In January 2010, our launch of the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum welcomed 40 educators from Fenton Charter schools in Los Angeles California that participated in the 1st Mutt-i-grees training in New York. During the visit to North Shore Animal League America’s Rescue and Adoption Center, guidance counselor Toni Frear fell in love with one of our - Read more
The transformative power of the dog cultivates a calm, confident and empathetic school community. Through the lens of the rescue pet, while bridging social emotional learning with humane education, students learn compassion and what it is to have resiliency – they learn coping skills. The journey of the rescue pet is not lost on them. Both have a vulnerability to suffering and kindness. Dogs - whether they come to school every day or every once in a while, or are represented in stories , photos, or videos - are unique to the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum. They nurture students’ imagination. Contribute to happiness and kindness. Provide opportunity for service learning, and the cultivation of empathy, and compassion. These are some of the outcomes. 5000+ educators are using this program and seeing first hand its impact.
World Read Aloud Day: Cultivating Compassion Through Stories
What’s better than settling in with a good book? How about reading one with your classmates and kids in classrooms across the nation? Better yet, with a rescue pup! This is exactly what we did on World Read Aloud Day! Though we were in the Bronx with our friends at The Walton and Lucero - Read more
Mutt-i-grees Family Social Night
We are so excited to announce one of our new programs: Mutt-i-grees Family Social. We launched this event with our dear friends at the West Babylon Library in West Babylon, NY. We are happy to announce the event sold out as soon as it was posted! Based on the five themes of the curriculum: Achieving Awareness, Finding Feelings, Encouraging Empathy, Cultivating Cooperation and Dealing With Decisions our fabulous Creative Team produced interactive activities to engage families.
Student Grooming Event for Rescue Dogs
From a commercial breeder mill to school classroom star! It was a long journey to safety for the fifty older dogs we rescued from an inhumane commercial breeder in the Midwest. When they finally made it to the safety of our campus, their lives were forever changed from a life of isolation and neglect - Read more
Who Am I?
Lessons in this theme, Achieving Awareness, help students gain a stronger sense of self and awareness of their unique abilities. Such skills increase children’s self-confidence and promote the appreciation of diversity. Children will also learn that, like people, Mutt-i-grees possess special and unique qualities. Children will identify their unique traits and interests to further - Read more
School Cats Are Cool Cats
Thanks to the ingenuity from our North Country Initiative Adirondack Region Cat Adoption Center (NCI), we are excited to announce a new part of the Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum that will help us save more lives — the Mutt-i-grees School Cat Foster Program. Deborah Oligny, NCI Director, has not only been busy rescuing cats and kittens, - Read more
Listening Skills
What emotions do you think dog’s feel? How do they express these emotions? Thinking about feelings from a dog’s perspective can help you think more about how to help animals and people. In Lesson 3.7: A Dog’s Point of View, from the Grades 7 & 8 curriculum, students will further enhance their perspective-taking skills - Read more
A Dog’s Point of View
What emotions do you think dog’s feel? How do they express these emotions? Thinking about feelings from a dog’s perspective can help you think more about how to help animals and people. In Lesson 3.7: A Dog’s Point of View, from the Grades 7 & 8 curriculum, students will further enhance their perspective-taking skills - Read more
Different Points of View
What are you thankful for? We must remember to be grateful for the things we have this time of year and be mindful of the impact and importance we have on the world as we move through it. In Lesson 3.1: Different Points of View from the 7 & 8 curriculum, students will learn - Read more
Diversity in Mutt-i-grees
Come explore how the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum supports the appreciation of diversity! A recent survey (to educators connected with our program) about topics of interest, showed that diversity and inclusion were of importance to most of the respondents. Throughout the PreK-12 curriculum, we have diversity objectives, rationale, and materials for students within the lessons. Here - Read more