By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian
Summer is almost here! Most people look at summer as a time to relax and have fun. For Children’s Services Librarians, it’s our busy season! We’ve spent the past few months preparing the summer reading program, and now it’s here!
This summer, our theme is Find Your Voice. Once again we are using the Beanstack app to track reading activities for prizes. And now, kids as young as 2 can participate for beads and stickers, too! Register now in Beanstack »
We believe strongly that all reading is good reading, and some people read better with their ears than their eyes! So every kind of reading is counted: reading aloud to someone, being read to, listening to audiobooks or podcasts, choosing graphic novels or poetry or magazines or fan fiction.
Here are a just a few ways you can participate in summer reading with your little ones!
Watch these videos
Miss Jenny loves Princess Puffybottom… and Darryl, which is featured in our Recommended Reads for Early Childhood reading list.
I love What Happened to You? another book that is a recommended read. One activity that we always include in summer reading is to read without walls. That means to look for books with characters who don’t look like you or live like you. Does James look like you, or someone you know?
Have kids under 2? We’ve got activities for them too!
When kids sign up for Find Your Voice, they’ll receive a page of activities to do for extra beads or stickers. Even though children under 2 can’t sign up for the reading program, there is still an activity sheet just for them! You can pick up an activity sheet at any library location.
Their activities include activities and ideas from our Early Bird Reader weekly texts, which are focused on the seven early literacy areas of the Very Ready Reading Program.
Get more summer fun in our new quarterly email
Looking for more summer ideas? Sign up for our new quarterly email, Early Bird Learner Letter, created with the Collaboration for Early Childhood. The first issue will come out in June and includes more than 20 Oak Park activities, events, and suggestions for babies, toddlers, and their caregivers!
However old your child is, we have a summer of fun planned for them. Join us!
About Shelley
Shelley is a children’s librarian with a passion for early literacy, serving and celebrating the disability community, and exploring technology. She can often be found practicing storytime songs with her black lab, Bingo.
