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Summer reading slows the slide |
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July 17, 2017 |
Story and photos by Julie Colson
Valley View Elementary Librarian
Where can you find 50+ kids on Thursdays in
July? Why, at the Valley View Summer Reading
program! This year's program is starting strong
with 47 kids attending our first session, and 60
kids on July 6. With teachers and support staff
volunteering their time, we have opened our
library.
Kids of any age are welcome, and everyone has
lunch, checks out books, plays chess, listens to
a story read by our downtown librarians, and
makes a craft.
This year, we received two grants to facilitate
our summer program: a Summer Reading Grant,
which was used to purchase books and a few
supplies, and a STEM Summer Reading Grant, which
is being used to purchase items needed to
support our STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math) oriented craft.
Our first craft was making a bird nest ... and
the kids had to find material around the room
and use play dough to support their nest shape.
They found it difficult to mimic the artistry of
our bird population and also now understand why
birds eggs are elliptical, not round, keeping
them from rolling from the nest.
There were 35 plus beautiful nests decorating
our library, and many proud "parent birds"
carefully holding their nest and eggs!
Our next craft was noisy and fun! The kids made
'kazoos' out of popsicle sticks, tooth picks,
rubber bands and a thin piece of paper.
Vibrating paper and a stream of air makes sound,
and what a cacophony it was!
Our program ends with a snack, running through
sprinklers and eating Otter Pops. Hopefully,
each child will read the books they have checked
out and stop the Summer Slide: the slide of
their reading level.
Kids who don't read over the summer can lose up
to three months of reading skills. This can send
them to school in the fall at a disadvantage and
they have to scramble to catch up. School moves
fast and sometimes catching up is very hard to
do, especially if their reading level is low to
begin with.
A big thank you to our sponsors: the Lion's
Club, Bonners Ferry Rotary, the Eagles Aerie,
Super 1, Safeway, and Litehouse, Inc.
We are also supported by our Boundary County
Library partners and our grant benefactors at
the Idaho Commission for Libraries.
A great big thank you to our teacher helpers:
Amber Weymer, Julie Holly, Terin Tyler, Connie
Perez, Andrea Fuentes, Paula Petesch, Lisa
Carle, Sheila Lavala, Pam Copeland, Kari Dameron
and Teresa Rae.
Sheila is our chess guru and it is amazing
watching her play eight games at once, all with
an intense level of concentration and patience.
And how can I forget Steve Bortz and Robert
Hendrich? They make the whole program work by
keeping the school in tip top shape and working
around the Summer Reading schedule ... thank
you, guys! |
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