Craft Time

Cotton Ball Ghost Craft

Written by Lyndi Mauk // Photo by Eric Bivens

When it comes to Halloween crafts, there are so many to choose from. From toilet paper monsters to Halloween masks to painted pumpkins. Kids love being creative, and they also enjoy making something that can be placed for all to see. This ghost craft is extremely simple, yet gives kids the chance to practice their scissor skills, using glue and making something of their own. It is really great for all ages. Their ghosts can look however they choose, as they can use their creative side to come up with clever ghost faces.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: ›› White paper ›› Black marker/Pencil (optional) ›› Jumbo cotton balls ›› Black construction paper ›› Scissors ›› Glue ›› Black/orange string (optional) ›› Fridge magnet (optional) ›› Tape (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS: ›› For younger kids, they may draw the ghost on white paper before cutting it out. For older kids, they can simply cut out the shape of their ghost. ›› Glue the cotton balls onto the ghost cut out. ›› Cut eyes and a mouth to glue onto the ghost. ›› Cut a piece of black/orange string and tape to the back of the ghost in order to hang, or simply place a fridge magnet to the back to hang on your fridge. ›› Hang as a decorative piece inside your home (fridge, living room, etc), or let your kids hang in their room as their own Halloween decor. OP

A BRIGHT LIGHT Meet Jaxon Osborne

At just 11 years old, Jaxon Osborne has already found a way to positively impact his community. Last year, he started “Be the Light,” an initiative to provide light up toys for therapy patients at Wendell Foster.

One of eight children, Jaxon gained several siblings through foster and adoption.

“We have adopted three kids who have special needs. We went to Wendell Foster every Tuesday and Thursday, and due to COVID, we had to sit and wait in the parking lot,” Jaxon’s mom Maghan Osborne said.

As they were waiting in the car, Jaxon would watch the kids as they got out of their vehicles to be taken into therapy. Some days, he would notice a child having a difficult time.

“We’d be waiting out there two to three hours sometimes,” Maghan said. Jaxon would watch therapy patients get out of a van in a wheelchair, some wouldn’t want to go in without a parent. Even Lazarus, his 6-year-old brother, sometimes didn’t want to go in.”

This is when Jaxon had an idea. His empathy for other children would lead him to do something to make their day a little brighter.

“He asked one day if he could get something for them. I had bought Goldfish (crackers) for church and he asked if we could give them the Goldfish. I told him no, but that we could brainstorm,” Maghan said.

Jaxon was determined to find a way to make these kids smile before or after their therapy visits and he was willing to spend his own money to do it.

“One of our sons, who has autism, loves light up toys. Jaxon realized we could get other kids light up toys, too,” Maghan said.

After deciding that light up toys was the way to go, Maghan told her son he would need to come up with a name for his endeavor and contact the CEO of Wendell Foster to ask for permission.

“He emailed Doug Hoyt to see if he could hand out the light up toys and he responded immediately that he loved the idea,” Maghan said. “Jaxon bought $150 worth of light up toys with his own money and was ready to get started.”

When looking for what to call his outreach, Jaxon saw a landscaping truck one day that gave him an idea for the name—“Light Up the World.”

“It’s based on Matthew 5:15-16 ‘Be a light for all to see,’” Maghan said. “His sister made him a shirt and a tablecloth with his name on it so it looked professional.”

Jaxon started setting up his table one day a week at one of the two different therapy buildings at Wendell Foster and found immediate success.

“The therapists came out and talked to him; they were so excited about what he was doing.

On his biggest day, we were there for two hours and he handed out 17 toys,” Maghan said.

Some of the toys Jaxon purchased included rings, grabbers, headbands, balls, swords, bubble machines, and Mickey ears. Each child who came in to receive therapy could choose a toy.

“Anything we find that lights up, we pretty much get it,” Osborne said. “Now that he’s back in school, we take baskets rather than setting up in person.”

Even without Jaxon there to hand out the toys in person, Light Up the World is making sure to continue its mission of lighting up another person’s day.

“If a patient reaches a milestone and needs to be celebrated or is having a hard day and doesn’t want to come in, the toys are there,” Maghan said.

While several people have reached out about getting involved with purchasing toys, most of the time, Jaxon declines.

“He works for his money to buy these toys and he loves it,” Maghan said. “He

enjoys getting online and filling up his cart.”

The sixth grade student at Heritage Christian School has been committed to his business for over a year.

“It has been a good opportunity for him to share with kids what he is doing to spread the message of kindness,” Maghan said.

Jaxon’s sister, Nevaeh, 15, has found a way to contribute to this cause as well.

“She has a Cricut and a heat press. She made all of us shirts that say ‘Light Up the World.’” Maghan said. “There’s a lightbulb and inside it is a globe in the middle-- his scripture is on the back.”

