Kendal at Oberlin

When it comes to conservation, birders are themselves a big and critical flock. Consider that last year 83,000 people worldwide participated in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC), always held Dec. 14 through Jan. 5. New species added to the list include the Mottled Owl (Texas), Zapata Sparrows (Cuba) and Duida Woodcreepers (Ecuador). And while the number of birds counted was nearly 41 million, up slightly from the previous year, the number is alarmingly low, according to the National Audubon Society. “Each year, we increase the effort and geographic coverage of the Christmas Bird Count, and yet we continue to see overall declines in the total birds counted. Even small changes like avoiding pesticides and plastics, drinking bird-friendly coffee, planting native plants around our homes, and making our windows bird-safe can have meaningful and significant impacts for our bird populations.” All birders, including beginners, can join the upcoming 125th Christmas count but you must join an existing CBC circle and contact the compiler in advance of the day. (Martin Ackermann is the compiler for the Oberlin area and can be reached at martin.ackermann@oberlin.edu.) And FYI, Kendal is home to many birders and a group will once again be joining the CBC. If backyard bird feeding is more up your alley, here are some winter tips from Wild Birds Unlimited Feeders should be located out of the wind, ideally near a row of trees; Foods high in calories and fat, which birds need in winter, include oil sunflower, suet and peanuts. Consider adding a heated bird bath to your deck or backyard so your feathered friends can stay hydrated.

From all of us at Kendal at Oberlin, we warmly wish you a Thanksgiving filled with joy, gratitude, and cherished moments with loved ones.

A cleaning robot, an interactive game and environmental-friendly lighting are just a few of the technology initiatives underway at Kendal. https://hubs.ly/Q02ZJ98L0

Many of us have a favorite go-to small shop to buy unusual gifts, jewelry, decorations and the like but sometimes it’s fun to shake it up and discover a new one. Well, that’s one of the reasons for Small Business Saturday, an annual event sponsored by American Express and held on the Saturday after Black Friday. So here are 4 Ohio destinations to explore on Nov. 30 starting with one near and dear to us. Oberlin has lots of shops for browsing and buying, whether it’s books (Mindfair Books), plants (The Carlyle Shop), weird socks (Ratsy’s), stained glass (Verite), bike accessories (Oberlin Bike Shop) and more. Or support local businesses by buying a Shop Oberlin Gift Card from the Oberlin Business Partnership. Head north to Vermilion, and arrive at 10 a.m. to Main Street’s headquarters at 687 Main Street for a free tote (while supplies last). Popular shops include Brummer’s Homemade Chocolates, The Olive Scene, Swan Creek Candle, Main Street Threads and more. Or visit Vermilion on Friday, Dec. 6 (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) for Light Up Vermilion for the tree lighting and Santa arrival. Head east to Hudson in Summit County. The historic downtown features many small shops including Standing Rock Gallery, the Learned Owl Book Shop, Vertical Runner, House and Orange Rose Apothecary. To celebrate Small Business Saturday, Destination Hudson Visitor Center and Gift Shop is offering 20% sale on most everything. About 10 miles southeast of Hudson is Kent, home to Kent State University. Along with plenty of places to eat and drink, downtown Kent features many small shops such as McKay Bricker Framing/Black Squirrel Gifts, Midnight Fairy Jewelry, Hippie Fox Rocks and Hazelmade. Or shop Sunday, Dec. 8 and stay for the annual holiday live concert with Cincinnati-based folk music band “Over the Rhine” at Kent Stage.

As we gather with family and friends this week, many of us turn our attention to what we are grateful for, be it the splendid spread in front of us or the healthy body that got us there. But gratitude researchers and practitioners make a strong case for practicing gratitude year-round. As Angela Duckworth, professor and author of The New York Times bestseller “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” says, “Gratitude is like ketchup — put it on anything and it tastes better.” So, as we move beyond the celebration of Thanksgiving Day, here are 3 ways to keep gratitude front and center. 1. Keep a gratitude journal. Pick the format that works best for you – a spiral school notebook, fancy gratitude journal with inspiring words or a gratitude journal app for your smartphone – and the best time of day to pause and count your blessings. 2. Send a gratitude note. Again, you can send an email, text or greeting card, or a handwritten note. The important thing is the message, be it “you’re always there for me” to “you were there for me last week.” 3. Check out Grateful Living resources. This nonprofit offers a variety of content on how to live gratefully. You can sign up for its free daily “Word of the Day” email and lots of other free resources or its online retreat Dec. 6-7 ($125). According to the folks at Grateful Living: “The science says what ancient spiritual traditions have taught for millennia: Gratitude lowers stress by enhancing your perspective and grounding you in what you value; and gratitude improves mental and physical health by decreasing loneliness and fostering deeper connections and stronger communities.”

Kendal at Oberlin proudly holds the 5th spot among Ohio's top continuing care retirement communities, as recognized by Newsweek's America's Best Continuing Care Retirement Communities 2025.

