoods Township, additional support was provided by the Peoria Heights Kiwanis Club, Peoria Heights Elementary School and the Peoria Heights Library.

If you would like to see one of these youth programs in your community, contact the Peoria County Office, at 309-685-3140 or visit us at:

www.extension.uiuc.edu/peoria.