The Chestermere Public Library is fostering youth’s passion for reading throughout the summer, with the annual Summer Reading Program.
Summer students Nadia Baig and Grace Berg explained that the Summer Reading Program is designed to prevent the summer reading slide, by keeping youth engaged in reading over the summer.
“It’s a fun way to keep them engaged in reading, be excited about reading, and increase their reading level by the time they go back to school,” Berg said. “A lot of kids going back to school dreading books, and dreading sitting in the classroom, but this keeps them excited about it.”
Throughout the summer, youth between three and 12 are encouraged to visit the library for a variety of themed crafts, games, and activities.
“We do different crafts, play different games, read different stories, it’s a way to keep it exciting,” Berg said. “We’ve made the themes something they want to learn and read about, and it keeps them engaged.”
The weekly themes include The Land Before Time, Superheroes versus Villains, Once Upon a Time, Monster Madness, X Marks the Spot, Animal Kingdom, and The Big Bang.
In addition to games, and activities, youth are encouraged to participate in the summer reading challenge, earning ballots to enter a draw for a chance to win a variety of prizes.
Baig is excited to join the Summer Reading Program team as she has participated in similar programs growing up.
“I’ve done programs growing up, but never had a chance to do it myself,” Baig said. “When I saw the opportunity, I thought it was a great chance to learn.”
Berg was inspired to join the Summer Reading Program team for the second year, as the experience she’s gaining will benefit her in her future teaching career.
“I came back to do it again because I had a ton of fun,” Berg said. “I want to be a teacher when I’m done school, and I feel like this is a great way to introduce myself to planning, and organizing things that would be interesting for kids to engage in.”
This year, Berg is excited to take what she learned from last year’s Summer Reading Program, and apply it to the program this year,
“Last year, I came into it thinking this was what kids wanted to do, but after listening to the kids and seeing what they are actually interested in, I can apply it this year a bit better, so they are more engaged and excited about it,” she said.
Registration for the Summer Reading Program is open all summer and can be done online, or in-person.
