Humane Education Lessons

Overall Objective:

• To raise awareness of the needs of animals and how our compassion and understanding of them can indirectly and gently lead to compassion and understanding of ourselves and others.
• To raise awareness of the needs of our community and other people.
• To feel empowered to make a difference.

"Finding peace within and bringing peace to the world may start with the capacity to look into another's eyes and recognize there a kindred soul, whether the eyes belong to a German Dutchman, a friend, a chimpanzee, or a wolf."   -Gary Kowalski

We are not separate from animals, other people or this earth and once we recognize our connection to all that lives, we find peace within ourselves and we spread that peace to the world. There have been countless studies on the importance of allowing children to be exposed to animals in a way that promotes compassion. There have also been studies on the connection between violence towards animals and violence towards others.

FOUR WEEK LESSON PLAN FOCUSING ON:

Week One: General compassion overview, how we can be part of the solution

Week Two: Specific needs of dogs and pet overpopulation

Week Three: Visit to the local animal shelter

Week Four: Empowerment discussion, job opportunities in animal related fields, creation of artwork based on what was learned.

Upon completion of this four week program, each student will be awarded a certificate.

PIT BULL FIGHTING - Visit To Pit Bull Rescue Organization
A former pit bull fighter will come speak with the kids about the reality of what this does to the dog and how it affected him as a human being. Then we will visit a woman who just rescues pit bulls.

PHOTO JOURNALIST - Visit To A Dog Park
We will watch a couple of videos on different types of specific dog breeds (Pugs, Dobermans, etc.) to try and understand the different traits certain dogs have and why. Then we will visit a local dog park and try and identify different breeds we have seen, take photos of them and if possible ask the owners how they got their dog. If you think the kids will not enjoy this or be too shy to talk to the people, I can talk to them and the kids can write down the story.

DOG STORIES - Photographs
We will take our photos of the dogs and write the stories down that we learned of in the dog park. We will create our own storybook.

FARM SANCTUARY VISIT
The Farm Sanctuary is an organization that only rescues farm animals such as pigs, goats, chickens, cows, etc. This is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to see a farm animal up close and to better understand them. (Only available in certain locations.)

DOG BITE PREVENTION - Visit with a local dog trainer
Not understanding what a dog needs or what he/she is thinking is crucial for not getting bit. We will visit a dog trainer who is in session with a dog. He/she will not only show us how to effectively train a dog but we will see how to prevent getting bit.

CANINE COMMUNICATION
We will talk about how a dog tries to communicate with us and how we can be their best friend. We will be visited by or visit a Police Officer who has a Canine Companion helping him/her work.

MORE THAN JUST AN EASTER BUNNY - Visit to Rabbit Rescue organization
We will have a brief overview of the different types of bunnies, the history of the Easter bunny and then we will visit a local rabbit rescue organization.

GRAFITTI CLEAN-UP
A location that has been marred with graffiti will be selected. Students will discuss why kids choose to do this and how this affects the community, the shop-keeper, the other kids. We will discuss other options for expression. Finally, we will clean up the graffiti, signing our work.

SOLUTION TO POLLUTION
We will discuss how the simple act of throwing our garbage on the street affects everyone - even marine animals. We will then find a particular location and clean it up photographing the before and after affects.

Upon completion of four or more of the above individual lessons, students will be awarded a certificate.

If you have a specific issue that you would like presented, please call or email us and we will create a program based on your needs.

Fee: There is a sliding scale fee for each lesson which is tax-deductible.

For more information, please call or write us. We hope to be able to visit your school or after-school program.