It’s July, the sweet spot of summer – activities are in full swing, the last school year is far behind, the upcoming school year is nowhere in sight, and the summer blues have yet to set in. While the summer blues might not have set in yet, if your child isn’t reading regularly, chances are the summer slump has set in. Fortunately, Berks County Public Libraries are here to help with their summer reading program. Although the program officially kicked off in June, it’s not too late to dig into your reading adventures.
Don't Take a Break from Reading
According to Berks County Public Library’s Youth Services Coordinator Susan Magee-Bibi, “Studies show that if children don’t read over the summer, they lose reading skills.” This “summer slump” or “summer slide” means that children fall behind in reading skills over the summer and they must work to get their skills back to their grade level once the new school year begins. In 1986, Magee-Bibi says, county libraries “stepped up to the plate” to combat the summer slump with the summer reading program. But Magee-Bibi stresses the summer reading program isn’t meant to be like school the libraries won’t tell kids or adults what to read; they just want people to have fun reading something they enjoy.
From its very “primitive beginning” with only 500 county-wide participants, she says the program has grown to more than 7,000 county-wide participants and has expanded programming and activities. There are summer reading programs for children (these programs are broken down by age and include programs for infants through tweens and teens), and there are also adult summer reading programs at some libraries. People can stop by any Berks County Public Library at any point during the summer and begin participating in the program. Participants can earn prizes for reaching reading milestones; these prizes vary but can include gift cards or free books. And you don’t just have to read traditional books to reach reading milestones; e-books, audio books, newspapers and magazines count, too.
The Adventure Starts Here
Underground adventures dominate the libraries this summer, and summer reading program activities will center around the following themes: Dig into Reading (for young children), Beneath the Surface (for tweens and teens), and Groundbreaking Reads (for adults). Each week will have a different underground focus, including dinosaurs, rocks and minerals, fossils, caves and tunnels, digging, archaeology and underground foods.
Most of the libraries will see a visit from Kathy Miller, the author of the Chippy Chipmunk books. Miller actually went underground to look at nests, and she will discuss her underground adventures and photos. Also, Wyomissing’s Yocum Institute for Arts Education will host a performance based on Mo Willems’ naked mole rat books. Some libraries will also have a presentation from Reading’s Central Pennsylvania African American Museum about the Underground Railroad. You can attend programs at any Berks County Public Library, not just your local library. In addition to this shared programming, each library is able to choose its own speakers and programs to fit within the themes.
Kristin Brumbach, children and youth services librarian at Mifflin Community Library in Shillington, wants to involve her entire community in the children's and adults' summer reading programs whether it’s as readers, performers, or presenters; she has definitely done that this year. Brumbach recruited two Governor Mifflin intermediate school teachers with bands who will perform concerts to go along with the underground themes; the concerts will take place in a community space outside the library. Also, a Governor Mifflin elementary school teacher who is a caver will come in and discuss his experiences.
The Reading Public Library will have children’s and adults' programming at each of its three branches. Bronwen Gamble, the library’s assistant director for public service and its youth services supervisor, says this library is “really aligning with the United Way of Berks County’s ‘Ready. Set. Read!’ initiative.” This initiative stresses the importance of making sure children are reading at the appropriate grade level by the time they reach third grade. Gamble adds that by third grade, students should be reading to learn rather than learning to read; if the student is still trying to learn to read, this impacts the child’s ability to think about what is being read and to learn from it. Gamble says because many children in her library’s community do not have their own books, all programs for children, tweens and teens will only offer books as prizes. The adult program will have drawings for other prizes.
Christie Himmelreich, director of the Schuylkill Valley Community Library (SVCL), says one of SVCL’s goals for this summer was to add more programming to the adult reading program and to continue to offer fun programs for kids. SVCL has entire families that participate in summer reading programs together. Reading together, or just coming to the library together, is a great way to spend time as a family, says Himmelreich, adding that when children see parents reading, then children may pick up that reading habit. Bernville Area Community Library co-director Alicea Rodig echoes Himmelreich’s sentiments. Rodig believes reading is a “combined effort” between parents and children, and it’s “important for kids to see parents reading. It sets an example for the kids and shows them that reading is for everyone.”
Clearly the summer reading program is a great way to dig into reading adventures this summer.
The program, according to Gamble, will “move literacy from something academic to something active, to make stories come alive.” Also, as Brumbach says, “we all get into reading ruts at times. The themes are a great way to break out of that” and be encouraged to explore something different.
For more info, about berks county libraries summer reading program, contact your local public library or visit berks.lib.pa.us.
