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Children who have difficulty reading and reading aloud may find it not as daunting when the audience is a cute farm animal at an event Sunday, Aug. 30, at the Webb Ranch produce stand on Alpine Road just east of Interstate 280.
The Reading Clinic and My Pony Party, two Bay Area for-profit businesses, are co-hosting a free reading party and petting zoo at the produce stand from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Children can bring their favorite books and read them to their choice of animal, including pigs, chickens and ponies.
Reading aloud has been shown to increase confidence, but can be stressful for children with reading difficulties, including dyslexia. Having a nonjudgmental animal for an audience can reduce the stress level, said Kevin Comartin, a Reading Clinic director, in an interview.
“There’s something to this. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” he said. Kids who would normally shy away from reading will “plop down on a floor next to a pig or a dog … and loosen up.” They’re no longer trying to read correctly for a teacher, but are having fun, he said. “That’s the goal really.”
The kids will have bean bags to sit on. Animals who are fidgety may be in a pen, but others, especially pigs, will “hang out in your lap” while being read to, Mr. Comartin said.
The menagerie will also include ducks, rabbits and goats, said Donna Kissinger of My Pony Party, and pony rides and face painting will be part of the fun.
For more information, call Mr. Comartin at (408) 455-0197.
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