By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON – Educators have long known that summer
reading bridges the learning gap during the school break between June and
September.
With that in mind, Defense Department
libraries have kicked off their third annual summer reading program with a
challenge to military members and their families to outpace the 10 million
minutes they read last summer.
“Last year, we saw a 400 percent
increase in participation across the program, and we plan to continue this
trend with creative programs that connect with readers of all ages,” said Nilya
Carrato, program assistant for the Navy General Library Program.
DOD’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation
division is holding open registration at all of its 250 base libraries this
summer, said Larra Clark, with the iRead Summer Reading Program. The program is
for both children and adults and is flexible for installation libraries to
“tailor it in whatever makes sense in their own community,” she said.
Under the theme, ‘Reading is So
Delicious!” base libraries may have themed crafts, characters and story time
programs for children, and reading challenges and book groups for teens and
adults, as some examples, Clark said.
Judy Wiggins, whose husband, Air Force
Staff Sgt. Lawrence Wiggins is based at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in
Washington, D.C., has taken part in the program with their two children for the
past seven years. The couple’s daughter, Arielle, 11, and son, Acial, 6, have
enjoyed meeting at the base library for the program each week of summer break,
Wiggins said.
“With the program, the kids read more
and they get prizes,” she said. “They express themselves by reading the books
they really like. Through the school year, they’re busy with homework and
reading [textbooks]. When summer comes, they get to choose what they like.”
Christine Nelson, wife of Army Sgt.
Joseph Nelson, also based at Anacostia-Bolling, homeschools their children,
Sophia, 7, and Dirk, 6. She is glad for the hour and a half they can spend at
the library each week of summer, making crafts with other children and being
introduced to new books.
“It encourages them to read different
things, which I’m always happy about,” Nelson said. Last summer, she said, the
children made a cardboard castle under the program’s theme, “A Midsummer
Knight’s Read,” and had a party at the end of the session.
This year, Sophia has graduated from the
Magic Treehouse series to the harder American Girl and Nancy Drew series, she
said. Nelson said she has instilled early reading in her children by letting
them choose most of their books, setting aside quiet time each day for reading,
and subscribing to the Highlights children’s magazine. Also, she said, she and
her husband set an example by reading in front of them and limiting TV time.
“We have only one TV in the house,” she
said. “We don’t have any hand-held [electronic games], so that’s part of it. We
just don’t have those things.” Also, Nelson said, “if there’s ever a cartoon
that they like, we go online to see if there are books, … because books are
always better.”
The summer reading program coordinators
offer these tips for encouraging children and young adults to read: – Get
involved with your library’s summer reading program and other library reading
initiatives all year, including book clubs; – Buy books or bring them home from
the library.
Access to books in the home is critical
to making reading a habit;
– Give books or magazine subscriptions
as a gift or reward;
– Set aside time each night for the
family to read;
– Share your favorite book with your
child or teen and talk about books; and
– Let your children and teens choose
their reading material, with your guidance. Reading for fun is an important
part of making reading a lifelong habit.
Posts
