The Ark’s Reading Rainbow
On a December day, with the holiday fever buzzing around, the Ark welcomed in some local children to come in to read Christmas stories to the cats. One little girl read her story to a cat named Boots. She sat down beside the friendly cat, and began reading. Boots looked at her adoringly, and reached out with his little paw to pat her arm. We at the Ark, and the young reader, were quite amused by this, as we felt that it was Boots’ way of saying: “Good job!” Boots would also like to mention that he enjoys being read to, and particularly likes funny Christmas stories. But we digress…
With that story being told, the Ark would like to introduce a donation-based reading program that we are offering to our beloved community called the Ark’s Reading Rainbow. With this new initiative, we would like to invite children of all ages to come in and read to the Ark pets. Does your child struggle with reading, and need a little comfort? Or, does your child love to read while enjoying the company of furry companions? Either way, the Ark pets would love to help.
There are many beneficial reasons why the Reading Rainbow could be very beneficial. For example, if you were a child that was struggling with reading, wouldn’t it make sense that you would want to be in an environment that felt safe? If you were told you could read any book you wanted, without your mistakes being corrected, wouldn’t your motivation to read increase drastically? When young readers are struggling, it can often times be embarrassing for them to read aloud, especially in front of parents and peers, who are often stopping them mid-sentence and correcting their mistakes.
When children read to animals, they often are able to increase confidence, reading skill, phrasing, pronunciation, and in turn feel more comfortable reading aloud. Animals do not mind if children make mistakes in their reading, and they do not criticize.
It turns out that the young reader isn’t the only one to benefit from a program like the reading Rainbow. Many shelter animals spend time alone through out the day. Shelter animals are helped from the attention they receive and benefit from hearing the child’s voice and simply being with the child.
The Ark will be accepting donations for The Reading Rainbow during our regular open hours. Come on in and let your child express him or herself with their reading skills and help an Ark pet. We can’t wait to see you!
Sincerely,
The Ark