HOLDEN — Every summer brings vacations, sunshine and the Gale Free Kids Summer Reading Program, which itself brings a vacation into the world of books.
The eight-week program, however, includes “a schedule of performances, crafts, and story times to entice families to check in every week and keep their kids reading through the summer,” according to Kevin McDonough, head children’s librarian.
Open to children aged 2 to 18, the program runs through Aug. 23, with sign-ups beginning June 23, and features a focus on expression and weekly activities.
“In 2022, Gale Free Kids had almost 700 kids enrolled in our ‘Oceans of Possibilities’ program, the highest participation rate we’ve ever had. This year, with underwriting from the Friends of the Library, we present ‘Find Your Voice,’ a summer of exploring new ideas and expressing oneself. Our children’s room will be made over to look like a ‘zine,’ and families will be asked to add their own art and writing to the walls throughout the summer,” McDonough said.
“Since our theme is about self-expression, we want the room to be an explosion of kid-made art. Every week the look of the room will change as everyone adds their images and writing to the display. Also, we’ll have a weekly art station where kids will be able to make their own bookmarks, buttons, and add custom stickers and other materials to their summer journal,” he said.
“We’ve never done anything this interactive before. When kids sign up, they will be given a journal and colored pencil set with the summer logo, along with a reading log and bingo card. Kids record their reading in 15-minute increments and come in once a week to record their hours and get a prize,” McDonough said.
“It’s OK if kids aren’t reading yet — parents of toddlers and preschoolers can count how many minutes they have read to their kids.”
Teens can also participate and will have a different set of prizes from the younger kids. Also, for every three hours of reading, kids get a custom “Crazy Voices” button, with six buttons to collect. There will be free new books for every kid who gets a bingo on the library’s custom bingo categories game.
“It’s a summer of swag,” McDonough said. “The prizes are a great enticement for kids to come back every week. We love to see all these families. Part of the summer fun for the library staff is that we get to know the kids who check in, learn their names, learn what they like to read, and hear what they’re doing for summer fun.”
The Holden Cultural Council is again underwriting the performance series, with Rick Goldin’s Teddy Bear Picnic, singer Rene Coro, magician Mike Bent, Tanglewood Marionettes “Cinderella,” and Trevor the Games Man with stilt walking, juggling and parachute games.
Also this year, the Holden Woman’s Club is sponsoring “Drum to the Beat with Otha Day.”
“The interactive program gets everyone — parents and kids — to pick up a drum and add their beats to what we hope will be the biggest drum circle ever,” he said, with Otha Day bringing instruments so that everyone can participate.
The Holden Police, Fire and Department of Public Works will once again show up with their vehicles July 6 for Truck Day, which McDonough said was the most popular of the library’s yearly events.
“We had more than 500 people show up for Truck Day last summer,” he said.
“And LEGO heads, we’re once again hosting outdoor LEGO club to build pieces for our Big G Amusement Park, the biggest LEGO display of the year. We’re also asking kids to create LEGO Habitats for the room, little interior scenes that feature one minifig and stack together like a puzzle. It’s another element to our summer of self expression,” McDonough said.
He said there will be several scavenger hunts both inside and outside on the lawn.
“Our most requested game, the rock hunt, has all new characters this year and will be out on the lawn starting in June.”
Many of the events are held outside on the library lawn. For the full listing go to www.galefreelibrary. org and go to the kids summer page.
“Summer reading programs were started in response to the reality of the ‘summer slide,’ ” McDonough said, citing research first done in 1996 that shows a measurable loss in reading and math skills during summer break. The loss is cumulative; kids begin the new school year with learning deficits that continue to grow year after year.
A more recent study of third- to fifth-graders showed on average a 20% loss in reading skills and a 27% loss in math skills over one summer, he said. By the time a struggling reader gets to middle school, the summer slide can accumulate to a two-year lag in reading achievement.
“Add this to the learning losses accrued over the two years of pandemic disruption in K-12 schooling, and it becomes more important than ever to keep kids reading and learning throughout the summer,” McDonough said.
“Public libraries play an important role in reversing the summer slide with summer reading programs that build excitement around books and learning.”
