The students of Duquesne K-8 were excited to show off their reading skills to a group of visiting youngsters. However, instead of giggling at the stories, their listeners bleated.
Let Me Read to Ewe is the brainchild of Laura Jacob, superintendent of the California Area School District in Washington County. She had seen research studies that showed the benefits of children reading to animals. It’s less intimidating than reading to people and builds readers’ confidence in a fun, non-judgmental way.
Jacob got the idea during the pandemic, when her school district didn’t have access to the therapy dogs that regularly visited with the Washington County students for its reading program. Her parents have an 80-acre farm in Monongahela with over 100 sheep.
One day, when Jacob’s mother was bottle-feeding some baby lambs because their mother wasn’t doing it, she decided to bring the lambs to school so the children could read to them. The program was a success for the young readers and the Texel lambs, who seemed to enjoy the attention.
Jacob met Sue Mariani, superintendent of the Duquesne City School District, through Remake Learning, a peer network that allows educators to connect and collaborate on new ideas and find funding for unique programming. The two superintendents, one from a rural district and the other from an urban district, came up with a partnership that “not only made reading fun, but it brought agriculture into the classroom,” Mariani said,
Each spring, Jacob “Ewe-bers” the lambs from the southern Monongahela Valley school district to the upper portion so that Duquesne students in kindergarten through fourth grade can read to them. The lambs are 1-2 weeks old and range from 2-15 pounds.
Some of the animals relax in their cages; others move freely around the classroom among the children. Sometimes, the children get to bottle-feed them.
While working on their reading, the Duquesne students learn about sheep and life on a farm. They learn how to care for lambs, where they live and what they eat.
“Sue’s perspective brings to light things that I took for granted,” Jacob said. “I grew up living this and her perspective is completely different.”
Let Me Read to Ewe is made possible by a Remake Learning Moonshot Grant and funding from the Grable Foundation.
The Moonshot Grant program also allow the California Area School District to have weekly visits from therapy dogs that are owned and handled by district staff members, and to have goats and chickens in the schools.
While there are no therapy dogs currently visiting Duquesne K-8, Mariani hopes to have some in the future.
This time of year, the children ask when the lambs are coming, she said, and it is one of the highlights of the spring curriculum. The children really do appreciate their unusual audience.
“Several children wanted to take them home because they don’t have anyone to read to,” Mariani said.
Abby Kirkland (abbykirkland77@gmail,net) is a freelance writer from Mt. Lebanon.
First Published: March 19, 2024, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: March 19, 2024, 4:55 p.m.
