A reading support program for primary school-aged children where they read one-on-one with a volunteer and their dog in a calm, positive environment.
Story Dogs returns to the Newcastle City Library on Tuesday 20 October, part of a Term 4 run that stretches through to 8 December. It's a reading support program for primary school-aged children, run as a partnership between Newcastle Libraries and Story Dogs Australia.
The setup is simple: in each session, a child reads one-on-one with an accredited Story Dogs volunteer and their dog. There's no pressure to perform, and the whole thing is guided by the Story Dogs Six Golden Rules. The idea is to build confidence and encourage kids to enjoy reading in a calm, positive space, rather than treating it like another school task. For this round, the volunteer is Bren and her dog Wilma.
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It's specifically for children aged 7 to 9 (Years 2-3), and there's a commitment involved: kids need to attend all four consecutive weeks of a block to take part. The sessions run on Tuesdays from 3:30pm to 5:25pm, with the first block starting 20 October and running through to 10 November, and a second block from 17 November to 8 December. It's free to join, and you'll find it at the Newcastle City Library, 15 Laman Street, Newcastle, NSW, 2300.
