Summer vacation is just around the corner, and for kids who have been working hard throughout the school year, it’s the time for a much-needed break.
It’s also a dangerous time for students to lose some of the knowledge they gained over the school year.
That’s where your local library comes in.
“There’s something called the ‘summer slide’ that we hope to try to prevent by keeping kids engaged and learning and reading throughout the summer,” said Corinna Manion, youth services supervisor at the Durango Public Library.
This summer, the libraries in Durango (and its branches), Bayfield, Ignacio, Mancos, Dolores and Cortez will offer something for all levels of reader: Programs will include activities for pre-readers, children and teens.
“I think that engaging kids in their community over the summer is really important to prevent loss of literacy skills and things like that,” Manion said. “Even pre-readers – making sure that you’re reading to your children – just keeps building those skills. And we hope to make it fun so they actually want to do it.”
It’s the key element of fun that, according the Colorado Department of Education, is so important when it comes to hooking kids on reading. The department says that kids who feel that reading is fun tend to do it more often, which is why summer-reading programs that incorporate fun activities and social opportunities are themselves more successful.
“A lot of kids when they’re in school, they have to read; everybody’s reading the same book for a class,” said Sandy Irwin, director of the Durango library. “What I’ve always loved about reading in the summer is you can read whatever you want.”
Durango’s summer program will get started with a kickoff party from 10:30 a.m. to noon June 3 at the library.
“It’s all ages, so families are welcome,” Manion said. “It’s going to be lots of different crafts; we’ll be doing some things outside, snacks, giveaways and things like that.”
And then it’s a summer filled with not only reading but shows featuring magic, music, comedy and, on July 25, Luke Renner: The New Mexico Yo-Yo Slinger.
There are also special events planned, such as a Lego Club, tabletop games for tweens and teens, Minecraft for tweens and teens and reading to Clare, a specially trained service dog.
Teens can also check out special programs geared to them: There will be fun classes for Fandom Tea Blending, making pet toys for the humane society; an Iron Chef competition; PowerPoint Karaoke; Sharpie tie-dyeing; button-making; and Legos for teens.
There’s also a new addition this year that the library is looking forward to.
“The big thing we’re excited about is we’re adding a coding program for tweens and teens,” Irwin said.
The class, to be held on two Fridays in June and two in July, will teach teens and tweens basic coding skills. Advance registration is required for the class because of limited space.
The Cortez Public Library also has a big summer planned for its younger readers. And like Durango, the staff is trying to prevent summer slide.
“If they don’t practice their reading, then they get back in school and they’ve lost all that they’ve gained,” said Laura McHenry, children’s librarian at the Cortez library. “I explain to kids, I say, ‘How do you get better playing sports? You practice.’ Same with reading: We’re not born reading; it’s an acquired skill. And it’s a habit.”
Along with logging their reading and vying for prizes, Cortez will feature performers throughout the summer. The summer reading program is broken into two age groups: The children’s program is for kids ages 0 to 12, and the teen program is those 13 to 18.
McHenry said that while summer reading is important, it needn’t be an all-encompassing summer slog.
“Go out and play games and run around and get outside but incorporate this into your day,” she said.
katie@durangoherald.com
Get reading!
For information about your local library’s summer reading program, visit:
Cortez Public Library:
Dolores Public Library:
http://doloreslibrary.org/kids/
Durango Public Library:
Ignacio Community Library:
Mancos Public Library:
Pine River Library:
Addressing summer slide
The Colorado Department of Education offers these tips for keeping your kid’s summer slide in check:
Access to books is critical. The public library is an excellent free resource for families to have access to books on a wide range of interests and reading levels, as well as librarians to guide children and families in selecting great books.
When children select reading materials themselves and read for enjoyment, they receive the most gains in reading achievement, including better reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling and grammatical development. Also, the longer that this free voluntary reading is practiced, the more consistent and positive the results. Thus, summer programs, such as those offered in public libraries, that allow and encourage children to choose what they read, are likely to be most successful.
Children and teens tend to read more when adults in their lives encourage them to read, and also when they see those adults reading often themselves.
Children who feel that reading is fun tend to read more often, so summer programs that help make reading enjoyable and social are most successful.
Reading just four to six books over the summer has the potential to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall, so even small steps are very beneficial.
Preventing summer slide is most effective when community organizations – including schools, public libraries, community centers, parent groups, social service agencies, and others – work together to encourage kids to read, make reading fun and to reach families about the importance of reading over the summer.
Parents, caregivers and other adults can help stem summer slide by reading themselves, as children who see adults in their lives reading often tend to read more themselves.
Source: Colorado Department of Education
