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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Gretchen and Dandy, two donkeys from The Lands at Hillside Farms, came down from the farm Tuesday to visit with grade school students at Children&#8217;s Service Center.</p><p>Each week, educators from The Lands at Hillside Farms bring farm animals to the Children&#8217;s Service Center for animal assisted activities. The educators work with the children enrolled in the partial hospitalization program.</p><p>Each week, the students interact with a wide variety of animals, including cows, goats, sheep, snakes, birds &#8212; and donkeys.</p><p>In addition to playing and learning to care for animals, students hone their anatomy skills by listening to animal heartbeats and examining animal cadavers. Interaction with animals offers many benefits including building self-confidence, self-esteem, and trust as well as teaching compassion and empathy.</p><p>Officials at Children&#8217;s Service Center say animals are increasingly being used to assist patients with behavioral, mental, or emotional disorders as evidence grows that Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) can aid people with Autism, PTSD, and other conditions function in their everyday lives.</p><p>It was obvious Tuesday that the students were eager to learn, as they asked and answered questions before heading into the courtyard to meet Gretchen and Dandy up close and personal &#8212; including listening to their heartbeats with stethoscopes.</p><p>Before interacting with the two donkeys, the children learned the differences between omnivores, carnivores and herbivores.</p><p>&#8220;Omnivores eat plants and veggies,&#8221; one student said.</p><p>Another student correctly defined carnivores (meat eaters) and herbivores (plants-only eaters) before tackling other questions from Lindsay Sutton, director of education for The Lands at Hillside Farms. Assisting Sutton was Hannah Judge, education aide.</p><p>&#8220;This is a weekly program here at CSC,&#8221; Sutton said. &#8220;Most children don&#8217;t get the chance to visit a farm, so we bring the farm to the children.&#8221;</p><p>Sutton said the program is farm-based and agriculture based and it adheres to state standards and Common Core standards.</p><p>Sutton brought a lot of props to show the students, including a large model of a human heart and another of an eyeball. Other show-and-tell items included a fox pelt, a cow&#8217;s skull and pelvis and more.</p><p>&#8220;We want to provide a hands-on experience for the students to learn,&#8221; Sutton said.</p><p>Also speaking to the children was Clancy Harrison, president of the West Side Food Pantry at the Church of Christ Uniting, Market Street in Kingston.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re here to provide the children with some nourishing food for them to take home,&#8221; Harrison said.</p><p>The students were given bags full of apples, oranges, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, cucumbers and potatoes. Harrison said the food is provided through the Weinberg Food Bank, which is affiliated with the Feeding America Network.</p><p>Harrison,who volunteers her time with the program, said one in four children in Luzerne County is fighting hunger on a daily basis.</p><p>&#8220;And many children do not consume nourishing foods on a regular basis,&#8221; she said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Gianna Deleo, a second grade student at the Milford E. Barnes School in Wilkes-Barre, investigates the skull of a bear during a special class Tuesday. The Lands at Hillside Farms, an educational farm in Shavertown, brings animals to the classroom each week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040919Donkey2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Gianna Deleo, a second grade student at the Milford E. Barnes School in Wilkes-Barre, investigates the skull of a bear during a special class Tuesday. The Lands at Hillside Farms, an educational farm in Shavertown, brings animals to the classroom each week. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040919Donkey3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gage Roper holds a leash for Dandy the donkey while his teacher, Lindsay Carl and 2nd grade classmate Patrick Lewis, listen to the heartbeat of the donkey using a stethoscope at the Milford E. Barnes School in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040919Donkey3-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Gage Roper holds a leash for Dandy the donkey while his teacher, Lindsay Carl and 2nd grade classmate Patrick Lewis, listen to the heartbeat of the donkey using a stethoscope at the Milford E. Barnes School in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040919Donkey4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Emilio Bermudez Tuesday holds a fox pelt while his classmate, Jonathan McConnell, investigates it. Each week The Lands at Hillside Farms brings a classroom to the children. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040919Donkey4-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Emilio Bermudez Tuesday holds a fox pelt while his classmate, Jonathan McConnell, investigates it. Each week The Lands at Hillside Farms brings a classroom to the children. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040919Donkey1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Diamond Wilson, a third grade student at The Milford E. Barnes school at Children&#8217;s Service Center in Wilkes-Barre, listens to Gretchen the donkey&#8217;s chest for a heartbeat using a stethoscope on Tuesday. The Lands at Hillside Farms, an educational farm in Shavertown, brings animals to the classroom each week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL040919Donkey1-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Diamond Wilson, a third grade student at The Milford E. Barnes school at Children&#8217;s Service Center in Wilkes-Barre, listens to Gretchen the donkey&#8217;s chest for a heartbeat using a stethoscope on Tuesday. The Lands at Hillside Farms, an educational farm in Shavertown, brings animals to the classroom each week. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Donkeys, bones and flash cards help children learn life skills</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>