Lily and I love our Tuesday afternoons spent in the library at the Westhampton Elementary School. Karen Rousseau, the school’s librarian, does a wonderful job of transforming the library space into a welcoming, friendly, comfortable learning environment. This Tuesday, while waiting for Lily’s first class to arrive, we checked out the new posters Karen had hung on the wall. The one pictured above really caught my eye. Perfect!, I thought. What a great message. Wouldn’t we all love to see our children doing this!
The mission of our Bright Spot Reading Buddy Program is to foster a love of reading by getting children excited about reading to a dog. Here, Lily awaits the arrival of the second grade class. In the beginning of the session, the entire group gets to spend time interacting with Lily. They all love petting her and talking about their own dogs. Then, Lily meets one-on-one with her readers in the special corner set up for the Reading Buddy Program. Each child looks forward to having his or her individual reading time with Lily. After all, it’s exciting to read to a dog! The dog is a great listening. No interruptions, just there listening.
It’s a simple thing, but results have been outstanding. Parents comment that their children are reading more, without prompting from them. Some students tell us they are now reading at home to their own dog. A reading specialist reported jumps in reading levels. Some advancing as much as 4 and 5 levels! Increased reading, results in greater ease of reading, leading to a love of reading. The poster on the library wall, to me, is the ultimate goal: Leave the TV off, get absorbed in a good book, and realize the pure pleasure of being carried off on a great adventure through words.