The communication Enhancement program is a curriculum developed by HWF staff using shelter or rescue animals to encourage children's communication skills through original books, photos and support materials.

Children have access to Henry and his "associates" (dogs, cats, horses, pigs, donkeys, sheep, goats) to expand their experience and vocabulary base. 

They then tell, draw, write and read stories about their experiences.

In September one of the local schools started sending two classes of elementary children with special needs to Henry's farm once a week to work with Henry and his "associates" (Oliver, Stanley and Vanna, the pigs, Cappie the goat and Howard Huge the Great Dane mix puppy).  Actually being at the farm provided more sensory stimulation and provided more hands-on experiences with real animals.  In preparing for the children we took the information we had gathered through working with all the other groups and started developing a curriculum to encourage children to expand their communication skills: reading, writing, and story telling.  We developed a series stories being told through photos of the animals.  Most of the children do not have a true sense of story, so we added text to create a book for each set of story prompts.  We read the story to them, talk about the story and then the children pick one of the photos to make up their own story or retell the original story with their own twist.  Some of the children write their stories, some draw pictures and dictate their version and others tape record their stories.

View more pictures in the Photo Album