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.
good listeners
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.
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Let Me Read to Ewe is made possible by a Remake Learning Moonshot Grant and funding from the Grable Foundation.