Fresh flower arrangements brighten up the main entrance, Heiser Lounge and a couple of other public spaces in Kendal year-round (examples photographed), thanks to the dedication and creativity of about a dozen Kendal residents. Explains Anne Wardwell, chair of the Floral Creations Committee: “Between May and mid-October, we rely on flowers that residents grow and share, on wild flowers growing in various parts of Kendal, and on zinnias and gladiolas grown specifically for Floral Creations in the Community Garden. Between late October and May, we purchase flowers mostly at Carlyle Gift and Flower Shop in Oberlin, but also occasionally elsewhere – we have a budget from KORA (Kendal at Oberlin Residents Association). We use only fresh or dried flowers - never artificial flowers.” Residents and visitors often comment on the creative flower displays and are surprised to learn the arrangements are the work of residents, not florists. “We tell residents they don’t need to have flower arranging experience. What they do need is an artistic sense and a love for flowers. We work mostly in pairs for 10-day periods. When we get new members who don’t have much experience, they work with us so we can show them how we make the arrangement decisions we make, how to pick a suitable container, when to use oasis versus a frog, and so on. Occasionally in the past we have been fortunate to have a member or two with real flower arranging experience.” And the committee’s name – Floral Creations – is deliberate. “We do not try to make flower arrangements as one finds in florist shops, but rather specialize in creative arrangements using flowers, dried materials, driftwood, stones, shells etc. Hence Floral Creations as opposed to Flower Arrangers,” Anne says.

The land drew Dan Wright to Oberlin, the people drew him to Kendal. Six months later Dan feels at home living in a progressive, open-minded, welcoming community. https://hubs.ly/Q02Z2NfD0

The Kendal Early Learning Center 12-year journey incorporating an innovative self-discipline program in the classroom took another big step last month. The center’s director and four teachers traveled to Las Vegas for Conscious Discipline® annual Elevate conference. The group also included two teachers from Kendal at Hanover’s Early Learning Center and Jenn Keathley, director of OberlinKids. “My biggest takeaway was from one of our keynote speakers, DJ Batiste (photographed with the KELC teachers). He shared his story of how a teacher changed his life, and it was powerful! The teacher approached him with the skills of Conscious Discipline and saw something positive in him when all other teachers saw the negative. This inspired DJ to learn the Conscious Discipline skills and to set a goal to graduate high school,” says Emily Hoffman, Kendal Early Learning Center (KELC) teacher. Conscious Discipline is based on seven skills: Composure, Encouragement, Assertiveness, Choices, Empathy, Positive Intent and Consequences. “The Seven Skills of Discipline are the only skills we need to transform these everyday discipline issues into teaching moments. These moments are our opportunity to teach children the social-emotional and communication skills necessary to manage themselves, resolve conflict, prevent bullying and develop pro-social behaviors,” according to Conscious Discipline, which in 25 years has reached an estimated 20 million children in 100 countries. Jeni Hoover, KELC director, says the conference reinforced the importance of seeing the best in children and meeting them “where they are not where we want them to be developmentally. Also, the conference stressed not only teaching children Conscious Discipline skills in the classroom but modeling them every day. It’s easy to try and teach the skill but the way the child will truly learn the skill is by watching the adults around them put the skills into action and model what it looks like.” Other teacher takeaways: “making sure that all students and staff feel safe.” Molly Stonestreet. “the importance of building a school family.” Karen Moore “the importance of connection. Connecting with students, their parents/families, and each other (the teachers) in the classroom is such an essential component of being able to teach, learn, and grow.” Sierra Gessner

We may celebrate different winter holidays but holiday movies - well we can generally all get behind that. One highly anticipated movie this holiday season is “A Complete Unknown,” a Dec. 25 release which tells the story of an emerging Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. According to a Rolling Stone interview, when Dylan asked director James Manfold what the movie was about, he said, “‘It’s about a guy who’s choking to death in Minnesota, and leaves behind all his friends and family and reinvents himself in a brand new place, makes new friends, builds a new family, becomes phenomenally successful, starts to choke to death again — and runs away.” To which Dylan replied, “I like that.” “Mufasa: The Lion King Movie,” released Dec. 20, tells the story in flashbacks of orphaned cub Mufasa who meets the heir to a royal bloodline. Other holiday releases include: “The Piano Lesson (Nov. 8, Netflix Nov. 22), an adaption of an August Wilson play by Denzel Washington’s son Malcolm, starring another son, John David; “Emilia Perez” (Nov. 13) “a lawyer receives an unexpected offer to help a feared Mexican cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he's always dreamed of being”; “Maria” (Nov. 27, Netflix Dec. 11), the story of American Greek soprano Maria Callas played by Angelina Jolie: “Queer” (Nov. 27), based on the William S. Burroughs novel of the same name. To many watching a holiday movie means one of the classics. Five of the top 100 most popular holiday movies, according to IMDb are: “It’s a Wonderful Life: (1946) “Die Hard” (1988) “A Christmas Carol” (1951) “Home Alone” (1990) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964). Let us know what your favorite holiday film is.