The Summer Reading Club at the Parksville and Qualicum Beach libraries is about to kick off with all sorts of fun activities planned.
The library is offering two levels of summer reading programs: Summer Reading Club for Kindergarten to Grade 7 and Read to Me for pre-schoolers and those who cannot yet read independently.
The Summer Reading Club provides elementary school children with incentives to make reading an integral part of their summer break and encourages them to practice and improve their reading skills while school is out.
Strange…But True is the theme for this year’s program, and each week has a different theme featuring titles that will expose young readers to different genres - science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, mystery, adventure, poetry, folk and fairytales, jokes, humour, and more.
Children who sign up receive a fun registration package with a bookmark, stickers, trinkets, and a reading record book in which they are encouraged to keep track of the books they have read. When they finish their reading record, children are eligible to receive a special Summer Reading Club medal at the end of the summer.
Children are also invited to attend interesting programs at Vancouver Island Regional Libraries. Parksville and Qualicum Beach Library branches will be holding a multitude of special activities, events and contests to encourage young people to read over summer break.
“We are really excited about our summer programming this year” emphasized Eileen Gillette, library manager at Qualicum Beach Library. Parksville and Qualicum Beach Libraries will be offering such programs as: weekly crafts, games, puppets shows, prize draws and even a kid’s talent show over the summer.
Reading is like all skills — a little practice goes a long way, and the old ‘use it or lose it’ adage applies equally well to reading, especially for children who don’t keep up these important skills during their summer vacation.
Nobody knows this better than teachers who believe that some children can lose as much as 60 per cent of their acquired skills over the summer break.
A minimum of 10 minutes a day is all it takes for primary school children to keep up their reading skills and speed.
“Research shows that students who don’t read a minimum of 10 books at their current reading level will actually regress over the summer and be further behind, compared to where they were at the start of their summer vacation, and then they’ll have to play catch-up in September,” according to Melissa Legacy, customer service librarian at Parksville Library.
She suggests that parents encourage daily reading activities during the summer by signing their kids up for reading programs as a great way to keep children and parents motivated.
The Summer Reading Club starts July 5, with special guests Heather and Sandra McNeill performing all sorts of fun magic tricks for kids.
Registration for the free summer reading programs starts on July 3 but children can register any time in July.
Parents are encouraged to sign their children up early.
Find more Information at www.virl.bc.ca. Kids use their own or their parent’s library card, which is available free-of-charge at all local library branches.