Why Summer Reading Matters

By Jerry Jones, Youth Services Librarian

June 1 , 2005

As the school year comes to an end our thoughts turn to summer. Lazy mornings spent sleeping in, weekends at the lake and family road trips may be just a few of the activities you hope to squeeze into summer vacation. As you’re making plans for summer, don’t forget to allow time for reading. You may think your kids are ready for a break from the books, but it’s important for them to continue reading through the summer and maintain skills they have already learned. How do you this? A great way to start is by visiting your Natrona County Public Library.

Setting aside time each day for reading helps children keep their reading skills active, and studies show that kids who enjoy reading are more successful academically. Besides maintaining literacy skills, there are other benefits to be gained from summer reading. A fun, rewarding and challenging activity, reading helps develop the imagination and offers escape and adventure.

This is precisely why your library holds an annual summer reading program. Using catchy themes, like this year’s “Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds,” the summer reading program features fun activities and prizes, which serve as incentives to keep kids reading. Prizes include tickets to the Casper Rockies, coupons from McDonald’s and free games of Putt Putt Golf, all of which are donated by community partners who believe in the importance of promoting literacy.

Letting your kids select what they want to read helps them to enjoy reading more and encourages them to make reading a lifelong habit. Summer really is the season for pleasure reading; therefore, kids who participate in this program can read books, magazines, comics or even the newspaper.

While most kids prefer to read on their own, it can also be fun to choose a book for parents to read aloud with their children. Keep a book in the car to help pass the time while waiting for ball practice or swimming lessons to begin. Try an audio book during a long car trip, and watch the miles fly by.

The library’s reading program may not be the only one you hear about this summer. Elementary school principals in Wyoming are also recognizing the need to fight the summer regression in reading skills with a reading program of their own. Check with your school principal to see if your child’s school is participating, and don’t forget: time spent reading for this program also counts for the library’s program.

Drop by the Natrona County Public Library this summer and help your children discover some “Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds.” Children in preschool through grade 5 can sign up for summer reading and receive their reading scrolls beginning June 6. Teens in grades 6 through 12 are invited to seek out some literary adventure of their own by registering for “Joust Read!” So join the medieval merriment and experience the benefits a summer of reading can bring to your family.

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