King was pretty much jumping for joy when he saw me approach him with his Bright Spot blue Therapy Dog vest on Tuesday morning. To King, this is his signal that he is heading off to work.
King loves his job as a Reading Buddy at the Hilltown Charter School in Easthampton, MA. This is our third year running our special program at Hilltown. The school changed locations this year, a new (old) building in a different town. Here, King has his own office where he holds office hours on Tuesday mornings from 9:00-11:00 a.m.
During his office hours, King typically meets with eight students, all individually, for 15-minute time periods. Students bring a variety of books to read to King. Most of the students now are used to reading to King and choose books they think he will enjoy listening to.
King’s fourth grade friend always brings in The Super Nature Encyclopedia to teach him interesting facts about animals. We all love learning about the rare animals written about and pictured in this book.
An added bonus to King’s job is the admiration he receives from everyone at the school, students and staff, alike. All stop to pet and admire him, and to tell him he’s a good boy!