You probably already know that one of the main goals of any summer reading program is to keep your child reading over the summer so that they will avoid the dreaded “summer slide” effect. (While it might sound like a fun ride to go on in the summertime, “summer slide” couldn’t be more un-fun–it means losing the reading level they worked so hard to attain in school!) Anyway, I don’t think it is much of a leap to conclude that “summer slide” could also apply to writing skills. That’s why we are starting our eighth year of the Summer Readers Write project. We ask for kids to write and/or illustrate their own stories, then we compile them into a book and give a copy to each participating child. Here is last year’s book:
We had the kids autograph the library’s copies, then we cataloged them and they now circulate with the rest of the library’s collection. When I was a kid, it basically would have been my dream come true to walk into my library and see a book with MY story and MY autograph in it!
So this year, we are expanding this already pretty awesome project. For this year’s participants, we are excited to offer an Authors’ Reception at each of our four branches. (The Authors’ Reception is where participants share their work with each other and receive a free copy of the book.) Plus, we will be offering writing workshops at each branch during the first two weeks of June. At the writing workshops, we will be providing materials and inspiration for our young authors and illustrators. The workshops will be immediately following the Chehaw visit at each branch, as follows:
Weds, 6/5 at the Smithville Library 4:30 p.m.
Thurs, 6/6 at the Oakland Library 11:00 a.m.
Mon, 6/11 at the Leesburg Library at 12:00 p.m.
Thurs, 6/13 at the Redbone Library at 4:00 p.m.
I also wanted to let you all know about a great resource I stumbled upon today. I started out looking at This Reading Mama’s post on How to Motivate Your Child to Write. In that post, she recommends gathering some fun supplies together into a kit to make sure that your child has everything he or she needs to get excited about writing. (By the way, this is something that my daughter’s most excellent pre-k teacher suggested doing this summer to prepare for kindergarten, so I will be doing it soon!) Anyway, in the post I noticed a link to another post about a printable spelling dictionary for kids. Basically, it’s a free printable that allows the child to record words himself into a resource that he can refer back to. BRILLIANT! I printed out the version for pre-k through 1st grade, but there is also a version available for grades 1-3.
Summer Readers Write, workshops, and Authors’ Receptions are all sponsored by Lee County Library and are free and open to the public. For more information call 759-2369.
LibrErin 