Early readers need encouragement, not judgement. And what’s more reassuring than a wagging tail, sweet puppy dog eyes, and a rapt audience that will never utter a discouraging word?
Nothing that we can think of. And that’s exactly why innovative programs across the country are bringing man’s best friend into schools and libraries for reading lessons. The well-trained, albeit furry, audience members give kids an outlet for their newfound phonics, and the pooches — with their toddler-like need for attention — lap it up.
In Augusta, Wisconsin, the Tail Waggin’ Tutors visited Augusta Elementary School, giving children 15-minute stints to read to a pooch. “We look for every possible way to motivate kids to love to read,” reading specialist Nancy Forseth told the local Leader-Telegram. “Who doesn’t love dogs?” Clearly, most children, as some 90 kids signed up for the program, she said.
In Anchorage, Alaska, through the Pawsitive Reading Program, pets visit a local library once a month, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The kids don’t even realize they’re working and learning sometimes. “She thinks she’s helping the dogs to read,” one mom says, of her precocious tyke.
The added bonus? (Beyond the reading thing, that is.) Shy kids, and those fearful of dogs, slowly start to come out of their shell.
For both dogs and their owners, these programs are staffed solely with volunteers. But for those involved, the petting, hugs, and smiling kids are certainly payment enough.
Plus, who can resist the photo from the Kasson, Minnesota, Post-Bulletin of a kid reading the modern classic adventures of Pete the Cat to an attentive, dog-show-worthy border collie?
Certainly not us.
Tag: reading
How One Organization Encourages the Love of Reading
Clifford. Harry Potter. The Boxcar Children. These storybook characters have entertained and inspired countless American children. And now, they can do the same for a whole group of immigrant kids.
Some new book worms at the Integrated Arts Academy, a school that serves many English-language-learning students whose parents emigrated from countries such as Somalia, Nepal, and South Sudan, in Burlington, Vermont, took home free reading material this week, thanks to the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLF). This nonprofit aims to inspire a love of reading in low-income and rural children in New Hampshire and Vermont. According to CLF’s website, it has served 150,000 children since 1998 — donating more than $3 million worth of books. Donations from the community make it possible for the kids to start their own home libraries.
This year, Duncan McDougall of CLF gave the families a literacy seminar before the kids each picked out two free books at the book fair. McDougall spoke to the parents about how they can support their children’s reading habits, offering them techniques to engage the kids in the story, even if the parents themselves can’t read English well. Five translators were on hand to help the families select good books for their kids.
McDougall told Lynn Monty of the Burlington Free Press, “These children are all very eager to learn and to read more often, but many of them have few, if any, books of their own at home. Their parents often work multiple jobs which makes it hard to take children to the library, and many of the parents themselves have limited literacy skills.”
“We are newcomers who want to help our kids at home,” Mon Gurung, who moved to the U.S. from Nepal, told Monty.
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This Is the Most Adorable Way Ever to Get Kids to Read
Are you ready for a ridiculous amount of cuteness? The Animal Rescue League of Berks County in Pennsylvania hosts a program that lets kids ages 6-13 to read books to homeless animals. The “Book Buddies” program allows kids to practice reading to an nonjudgmental listener, while rescue cats are given much-needed affection. Kids are given small prizes once they complete a certain amount of books.
“The program will help children improve their reading skills while also helping the shelter animals,” according to the shelter’s website.” Cats find the rhythmic sound of a voice very comforting and soothing.” Indeed, if you take a look at the shelter’s delightful Facebook photos, it looks like the animals quite enjoy Dr. Seuss.
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According to Time, the program began in August 2013 after the shelter’s director, Kristi Rodriguez, had her 10-year-old son Sean read to a cat to help improve his reading skills. But it wasn’t until earlier this month when a photo of a young boy nuzzling an orange tabby with a picture book was posted on Reddit that word really got out about the animal shelter.
The shelter was reportedly flooded with donations and interest from all over the world. “The response is mind-boggling. I’ve heard from people in Canada and a newspaper in Taiwan. People are calling with questions like, ‘Do you know if there’s a similar program in Omaha, Nebraska? I’ve been contacted by ‘Good Morning America,'” Rodriguez told SFGate. “The phone is ringing off the hook.”
The Big Easy’s Big Literacy Challenge
New Orleans has a big goal for its 300th birthday in 2018: Leaders want to make New Orleans the most literate city in America through a program called Turn the Page. The initiative kicked off January 22 with an effort to break the Guinness world record for the largest read-aloud event. About 500 kids attended to hear some of the city’s finest musicians play, including Grammy-winning bandleader Irvin Mayfield, one of the major forces behind the literacy campaign, and New Orleans actor Wendell Pierce, known for his work on “The Wire” and “Treme,” who read aloud from “The Bourbon Street Band is Back.”
The Turn The Page program unites 11 library systems and many media organizations throughout southern Louisiana in a simultaneous effort to improve school readiness among preschoolers, reading ability among school-age kids, digital literacy, and literacy among adults. Last month’s kickoff began a blitz of 30 literacy-encouraging events in 30 days, such as the “Super Bowl of Reading,” through which people vote for their favorite author to be featured at area libraries, individual computer classes to help people get online, and a pajama story time for kids. The Turn the Page website will make literacy tools available.
Central Connecticut State University conducts an annual literacy survey of in cities across America, measuring such factors as educational attainment, the number of booksellers, and the availability of library resources, and ranks cities. Last year New Orleans ranked 25th out of 75. Given all the efforts the people of New Orleans are making to improve literacy, 2013’s number one city, Washington D.C., is going to have to hit the books to hold off New Orleans’ challenge.
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Meet the Incredible 13-Year-Old Who Delivered a Million Books to Kids in Need
Maria Keller loves to read—and she’s determined to share that love with everyone around her. The 13-year-old bookworm founded the nonprofit Read Indeed five years ago with the goal of delivering 1 million books to low-income children before she turned 18. At the halfway point, the organization has already exceeded her ambition, donating 1,032,067 books worth roughly $4 million.
Read Indeed collects donations through book drives and drop-offs offs at the organization’s Plymouth, Minnesota, warehouse, and the books are delivered to schools, hospitals, community centers and churches, according to Women You Should Know. Some of Keller’s favorite books include The Giver, The Help, Hatchet, Treasure Island, Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and the Harry Potter series. “I love the fact it can kind of take you anywhere and you don’t think about the life outside of reading,” she told MyFox9.
Keller’s next goal is to deliver books to all 50 states and to every country in the world. “You are never too young or too old to make a difference,” she said.
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