Summer is just around the corner, and at the library, we couldn’t be happier. Summer is a special time for us, a time when the sounds of children’s laughter and eager, excited voices fill the library. Children love to read; they love to come to the library, and we love that they come.
Some may wonder about the importance of reading for children today. After all, so much of learning and entertainment involves looking at a screen. It’s tempting to think that reading doesn’t matter as much as it used to, but you’d be wrong. There are actually a number of good reasons why reading matters and why children should read. Here are just a few for you to consider.
Reading exercises our brains. It’s a complex mental task that involves strengthening and building brain connections. Reading gives us insight into the world around us — about people, places and events outside our own experience, and helps to build background knowledge. Reading develops our imagination, helps to develop empathy, improves our ability to concentrate and enriches our vocabulary. Most importantly, summer reading for children helps to prevent the dreaded “summer slide.” Numerous studies have shown that reading over the summer prevents “summer reading loss” — the dreaded summer slide in the loss of reading skills. Summer reading loss is cumulative. Children don’t always “catch up” in the fall because the other children are moving ahead with their skills. Having kids read four or five books during the summer can prevent the reading achievement losses that normally occur over those months.
Every summer the library offers an enjoyable way for children to include reading in their summer activities. It’s the summer reading program. The summer reading program provides quality learning activities that are fun and encourages some of the best techniques identified by research as being important to the reading process. Research shows that free, voluntary reading is essential to helping kids become better readers, writers and spellers. Children read more when they can choose materials based on their own interests. Self-selection of reading materials is an extremely important factor in motivating struggling readers and is a key component of our summer library program.
This summer’s reading theme is Libraries Rock! We’re offering great music themed programs to inspire musical creativity as well as reading in every child. There are weekly activities and special events throughout the summer including a ventriloquist, family sing-a-long, karaoke night, an instrument petting zoo and a program featuring Australian instruments, Didgeridoo Down Under. Children who read 10 books over the summer receive a ticket to our Ice Cream Social in August. This all makes for summer reading fun.
We invite you and your child to visit the library, pick up a reading kit and registration prize and add reading to your list of activities this summer. The fun begins Monday, June 25. For a complete description of the program, weekly activities and special events, visit our website, raynhampubliclibrary.org/kids/kids-summer-2018, or call the Children’s Room at 508-823-1344.
Eden Fergusson is Director of the Raynham Public Library