Spotlight on Special Education

Dogs as reading buddies and teachers of compassion

This school year, BOCES reading specialist Donna Lamkin was awarded one of the Capital Region BOCES’ annual mini-grants. The funds from this award will help pay for books and “kindness supplies” such as magazines, games, stickers and posters for a reading workshop unit of study with students in BOCES Special Education teacher Iain Munro’s PMI classroom based at Pinebush Elementary in the Guilderland School District.

The ultimate goal of this project is to use the reading workshop and other compassion-themed experiences such as field trips to motivate students to practice reading and help them strengthen their fluency and comprehension.

Since September, students have received twice weekly visits from therapy dog Miss Siggy, an experienced therapy dog who works with Pinebush Elementary’s social worker Catherine Ricchetti. After a round of hugs and hellos, Siggy settles in on the carpet with students for dog-themed read-alouds and journal writing.

“There really isn’t anything structured about Siggy’s time with us. Just having her here on a regular basis, being herself, really helps keep the class calm,” said Munro.

In addition to time with Siggy, Munro’s students spent a day last fall at Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont, New York participating in its barn school. Students were introduced to goats, chickens, honeybees and a Scottish Highland cow named Rosie and learned about their care and feeding while helping out with the day’s chores.

“For most of the boys, this is the first time they have ever been this close to farm animals,” explains Munro who adds that, although the farm is a much less structured setting than the classroom, the hands-on experience had students rising to the occasion (mucking out stalls, freshening bedding and water, even gathering an egg or two in the chicken coop)—and in the process learning valuable lessons about compassion and caring for beings other than themselves.