The “summer slide” refers to what can happen to kids’ brains when they are idle during the summer months. Experts from the National Summer Learning Association estimate that the equivalent of about two month’s instruction time can be lost if children don’t keep their brains active during that break from school. Reading is a great way to keep the brain active and combat the summer slide. To help, we have some fun things planned at the Washington-Centerville Public Library to get kids excited to read this summer!
We’ve just kicked off our annual Summer Reading Club. If you’re not familiar with how our club works, it’s really easy and REALLY FUN! Registration can be done in person at either library (Centerville or Woodbourne) or online. Kids entering preschool – 5th grade can join our children’s club, where they get “gamecards” to track their reading (by hours or by number of books read—it’s their choice). Along the way, there are tons of coupons for free stuff and prizes to win, and each child who completes the children’s club will earn a book! For babies and toddlers, we have activity sheets that are filled with fun early literacy activities for you and your little one to do together. Along the way, you earn rhyme cards to use with your child, and each baby or toddler to finish the club earns a board book to keep!
During the summer, we also have tons of great programs for the whole family to enjoy. Some of these programs include: Life-Size Candy Land, where we’ll have a life-size version of the popular board game; Look, Up in the Sky!, during which kids can make airplanes and kites to test in a wind tunnel provided by the Armstrong Air & Space Museum; a Library Bake-Off, where kids can show off their culinary skills; and Animal Avengers, during which you’ll have a chance to get up close and personal with animals like a kangaroo and a boa constrictor! Check out all of our programs here.
In addition, this year’s theme is “Read, Explore, Create,” and each week we’ll have a different theme for our craft centers located in the children’s room at both the Centerville Library and the Woodbourne Library. You and your kids can stop by anytime we’re open to make cool crafts and color our coloring sheets.
Finally, check out our new summer storytime schedule here. Registration is not necessary for any summer storytimes. Feel free to come whenever you can!
We’re looking forward to seeing lots of excited readers at the library this summer!
