Pet Partners, a therapy animal non-profit that fosters human health and well-being through the human-animal bond, has created a new program that encourages young readers to practice reading with their pets.

We Are All Ears is especially well-suited to this time of social isolation, when many beginning readers are participating in distance learning and may need a sympathetic (and fuzzy) ear as they learn to read.

Parents can join the We Are All Ears program and get reading logs, bookmarks, and reading-related games like bingo to encourage their children to read with pets.

We Are All Ears provides a helpful reading list with hundreds of titles, and children get a certificate of completion when they achieve their reading goals.

Pet Partners has created a fact sheet on the benefits of reading to animals among young readers.  Studies have shown that literacy rates improve among children who have worked with therapy animals.

New readers like kindergarteners and at-risk groups (such as homeless children) show improved reading skills after reading with animals.

Children who practice reading aloud with pets have demonstrated greater oral reading fluency than those who practice with just their peers.

Don’t forget to reward your pet for good behavior when he or she exhibits good listening skills!

You can check out this cute video on We Are All Ears here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xoi5Gh2EKc&w=560&h=315]