What more could you ask for your child than to have them practice reading while they are helping furry friends feel better at an animal shelter? In a new venture called Shelter Buddies Reading Program, children read to animals as a way to help the anxious or nervous animals acclimate to humans.
Reading programs are sprouting up everywhere for strugglers.
JoEllyn Klepacki, the assistant director of education at the Missouri Humane Society says that dogs staying at a shelter undergo a lot of anxiety and stress during their stay. As a result, children from the ages of 6 to 15 can now read to these animals in hopes of calming them down. The program began last December and is already highly successful.
In the Shelter Buddies Reading Program, kids can read to a completely non-judgmental audience and also help acclimatize often timid or anxious shelter dogs to the presence of humans.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- The Missouri Humane Society is giving kids opportunities to help the animals.
- The kids can read to the dogs at the shelter.
- The Shelter Buddies Reading Program is good for the children and the animals.
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