1/5 - 1/9 Week in Review

Hello Friends,

Word of the week: Adventure

We began our first week of 2026 as a cohort by spending time at OIKOS at Frost Valley, a yearly tradition and, this year, our fourth visit with the Kingston cohort. OIKOS, the Greek word for “home,” reflects the spirit of this retreat: a place where we gather under one roof to learn, work, and grow together. Traditionally, this retreat follows our Place Story Presentations, but with our new timeline, we felt it was important to begin the year immersed in a true winter wonderland.

Our days were full of team-building activities and hands-on work with the barn animals. Winter conditions made chores especially challenging: cleaning pens and herding four turkeys required teamwork, patience, and plenty of humor, as the turkeys clearly had minds of their own. We cleaned the duck and goat pens and helped clean the barn, supporting both the animals and the farm caretaker, Beth, who typically manages this work alone.

This experience offered a meaningful reflection on our mission to know, love, and serve. We practiced knowing by learning what it takes to care for animals in winter, loving through cleaning and spending time with them, and serving one another and ourselves, especially as we were able to enjoy the eggs the hens laid for breakfast. This is a practice we will continue to bring back and integrate into all that we do in Kingston.

In addition to farm work, we spent time making candles and decoupage tiles, each piece reflecting individual talents and styles. We explored blind contour drawing, deepened our understanding of one another, and engaged in workshops on personal policy-building and regenerative conflict. This time was essential for establishing a strong foundation for how we will move forward as a cohort over the next six months.

We also continued our tradition with the Leap of Faith, which challenged participants to face heights and build trust within the group. To wrap up our adventure, we went on a three-mile snowshoe hike. It was a completely new experience for most of us with snowshoes. The hike was far more challenging than expected—at times feeling like 28 miles—but by the end, everyone experienced a deep sense of accomplishment and pride. We are deeply grateful to the Frost Valley staff for keeping us well-fed and for leading thoughtful workshops that encouraged us to be outdoors and in relationship with the land and animals.

We’re so excited to spend our first full week back in Kingston, to introduce our curriculum partners to the new cohort, and to continue this fellow-SHIP on the adventure ahead.

Have a good weekend,

Place Corps Team 

:)