The Bishop Farm Program was established in 2003 by two
teachers, Rosemarie Rose, and Kathy Bishop, with the
Lighthouse Voc-Ed Center. For 3 weeks in the summer, hours
8 am – 2pm., middle school and high school age students with
mild to moderate disabilities attend the hands on program
with Lighthouse Voc-Ed Center’s staff. Space is limited. The
following is a description of the program. If you have any
further questions, please call.

Animal assisted programs with children have been shown to
facilitate learning, encourage motivation, and enhance self-
esteem and development. This occurs by incorporating an
animal into a well though out plan with specific objectives.
The animal becomes a catalyst to help the child achieve a
goal. The animals can also be used to model lessons for daily
living and care of the animals which can translate into life
skills. The children can gain a sense of nurturing, kindness
and receiving and giving love when working with the animals.

The children will be interacting with a variety of animals on
the farm. The animals chosen for the activities are very used
to being handled and have calm, predictable dispositions. All
activities involving animals will be very closely supervised. A
horse, a mini horse, donkeys, a rabbit, chicken, and a Delta
Society certified therapy dog will be involved in the program.
Their daily care will be part of the barn activities. Everyone
will have the satisfaction of preparing a clean stall for the
horse, learning the feeding routine and what it takes to keep
an animal clean and healthy. There will be no riding. The
animals are very affectionate, which will encourage the
children to develop a relationship with a favorite.

In addition to the farm animals, the students will take
advantage of the natural surroundings at the farm. There are
many sensory opportunities for the children to experience.
Listening for birds singing, frogs croaking, touching soft moss,
and looking for turtles on a log will be brought into the day.

A daily journaling time will be set aside for the children. They
will be encouraged to express their thoughts and experiences
from the day using words and pictures. By weeks end, they will
have created a memory of their time on the farm.
Bishop Farm