‘Adventure Begins at your Library’ summer reading program beginning soon

KIMBALL -- The time has come to sign up for the library summer reading program beginning May 29. 

The theme this year is “Adventure Begins at your Library.”

“The whole purpose of summer reading programs is to encourage literacy and give kids something educational but also fun to do throughout the summer,” says Kimball Library Director Amber Sweetland. 

The program is split into four different age groups: Pre-schoolers, K-6th graders, 7-12th graders, and adults. 

Each group will participate in their own reading challenge, which is based off the number of minutes read. 

Each participant will track which books they read and how many minutes they read through an app called Reader Zone. They can choose any book and read however many they want. 

Sweetland says, “We want kids to read for enjoyment and if we gave them a book that they have to read, it would feel more like school or a chore.” 

At the end of the summer the top two readers in each grade receive a prize. The winner chooses between a game or a gift card to Sugar Shack, which is provided by the Friends of the Library. The second-place winner gets the prize that’s left over. 

The librarians are always available to help the participants find something that they will truly enjoy reading. 

“There is nothing more satisfying than getting a book into a kid's hands and watching them truly enjoy it,” Sweetland says. 

Participating in the summer reading program keeps kids active academically which helps with what is known as “the summer slide." When kids go back to school in the fall, there is a certain amount of backslide in what they retained in the previous year.

“That’s why we do [reading] as a competition because we want them to compete because it will get them reading more,” Sweetland says. 

Audio books count as reading toward the challenge; however, the librarians highly encourage visual reading as it will help in the aspect of the “summer slide.” 

Along with the reading challenge are regular activities to keep the kids engaged with each other and active throughout the summer. 

A few of the activities include geocaching and a makerspace art project for the teenage group, and the K-6th graders will make lanterns and watch a play by Theater West. 

The reading program will kick off with a magic show at the Kimball High School auditorium at 10:30 a.m. May 30.  

The wrap-up pool party will be at the Kimball Public Pool July 3 from 10:30 a.m. - noon. 

You can get a full calendar of the program activities when you sign up at the library. It is free, and each participant gets a grab bag of activities, games and candy.  

Anyone can sign up anytime during the program, but Sweetland advises signing up before the program starts so that the librarians can plan accordingly.