Puppies flew through the air at Westview Elementary earlier this month. The plush yellow and black Labs landed in the outstretched arms of dozens of excited first-graders. These puppies have an important job: For the rest of the year they will serve as reading buddies to their first grade companions. The dogs and their accompanying reading logs are part of Learning with Lucky, a reading incentive program. The initiative was created in 2005 in Coeur d’Alene by insurance agent Camy Popiel and elementary teacher Cathy Bayes/Cindy Hval, SR. More here. (SR photo: Westview Elementary first-grader Preston Duncan, center, snuggles his new stuffed Labrador puppy during a gathering of classmates being introduced to the Learning with Lucky reading program)

Did/do your kids enjoy reading? How did/do you encourage that?