Meet Kona

We have a new member to our student body this school year and she walks on all fours!

Kona is being trained to be a guide dog.  The PE teacher at our building went through the training to become a foster parent to Kona.  Kona will be with her for a year while she trains her to be a guide dog for the visually impaired.  The students love Kona!  It's taken a while to get used to not petting or distracting her (for students and teachers).  I mean how sweet is this dog!
We did several things as a staff to prepare students for Kona's arrival.  One of the things I did in my classroom was read a book about a guide dog.  I read Cindy Lou and Sammy Too Go to the Mall, The Adventures of a Guide Dog Team by Cheryl McNeil Fisher.

It is the story of Cindy and her guide dog on their trip to the mall (told from the point of view of the dog, Sammy).  The book helped explain to students why Kona's job is so important.  In the story, Cindy even has to tell people not to pet her dog because he is working and needs to stay focused.  This story helped students understand what Kona will be doing after he finishes his training in a year.