Heart of Gold gets students up close with livestock

The Heart of Gold Livestock Show was the event of the day with more than 90 kids participating from Crook County School District. Students interacted with cows, sheep, swine, goats, horses, dogs, a chicken and a rabbit with the help of our 4-H and FFA partners.

Kids had the opportunity to meet each animal as they rotated through the eight stations. 4H and FFA students were group leaders and animal handlers and encouraged their school partners to brush, touch and lead the animals around.

Horse rides were also provided and were the favorite of most of the participants.

Cross-age peer mentoring is a technique that pairs high school age students with elementary students, and is proven to work well for the students on both ends of the age spectrum. A 2019 article by Heather Myers for "Teaching Strategies" indicated that studies have found positive outcomes for both sets of students.

The mentees gain a connection to the school and peers, improved behavior and attitude and improve feelings of competency and accomplishment, as well as a positive outcome on grades and academic achievement. For the mentors, the benefits of this technique include improvement in self-esteem, empathy, intrapersonal communication and conflict resolution.

This year marked the third "Heart of Gold" show and it continues to be a popular event. Students from Moorcroft elementary and high school, as well as Sundance elementary and high school, participated in the event.

Students and community members brought animals for the program and stayed to help out. As one adult observer said, "This is a good thing you're doing here. This might be the only chance some of these kids get to be around animals."

One of the elementary participants said, "I really loved the animals and riding the horse for the first time ever. It was amazing and thank you!"