Organizing a Summer Reading Time

[Almyra W. Johnson]

When you organize your Summer Reading Program, how involved do you make it?

 

1. Do you just open the library and make it available for the children to check out books and do reading and documenting on their own?

2. Or do you have regular summer hours, and include a storytime with different age groups along with checking out books and keeping individual reading lists?

3. Or, do you have a reading time for the children, and then include a craft related to the stories, and then have a check out book time? Children keep their records of books read.

4. Do you give rewards for books read? If so, what kind?

 

I would be interested to know which ideas have worked the best for you. We have a large group of preschool and younger readers that are the most motivated and are asking for a summer program.

 

Thank you for your input.

 

 

[Rita Kirkland]

We do all of your points. First we promote the event well. Then we open the library and have reading rules for the club and we encourage parents to help with book selection although we are available should a child need us. We do have a story time and we do a craft time as well. Sometimes we show a new DVD, sometimes it is a visit from our puppets. We have rewards along the way, simple inexpensive things....bookmarks with the club theme, candy, small trinkets, etc. When the club is over we reward the child with the most books read in each age division and we include books read to them by parents. All books must be checked out from our library.

Please do a reading program for these interested young readers. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you have team to do it. Have fun and allow the children to have fun. I remember summer reading clubs and I am a great reader because my librarian encouraged me. You can do that for some child yourself. I still remember her name, Mrs. Sprague.

[Almyra W. Johnson]

Thanks SO much for your helpful reply. This will be our first summer to promote the reading club. I know it will be a lot of work, but well worth it. Our team consists largely of myself and one other person. I know we need to involve others, tho sometime it seems simpler to do it yourself. Thank you for your positive feedback. I will let you know how it develops. In His Service, Almyra