Unearth A Story: Local Libraries Share More on This Year’s Summer Reading Program

It is very important for kids to be reading outside of school. Studies show that students who do not participate in some sort of academic or knowledge based activities in the summer can regress anywhere from one to three months to an entire academic year. By fifth grade, these same students can lag two-and-a-half to three years behind their peers in reading levels. One way communities have been trying to help with this is by putting on educational summer activities, and one of these is through libraries Summer Reading Program.

The Summer Reading Program is a national program that many community libraries, and even some book stores, participate in. The programs are completely free for the public and are meant for kids, teens and even adults to participate in community programs while also continuing to read and advance their knowledge during the summer season.

The theme for the summer reading program this year was “Unearth A Story” (dinosaurs), which was decided by the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), and libraries across the county – including Horicon, Mayville, Theresa, Brownsville and Iron Ridge – shared how they each put their own twist on this years theme while still making it engaging for kids and the community.

Most libraries had their programs last eight weeks, but a few – like Brownsville – only lasted six weeks. In the past, Horicon used to do the program for 10 weeks, and they are considering bringing it back next year. And each library had a great number of participants in this year’s program: Horicon and Mayville each had over 200 participants; Brownsville had 107 participants; Theresa had 51 participants (kids and teens only); and Iron Ridge had 52 participants. These are the people who actually participated in the reading aspect of the program, and didn’t just come for events, although those also had a good turnout. While some of these numbers may seem smaller than others, we have to remember that each community is different in size and population, and the important thing is that the community was involved and reading.

Because the whole point of the program is to get more people to read during the summer, participants needed to track their reading time, and although these libraries all followed the same theme, they each put their own twist on how to get the communities engaged. Brownsville and Horicon libraries used bingo cards as a fun way to track their progress; Mayville had their participants color dinosaur eggs for every 15 minutes read while Iron Ridge had participants complete specific reading tasks. The libraries even gave out prizes during the program. Most libraries gave out weekly prizes for little kids – small trinkets like stickers or bubbles – and had bigger raffle prizes at the end of the program, while some only did the end raffle. However they did it, these things encouraged participation as it gave them a goal to reach for.

Along with having people track their reading hours, libraries also hosted various community events, such as hosting J&R Aquatic Animal Rescue and yo-yoist Mark Hayward (Mayville), Marvelous Michelle Bubble Lady (Iron Ridge), game nights and more.

Doing Their Own Theme

Although there was a general theme picked by the CSLP, it was not a requirement for libraries to follow that theme. If they wanted to, they could create their own, which is exactly what Lomira Public Library did.

In honor of 250 years of the United States, Lomira decided for their theme to be “Stars, Stripes & Stories.” They had 250 participants of all ages. To go with the theme, they did a lot of stuff that focused on life in 1776, including drawing water from a well, cleaning with a washboard, cooking over a fire, building their own log cabins with Lincoln Logs and dressing up. And throughout the program, every Friday they had a little celebration with themes like “Party Like it’s 1776,” “Eat Like it’s 1776” and more. They even had “Dress Like it’s 1776,” in which the Daughters of the American Revolution, FDL helped them with presentations an how clothes were made and modeling fashion of the time. They even did other patriotic activities, including a red, white and blue magic show, meeting native U.S. animals (including a Bald Eagle) and various crafts.

Why Programs Like This Are Important

“The summer reading program helps to keep families engaged in reading and learning over the summer. Reading over summer can prevent the “summer slide” - students forgetting some of what they learned over the school year. We believe students go back to school with more confidence when they’ve worked on their reading skills over summer,” said Bryanna Slechta, programming specialist of Lomira Public Library.

“You want kids to maintain… what they’ve learned all year. They’ve got to keep those skills sharp,” said Erin Knight, youth librarian and programming director of the Ted & Grace Bachhuber Memorial Library in Mayville. “And the other thing that, I actually think might be more important, is it gives them the freedom to choose what they want to read. There’s no pressure. They’re not reading for a grade.”

“I think the library should be a hub of the community,” said Brownsville Library Assistant/Youth Services and Programming lead Beth Helm. “The library should take a lead in promoting reading, promoting healthy living (and) promoting curiosity.”

“I just think getting kids into the library, getting them to continue to read during summer when they don’t have to, getting them to love books by choosing what they want to read, I think that really helps them love reading more,” added Brownsville Public Library Director Kristen Mielke.

“I believe it’s important because it encourages reading, and it encourages diving into those books. It’s an incentive to get in there and hopefully will attract the kids who are not necessarily big readers and help them develop a love of reading. And for those that already love reading, it helps give them an incentive for something they already love,” said Iron Ridge Library Director, Michelle O’Brien. “Overall, I believe that reading is important. It opens up a new world for people. It also will help you think outside the box and learn to explore things with your imagination.”

“It encourages life long literary habits in the kids and parents. Families are more collaborative together,” said Mary Alice Bodden, director of Theresa Public Library.

Other Programs

Just because summer is over doesn’t mean that people should stop reading or getting involved. These libraries are still putting on programs for all ages throughout the fall and winter, not just about reading. Horicon and Lomira are both doing the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten reading program; Iron Ridge, for the first time, is looking into doing a small program during winter to continue encouraging reading amongst children and families during the cold month;. Mayville is having a presentation on being prepared for weather events on Sept. 17 and hosts many other clubs and programs; Theresa offers weekly crafts and will be doing an adult only reading challenge starting in January; Brownsville is hosting an adults only puzzle competition in September; and so much more fun activities every month from all the libraries. Several of the libraries also host children story times.

Library Card Sign-Up Month

If you don’t have a library card, September is the perfect time to finally get one, as September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. From Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, libraries around the county are putting on programs to encourage community members to get out and sign-up for a library card, which is completely free all year around. Throughout the month, the Marsh Area Chamber of Commerce has created a bingo sheet to encourage people to do to the libraries and get out and read more. Participating libraries include Theresa, Iron Ridge, Hustisford, Juneau, Horicon and Mayville. Check out one of these libraries to participate.

Participating Libraries

Thank you to all the libraries who agreed to be part of this article:

Horicon Public Library - 404 E Lake St., Horicon; (920) 485-3535; www.facebook.com/horiconlibrary.

Ted & Grace Bachhuber Memorial Library - 234 N. John St., Mayville; www.facebook.com/mayvillepubliclibrary.

Iron Ridge Public Library - 205 Park St., Iron Ridge; (920) 669-0762; www.facebook.com/ironridgelibrary.

Brownsville Public Library - 379 Main St., Brownsville; (920) 583-4325; www.facebook.com/brownsville.wi.library.

Theresa Public Library - 290 Mayville St., Theresa; (920) 488-2342; www.facebook.com/theresalibrary.

Lomira Public Library - 427 S Water St, Lomira; (920) 269-4115; www.facebook.com/lomiralibrary/.