HLTH 440 Students Help Community

Two years ago Colin Osborne adopted a puppy and took her to obedience training.  The instructor suggested Tally, the puppy, would make an excellent service dog, so Colin continued training Tally and she achieved this certification.  This inspired Colin to combine Tally’s certification to implement an entirely new capstone project this semester in HLTH 440.  Katy Korte, director of the Kirksville Child Development Center (KCDC) and the parents of children attending agreed to allow Colin and Tally to present lessons to the children there. Colin, then developed six original 30-minute health-related lessons.  After an initial “meet and greet” with the faculty at KCDC, the lessons began.  The children were divided into two groups (age 2-3 year olds, and 4-5 year olds), and the lessons were taught to each group of children at KCDC.  The first lesson was on Dog Safety, with subsequent lessons on Needs vs. Wants, Habitats, Measurements, a health story, and review/ice cream party.  Tally and Colin were a hit and the children eagerly awaited their next lesson during April.