MUSKEGON, Mich. — This summer, your kids can practice their reading skills with a pair of adorable furry friends at Hackley Library in Muskegon.
It's part of a long list of fun and educational activities for the library's summer reading program.
Paws and Read allows children to become more comfortable with reading and literacy. Their audience are the best listeners who wouldn't mind getting belly rubs while you read to them.
Breezy and Dolly are two therapy dogs who have been trained to keep kids calm in a safe, judgment free zone.
Not only is it a great way to practice reading, but it could also help prevent the summer slide.
"A lot of times if something is kind of scary, or maybe it's not coming as easily, that is often the mindset to want to stop and not do it and kind of push it to the side," said Mallory Metzger, Marketing and Program Coordinator at Hackley Library. "This gives kids the chance to have the opportunity to have it not be so scary to have it be something that they can have fun with."
The program is free, but registration is required. Kids get a 20-minute time slot with one of the dogs.
There are plenty of opportunities to sign up to read to Breezy and Dolly this summer and into the fall, including Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. To register, call the library at 231-722-8014.
Hackley Library's summer reading program allows families to track reading and earn prizes. To learn more, click here.
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