TOLEDO, Ohio — You know the saying, "look good, feel good?"
A local teacher has put her own twist on it.
Think of it as, "look good, read good."
It's a concept aimed at building both confidence and reading skills.
About five years ago, Niki Louks, the reading intervention specialist at Wernert Elementary in Washington Local Schools, started a program called "Books and Braids."
The kids read her a book or two, and she braids their hair.
"I just thought it was such a neat idea and a great way to get the kids reading, and excited about reading, and parents are really busy," Louks said.
She got the idea after seeing a Facebook post about it from a teacher in another state.
Every time a student is in the chair, the goal with Books and Braids is to make them feel comfortable and confident in not only their looks, but their reading, too.
"If I can make them feel good about their hair and make them feel pretty and feel confident, then add in the confidence of the reading, the two just go really well together," Louks said.
Over the last couple of years, kids came in before or after school a few times a month.
Together, they chose which book to read and what braid would look best with their hair length.
"It's exciting to me that they're so excited to read and get their hair done and sit and talk with me," Louks said. "It just makes me so happy that they're loving reading and that I'm doing something that they're hopefully going to remember forever".
Books and Braids paused with COVID-19 this past year, but Louks has been able to bring it back for the last few months of school.
She plans to continue it for years to come.