It was hard for Jennifer Harren, a third-grade teacher at Charles Barnum Elementary School in Groton, to keep her students focused April 22 during her Book Club program. After all, there was a dog in the room.
Therapy dog Bentley visited as the class read Nora the Fifty Cent Dog by local author Lolly Stoddard.
A teacher in Groton for seven years—six at Mary Morrisson and one at Charles Barnum—Harren said she was notified in mid-January of the grant she received from the Groton Education Foundation to commence the book club program.
“I had written a book grant previously with Sue Morehouse, the principal at Mary Morrisson, and this was an extension of one of the book clubs from last year,” Harren said.
She explained that the club consisted of 20 students with teachers Janice Salemma and Laurie Hinckey helping out.
“We had to limit the number of kids due to space and staff limits, and each child gets a copy of the book,” she continued. “The kids have loved it so far—they give up lunch/recess on Tuesdays to join. I think they like discussing topics and relating it to their own life in a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere. The parent surveys to date have been positive.”
Eating pizza and celebrating the club’s finale of the program, the class welcomed Assistant Animal Control Officer Melissa Bouffard from the Groton Animal Control shelter.
Bouffard brought a book filled with pictures of dogs to teach the children visual signals they can look for when they encounter a dog.
“When dogs are scared they’ll crouch down to the floor, like this dog’s doing,” Bouffard said as she pointed to one of the pictures in the book.
Though she said this was her first experience teaching children in a classroom setting, Bouffard comfortably circled the room, showing the students different pictures, answering their questions, and listening to their own dog stories.
At the end of Bouffard’s presentation, Harren told Bouffard that in honor of her visit and the class’s animal-themed book club, the third-graders had filled a large box full of cat food, dog food, treats, toys, and a $50 gift card to Pets Plus in Groton for Bouffard to take back to the animal shelter.
At the end of the program, Harren recapped how children should not approach stray dogs and should always ask the owner of a dog before petting one before she gave the children the opportunity to pet therapy dog Bentley.
One by one, each student asked Bentley’s owner, Mrs. Stein, before petting the dog.
Now that the program is over, Harren said she plans to ask the kids how she can make the book club better.
“They have already given me ideas,” she said. “I think it shows them that reading is fun,” she said, referring to the book club program. “You do not have to be the best reader or the smartest kid in the class to enjoy reading. A lot of the kids like the idea of making a picture in their minds and comparing what they ‘see.’ They also love sharing parts of their own lives that are similar to the books.”