Photo by Jeff McVay
The Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library along with OLHS join forces once a month to instill in the local children the respect that books – and critters alike – deserve.
The distinctive program, Reading with Rover, combines puppies (and occasionally, kittens) with community kids for a reading – and frolicking – good time.
“This is a great program because the kids adore the animals at these events,” head librarian Laura Beth Walker said. “It’s a popular program that we recently moved from Saturdays to Fridays.”
According to the OLHS website: Reading with Rover is a community-based literacy program that takes place at the Oxford-Lafayette County Public Library once a month from approximately 10:00-11:30 a.m.
“Toddler Time begins at 10 on the morning of each event with the OLHS rescue animals arriving at approximately 10:30 for Reading with Rover,” Walker said.
“At Reading with Rover, children actually read books to a shelter dog, which both improves the reading ability of the child and also provides a much-needed break from shelter life for the dog. This is a great program for children with reading difficulties or who can be shy reading aloud to people. Reading to a dog can be a very fun, rewarding experience for the child because he or she is often less stressed and does not feel as much pressure. The dog will never judge the child’s reading abilities,” according to the OLHS website.
The next scheduled Reading with Rover frolic will take place on January 8 beginning with Toddler Time at 10 a.m. followed by Story Time and Reading with Rover at 10:30. The public is invited to attend.
OLHS is a private, nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any other local or national organization. It is made possible only by the generosity of donors and all contributions are tax deductible.
Jeff McVay is a staff writer and graphic designer for Hottytoddy.com. He can be reached at jeff.mcvay@hottytoddy.com
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