Saturday, June 28, 2014

summer job...


The summer is close to full swing, and it's going to be busy and fly by for sure!!!! And one of our "events".... Camille and Livy have summer jobs!!!!
"Sorry Camille, but you are a working girl, and one more little job isn't going to hurt!!!" Camille, Livy and I are going to volunteer at the library with the summer reading program for the children. It's called  "Paws to Read"... and every Friday morning, we will go for reading hour. The kids that come with enjoy stories and crafts, and then can "borrow" either Camille or Livy to read to. Reading out loud to dogs (who do not judge and are nice to cuddle with) can really improve a child's reading skills. 
To promote the program, we went to school (before it released for the summer) and put on a little skit about the reading program. Camille had the part of "the library dog".. and I thought she did a fine job, sitting up at the desk while the kids did their part. 
What was great fun, is as the kids came into the room to see the skit... many of them thought that Camille was a puppet!!!! I have to say, she sat so well in that chair, that I could see why they might have thought that. It was so funny to hear their comments when they realized that she was a real dog... (guess some of them aren't used to dogs that know how to  behave!!!) 
A few days later, we went to the library "open house" to work on promoting the reading program again. This time I brought both Livy and Camille... they did a great job greeting the kids and helping to get everyone signed up. The kids were given "reading logs" and as they complete them... the can earn prizes threw the summer. 
One little gal wanted to get started right away (her Mom says she loves to read) but having Livy close by and the promise of prizes was even better. 
The morning of our first official visit, Abbie, Livy, Camille and I walked up to the library. It's not a far walk, and I thought it might be good to have the dogs a bit tired before we got there. It was a great morning for a walk, and Abbie and I had fun chatting along the way. 
I was pleasantly surprised to see how many kids showed up. Our town is really small and to be honest, no one was quite sure how many would actually come. 
It didn't take long for the dogs to go to work. Cuddling with the kids during the story time....
And after crafts, sitting with a partner and listening to a story. I knew that Camille would sit perfectly and listen, but wasn't so sure how Livy would do with this....
But she took right to it... and not only was a great cuddle dog.. but actually seemed to enjoy looking at the books.....
And Camille was a natural. I think that not only were the kids surprised with this, but so were the adults. I got many compliments on how pretty the dogs were, but mostly how "good" they are... (obedience pays off again!!!)
And it was so nice to hear the kids reading along. If a mistake was made... it wasn't any "big deal"... just what the program is designed to do...
The dogs are certainly going to play a big part in all of this....















And by the smiles and things I heard... I think the kids are going to have a great summer.... reading!!!!!