Like a story out of classic tales, students went off on an adventure.
This spring, they stepped out of Kennedy Elementary and on to a new campus for an assignment they couldn’t wait to explore: reading.
It was an unusual lesson, though, where kids were the teachers. As they opened their books, they leaned up against tall metal cages. On the other side was their students: dogs and cats at the Wellington Humane Society.
The lesson that was a bit strange and exciting to some like Elliana.
The then first-grader cozied up to the cage and pulled out a book. With her dark-rimmed glasses, she looked at the dog Scout. “Are you ready, girl? Are you ready,” she asked.
Elliana was among a small group of kids are invited to come out and cheer up animals up for adoption. Every week, different students get a chance visit. They practice their reading and meet pets hoping for a perfect fairy tale.
“It feels weird,” Elliana said. “It’s really big and there are lots of animals. It’s sad. Cause if I was them, I would be really sad.”
“I think it’s really good cause dogs need a lot of love and attention,” echoed Logan, a then fourth-grade student at Kennedy. “If you give them love and attention, they love you.”
As Logan reads from a super hero book, he carries a bit of strength just like the characters on the pages he flips through. He said the visit was a little hard. His family dog Finkle died this past year.
“That’s the really sad thing,” he said, quietly. “It was a long time ago, but I still love him. I still go to his grave to give him kisses.”
Logan hopes to bring hope to the pets the happily every after they deserve: a forever home.
“It’s very fun,” he said. “I love it. I would love to read to dogs again. It’s very special for me to come over here and read to a dog like Maggie. She’s very cute and kind of like Finkle. She likes to snuggle around in her blanket and stuff. I think it’s very special.”
Though the year was cut off short, the Kennedy Elementary Principal Gillian Macias said the school does plan to continue the program this fall. She will iron out details once the district releases plans for this next term.
In addition, the program inspired the humane society. This summer, it created a Reading to Rescue summer reading program, where kids can sign up to read to animals. For $30, students can come in four a four-week session. Proceeds support the humane society.
For more information or details on adoptions at the Wellington Humane Society Serving Sumner County, go to WellingtonHumaneSociety.org.