Chesapeake Life Center has more than 30 years of experience using fun and friendship to help grieving children find a path to healing. Here is what is planned for children and teens through September:
- Family Day on the Farm: Grieving families can explore their loss with expertly trained horses during Family Day at the Farm. Horses are incredibly sensitive to human emotions and their emotional intelligence can be a helpful tool in one’s journey through grief. It will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, June 24, at Maryland Therapeutic Riding, 1141 Sunrise Beach Road, Crownsville, Maryland. The minimum age for children is 6. No horse experience is needed and all activities are unmounted.
- Rhythm of Life: Drum Circle Support Group is a free group for kids and teens ages 6 to 18. They can connect with one another through creative expression and the healing power of drumming. Drumming has been shown to produce relief from symptoms that accompany grief and loss, improve physical wellbeing, help to process and regulate emotions, and it’s fun! The group will meet from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, July 16, Aug. 20 and Sept. 17 at the Burnett Center for Hope & Healing, 4559 Sixes Road, Prince Frederick, Maryland.
- Camp Nabi is a full weekend overnight camp experience for any child ages 6 to 18 who has experienced the death of a loved one. It will be held Aug. 9 to 11 at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville, Maryland. With a full team of counselors and trained volunteers, campers will participate in activities focused on memorializing their loved ones, learning coping skills in small groups, and using integrative arts to help kids express their grief. Of course, this also will include fun camp activities, like swimming, field games, ropes course and more. To make this experience possible for grieving children living within its entire service area, free transportation will be available from one location in each of the counties: Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles and Prince George’s. The cost is $100 per camper. Thanks to community donations, there are a limited number of scholarships for families in need.
- Stepping Stones Four-Week Grief Support Group for newly bereaved youth will not meet during the summer, but will return in the fall. The group is for children and teens ages 6 to 18 whose loss occurred within the last 12 months. Counselors will focus on normalizing grief reactions, teaching coping skills and providing opportunities to remember the loved ones who have died. Groups will be divided by age and grade level based on enrollment. A social space will be provided for parents and guardians while the children meet. The group will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 3, 10, 17 and 24 on the John & Cathy Belcher Campus, 90 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, Maryland. The cost for all four weeks is $40.
Registration is required for all programs and can be completed by calling 888-501-7077 or emailing griefinfo@chesapeakelifecenter.org. Visit www.hospicechesapeake.org/events for a complete listing of in-person and virtual groups and workshops for adults and children.
