THE CENTURY OF THE CURRICULUM
The Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum, piloted in 2010, is a groundbreaking educational effort that teaches the next generation of children crucial social and emotional skills. The curriculum, developed by the Pet Savers Foundation in collaboration with Yale School of the 21st Century, helps children become more kind, caring and compassionate — to their friends, families, and of course, animals.
The Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum is a unique program that combines social and emotional learning and humane education. It was developed by the Pet Savers Foundation (the program development arm of the Animal League) in collaboration with the School of the 21st Century. The Curriculum is funded by the Millan Foundation.
The Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum is a unique program that combines social and emotional learning and humane education. It was developed by the Pet Savers Foundation (the program development arm of the Animal League) in collaboration with the School of the 21st Century. The Curriculum is funded by the Millan Foundation.
The curriculum is part of American Mutt-i-grees® Club, a web-based initiative that targets owners of America’s 50+ million mixed breed dogs, offers a registry for mixed breeds, and aims to educate the public on the benefits of adopting a Mutt-i-grees® from a shelter.
The Curriculum is planned for students from Pre-K-Grade 12 with a dual purpose of promoting awareness of Mutt-i-grees®, or shelter dogs, and introducing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL is a new component of the School of the 21st Century. It is research-based and shown to help raise student achievement scores and reduce bullying and disruptive behaviors. The first phase of the Curriculum, Pre-K-Grade 3 is complete. Click here for information on how to order.
In the Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum, social and emotional learning is presented within a realistic context that teaches about care and compassion not only to other people, but also to shelter dogs. Books and examples about Mutt-i-grees® are used to teach children social and emotional skills. Mutt-i-grees® Puppet is used as an instructional aide in all lessons. Although the Curriculum does not need to be used with a live dog, some teachers bring a therapy dog to the classroom and many are augmenting the Curriculum with trips to local animal shelters.
The first phase (Pre-K-Grade 3) of the Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum was pilot-tested in schools in five states where it received a huge welcome among 21C and other schools. Many have previously used dogs to help children learn to read, teach special needs students, and address mental health and behavior problems.
The Curriculum includes lessons presented in five themes based on social and emotional competencies. There are 25 lessons (additional lessons are available on the Mutt-i-grees® website as well). Each lesson takes approximately 15-20 minutes and can be presented during Morning Meeting, Circle Time or at any other part of the day. Each lesson is tied to the academic curriculum by highlighting vocabulary, reading and activities that can be integrated into social studies, math and other subjects.
Teachers are reporting that the kids love the lessons, and we are not surprised. There is a natural affinity between children and pets, and children’s interest in animals motivates and encourages learning. There is so much excitement among the students over Mutt-i-grees®, that parents have been coming to school to find out what the excitement is all about.
Cesar Millan, through the Millan Foundation is funding the development of the Curriculum and has also been involved in developing lessons on dog behavior. These lessons, presented under the overall heading of Dog Dialog, are inserted throughout the Curriculum.
For decades, proponents of humane education have sought to create a humane, sustainable, peaceful world for all people and animals by teaching kindness, compassion, and responsible pet ownership. In recent years, advocates of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) have focused on facilitating children’s self- and social- awareness, relationship skills, and problem-solving abilities as a way to enhance children’s social and emotional competencies, and related academic skills. Both of these movements share an overarching aim of fostering compassion, caring, and more responsible decision making. However, previous programming initiatives have focused solely on traditional humane education or SEL without recognizing the natural overlap in skills and content between the two.
In the Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum, we bridge the contexts of humane education and SEL, and enhance children’s self- and social-awareness, relationship skills, and ability to make ethical and effective decisions in order to make a difference in the lives of people, animals, and the environment. By teaching children skills to promote self- and social awareness, effectively communicate and mange emotions, and foster empathy (the capacity to take another’s perspective) we aim to support the development of calm, confident, and caring children.
The Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum is a being developed in phases:
- Phase I: Pre-K-Grade 3. This Phase is completed;
- Phase II and III: Grades 4, 5 and 6 Middle School and After School Programs is now being developed;
- Phase IV: High School.
Phase I: Pre-K-3 Grade 3 includes two units:
Pre-K-K and Grades 1-2-3. Each unit has five themes based on social and emotional competencies. There are five lessons in each theme. Additional lessons and supportive activities will be posted on the Mutt-i-grees® Website for teachers interested in more intensive teaching of social and emotional learning. We will post a link to that site when it becomes available.
After reviewing the unit and lesson plans during the pilot test, teachers reported that lessons were easy to use, take approximately 15-20 minutes, and can be integrated into the academic day or presented during Morning Meeting or Circle Time. For more information about the Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum, please take a look at our Curriculum Q & A Guide. Also, to learn more about the pilot testing sites, please click here.
The Pre-K-Grade 3 Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum Kit is available at this time. The kit includes the Curriculum binder, the Mutt-i-gree® Puppet and posters.
Pre-K-Grade 3 Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum Kit Order Forms
| This form is for schools that have NOT received their 3 complementary copies. (While supplies last) | |
| This form is for schools that have already received their 3 complementary copies and would like to order more copies at a cost of $50 per kit. |
We encourage all Pre-K-Grade 3 classrooms to implement the curriculum and believe that a whole school approach is associated with greater academic and social benefits and can improve school climate.
Although training is not mandatory, it is encouraged – see Trainings for a list of upcoming training events. If your school is interested in custom technical assistance and training, please write us at yale21c@yale.edu
The cost of training can be supported by schools’ professional development resources. Additional funding sources include: Safe and Drug-Free School, Title I, Special Education (IDEA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Prevention.
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