Battling the summer slide: Three area libraries offer fun reading programs focusing on dinosaurs, fossils & more June-July
The “summer slide” is not the same as a water slide. It is the loss of about a month of reading skills during the care-free summer months. And that loss of skills is hard to catch up in the next school year.
How do you prevent this loss of reading skills? More and more parents and guardians are encouraging the children in their lives to read books they like for just 20 minutes a day. They also read and talk to children about the books they are reading, and enroll them in a free local summer reading program.
Research shows that quality summer reading programs can make a huge difference in stemming learning loss and closing educational and opportunity gaps. All three Bosque County libraries offer free, fun summer reading programs with guest speakers, reading and activities.
This year, the summer reading programs are themed around “Unearth a story,” focusing on popular topics like paleontology – the study of fossils – and yes, dinosaurs, archeology, the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of artifacts, structures, and other physical remains, and genealogy, the study of family trees and the history connected to that particular family.
The Meridian Public Library at 204 N. Main Street in Meridian kicked off their summer reading program June 2 with the introduction to “Unearth a Story.” The weekly program runs Tuesdays from 10-11 a.m.
On June 9, Meridian State Park’s Carolanne Brannon offers a presentation related to the park’s history.
On June 16, Bosque Museum’s Erin Shields will focus on unearthing Bosque County history.
On June 23, the library will offer a presentation of the Waco Mammoth Caves.
In Clifton, the Nellie Pederson Civic Library’s summer reading program runs every Monday from 10-11 a.m. on 406 Live Oak Street. The program will focus on reading a book, having a guest speaker and sharing an activity and a snack.
The summer kicks off June 8 with a presentation by Bosque Museum’s Erin Shields “Unearthing local history.”
On June 15, Clifton Police Captain Curtis Rust will visit the library with his canine, uncovering things not seen by the naked eye.
On June 22, Miss Maria will present “Unearth a Story” with dinosaur cookies.
On June 29, music teacher Beth Fry will focus on musical instruments.
On July 6, Katy Williams will make dinosaur food with the youth for them to eat afterwards.
In Valley Mills, the public library offers “Digging for books,” and kicks off June 6 at 10:30 a.m. with a search for fossils and treasures in Santa Fe Park. Kids are encouraged to bring shovels and buckets to hunt for artefacts.
The summer reading program will run every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at the library located on 405 Fifth Street in Valley Mills.
On June 10, Jordan McNamara will show his collection of fossils and will help youth identify fossils.
On June 17, the youth will learn about the Waco mammoth caves, while on June 21, an archeologist will teach about digging up fossils and identifying cultures and history from artifacts in an archeological site.
On July 4, the program moves to the Santa Fe Park again, as part of the July 4th celebrations. The final day of the Valley Mills summer reading program will be spent at the city’s splash pad on July 8.
Teachers agree that youth need to keep training their brain and “reading muscles.” Younger children are prone to the most learning loss because they’re at a crucial stage in their development.
“In general, kids learn a lot more in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade than kids in middle school or high school, because learning follows a curve where it’s accelerated early in life and then plateaus,” said James Kim, Ed.D., an assistant professor of education at Harvard University. “Things like decoding, letter knowledge, and word reading skills are very susceptible to decay without frequent practice, as are math facts like addition and subtraction.”
By attending the summer reading programs, children easily hit the goal of reading just four to five books during the summer, which is all it takes to avoid summer reading loss.
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