by Avi Silberstein
Summer is here! Time to find a bit of shade or a hammock, grab a book, and let your worries melt away (literally).
And if you happen to be the parent of a school-aged child, your daily routine is changing a bit right about now.
Here at the library we want to help you keep your child’s literacy levels from dropping off over the summer months (that infamous “summer slide”). In order to keep kids excited about reading, we’re happy to announce the launch of our annual Summer Reading Club (SRC), which will run from July 5 to August 13.
There are two main components to the SRC. The first is having your child keep track of their reading over the summer with a Reading Record (which you can pick up at the library anytime) or online at https://app.bcsrc.ca/. Kids who complete their booklets will get a real medal at the end of the summer!
The second component is a set of weekly activities, including both in-person outdoor sessions (games, crafts, reading, and more) as well as things for children to work on at home (think take-home craft kits, scavenger hunts, etc.).
Every Monday we’ll release a set of weekly challenges for your child to work on (“Make a video using one of our Kid Creator Cams,” “Take a nature walk and write a haiku poem,” “Read aloud to a sibling, parent, or pet,” “Create a comic strip”). Let us know which challenges you completed and enter a draw each week to win a gift certificate to Secret Garden Toys.
This year’s theme is “Crack the Case” – so get your magnifying glass and your fingerprint kit ready.
The SRC is being co-ordinated by Emmalee (fun fact: Emmalee was an SRC co-ordinator five years ago, in 2016). She has lots of experience working with young children and is currently a student at UBCO.
To stay up to date on what’s happening you can call us at 352-6333, email Emmalee at summerreading@nelson.ca or visit the Nelson Summer Reading Club Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NelsonBCSRC).
But we can’t let the kids have all the fun! Teens can participate in our Teen Summer Reading Challenge – it’s simple: read a book, any book, and fill out the entry form on our website and you will be entered in a draw. There will be two different draws for a $100 gift certificate for a Nelson business of your choice: July 31 and August 31.
For adults, we’ve got a special summer Library Bingo challenge – complete a row in our bingo board (which you can pick up at the library anytime) and enter to win one of our many weekly book prizes and monthly gift certificates.
Life hasn’t returned to normal just yet, but we want to do everything we can to make this a fun (and bookish) summer for you — and your kids!
Avi Silberstein is the Children’s Librarian at the Nelson Public Library. Check This Out runs every other week. If you’re interested in learning more about library programs and services, sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website or by giving us a call.