Alex, Zahra, and Layla, age 10, made bookmarks promoting rescue and put them in their school media center. These Maryland 5th graders, who attend Stone Mill Elementary, also collected coins to donate to their fellow ambassadors in Bosnia who are trying to save homeless animals themselves! Naishlyn, age 11, is a - 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.
How to Be a Good Listener
The following is Lesson 4.1: Listening to Each Other for Grades 4-5: To be effective listeners, children need to learn how to take another’s perspective and convey empathy. In addition to enhancing the ability to communicate and maintain relationships, the development of listening and observational skills will strengthen children’s awareness of, and sensitivity to, - Read more
In Memory of Jeter, the First Mutt-i-grees School Dog
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
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
Puerto Rico School Cats and Dogs
The Academia Cristo Rey Middle School in Ponce, Puerto Rico has set a bar that is a tough act to follow. From rescue to nurture to adopt and educate they have our mission covered. Cristo Rey not only has a Mutt-i-grees School Dog (Anakin) but is part of our Mutt-i-grees School Cat Foster Program which continues to rescue and transport the kittens to the safety of our campus. The leadership for the programs is executed by our Global Student Ambassadors who named themselves the Cristo Rey Pawsitive Minds. These students are an inspiration to their fellow students, their teachers and us at North Shore Animal League America.
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