After being there to help distribute the toys, his sister embraced the opportunity to support her brother’s vision.

“I wanted to get involved because I was seeing the joy it brought Jaxon to help the kids with their transition into therapy. I see how the toys can ease the transition and it made me want to be there and help with that transition,” Neveah said.

As far as Jaxon’s favorite part of “Light Up the World,” he loves bringing others joy and watching their reactions when they receive a toy.

“I like handing out the toys, a lot of them were happy to get them,” he said. “I would like to continue this in the future. It’s super fun getting interviews to be in the newspaper and stuff like that.”

As far as official future plans, “Light Up the World” would like to expand, but they are still taking it one day at a time.

“We have talked a little bit about expansion, making and selling shirts—but for now we will continue making baskets now that Jaxon is back in school,” Maghan said.

Giving back to his community is a way that Jaxon has learned to spread positivity and joy, a lesson he’s picked up at a young age.

“It’s awesome just to know that he did this on his own,” Maghan said. “And it all started with him wanting to give them Goldfish.” OP

LAURA MURPHY is an eighth grade LA teacher at Daviess County Middle School. She has three kids who keep her life interesting; Jonah, Lily and Josiah. She survives on Grape Spark, Jon Gordan books and all things Grumpy Cat.

OUR FARM IS OUR FARM IS YOUR FARM YOUR FARM

Husband and Wife Share Joy of New Farm with Kids in Community

Written by John Kirkpatrick • Photo by Jamie Alexander

ohn Mark and Shelly Tyler sold their house in a subdivision and purchased a piece of land in Philpot to give their growing family room to move, run, and play. The farm blessed their family in so many ways that they decided it was time to share the experiences with other children in the area, so Fiddlewood Farm and Forest School was born.

Fiddlewood Farms offers a program to youth called Farm and Forest School, where kids go outside, battle the weather at times, and learn through outdoor experiences. Shelly learned about the concepts from friends in Louisville that spoke of its widespread success.

“This farm was the biggest blessing to our family, especially during the pandemic. We’ve seen such a positive change in our children from just being outside and on the farm,” Shelly said. “I was talking to a friend in Louisville—telling her that this is what kids need—when she told me about Forrest School.”

Shelly is an Owensboro native, while John is originally from Mississippi; the two met while attending the University of Evansville. John is a chiropractor, and Shelly is a physical therapist; they opened Rehabilitation and Performance Institute in 2016, which has grown to six clinics in the tri-state area.

The Tylers have three children; their youngest is 18-months-old and was adopted from South Korea, and has some physical limitations. Shelly said that seeing her kids’ friends put down their video games and fall in love with activities

J J on the farm played a pivotal role in their decision to share the experiences. “Our kids’ friends started coming over and would ask, ‘where are your video games?’” she said. “When I would tell them we didn’t have any—we’re going to go outside and play—I was met with some resistance. Once we got out there, you could see the wonder and amazement in their eyes; they didn’t want to leave.” The friends wanted to learn more and be engaged, asking her questions like, “How does this work?” Or, “can we play with your chickens?” She said they were genuinely curious about how things were working around them. “Especially last year when kids were in front of the computer a lot—it was so therapeutic for them to be outside,” she said. “This is what kids need—kids are coming into clinics and too young to be having the issues they’re having. They need more opportunities to get outside and play and move.” The occasional sleepover soon transformed into a camp during spring break of 2021 to an outdoor school for their daughter and a few other pre-school-aged children. Shelly uses a faith-based approach to teach young people about Jesus and the many astounding intricacies that exist in nature. “We saw nine to 12 kids each day at camp. They played hard and learned some cool things,” she said. “The amount of growth that I saw in one week was tremendous; kids were interacting with each other and using teamwork and

confidence to overcome obstacles.”

The curriculum for the different offerings stems from the Farm and Forest School framework, where student interests guide much of the learning. The Tyler’s said that Fiddlewood is slowly turning into Noah’s Ark, and they hope to create more opportunities for kids in the future.

One example of instruction includes working together to collect chicken eggs, sorting them, counting, and comparing totals to the next day. Another example of blended instruction involves caring for ducklings, weighing and measuring them, and making charts to monitor their growth.

“It’s a huge blessing for our family to be able to share these experiences with these kids; they begin to see things differently and start to open their eyes to the world around them,” Shelly said. “I never dreamed that this was an option, but as I began thinking outside the box, I became more engaged with kids having the opportunity to learn this way.”

For more information about the

program, search Fiddlewood Farm and Forest School on Facebook. OP

JOHN KIRKPATRICK is a special education teacher at Daviess County High School and a contributing writer for Owensboro Parent, Owensboro Living, GO Chamber, and the Owensboro Times. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Tara, and daughter, Laney.

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