It is that time of year when we start planning for our Summer Library Reading program to avoid the summer slide! We all want to a keep our students reading and stay engaged throughout the summer, but how? We have tried several different ways and have found some keys to make a summer reading program more successful. 

But first, let’s talk about what didn’t work. The first year we tried a summer reading program, we opened our school library to students and parents one day a week. We set a time and let everyone know we were open to come check out books. We sent home flyers and posted it on social media. We were so excited to see students and help them find that “just right” book.

Tips for summer reading success

And I think we had 6 students… ALL SUMMER!! The students who came were readers, they would have been reading no matter what. But what about the students who are not readers?

We realized it was going to take more than just a good book to get them in the library. So, we started planning. We picked a theme and decided to add STEM activities to go along with it. Our first theme was Genres. We picked a different genre each week to showcase.

Social Media

We made an invitation that let parents know what we had planned for each week and posted it on social media. We thought outside the box and had decorations, like tents set up for students to read in during Adventure Week. And we set up at least 3 different stations each week with activities and directions that students and parents could do together. We asked that an adult stay with the students, so that helped keep everyone focused and on task. And it was a HIT!! With parents and students!!

We have grown our Summer Library program each year ever since! Some of our themes have been

Booking Across the USA, Score Big with Books, and I Survived the Summer Reading Challenge. 

Sports Bundle STEM

And then in 2020, COVID!! Our school had shut down and we knew we weren’t going to be able to have parents and students in our library over the summer, so again we had to get creative! We had already decided on our theme, Making a Great Summer, but had to change the way we implemented it. We had written several grants and had gotten enough Who Is, What Is, Where Is books for students to pick one each week to take home and keep. We wanted them to learn about a person or place and then make something to show what they had learned. So, each week we set up tables in the front of our school with the books and Bags of Wonder, which were bags of supplies that students could use to make with. Parents just had to drive up and their child could get out and pick a book to take home. The items in the bags changed each week, and included items like tape, styrofoam,  pom poms, etc. Students didn’t have to use the supplies, but it helped give them some options. We were blown away by what they made.

Inside each book was a brochure that students filled out about the book they chose to read. The following week they would bring their completed brochure back when they came to pick another book and we had a drawing for prizes. This was a great way to get them to do a little more work and we could see what they were doing.  

For the summer of 2021, our theme was The Book is Better! We chose books that were also movies and had movie night outside every two weeks for our families. At each movie night students were able to pick up the next book. A few of the books we had were The One and Only Ivan, Ferdinand and Charlotte’s Web. We alternated between chapter books, which parents could read to their child if needed, and picture books which everyone loves!

A few helpful tips that we have learned….

• Have parents or an adult stay with their kids. The parents will love it! It is a great time for them to work with the child and have fun!
• Ask teachers to stop by. They don’t have to come every week, but most of our teachers will come to at least one and the kids LOVE seeing them during the summer.
• HOW DO WE GET THE MONEY??? We write grants every year!! Some years are more successful than others, but we always try. Donors Choose is great!! We also do things during the year and set that money aside for our summer program. Some of the things we do are take Santa pictures and Kindergarten Graduation pictures. Parents want these pictures and will buy them. We don’t charge a lot but every little bit helps. And our PTA is always willing to help. They provided all our snacks, popcorn, drinks, popsicles etc, at our Family Movie nights,
• Have a snack of some kind. If you feed them they will come! 🙂 
• Take pictures and post them on social media.  Let people see what they are missing
• Ask and borrow! It never hurts to ask. When we needed tents we asked our teachers and borrowed several to set up for students to read in. 
• Ask for help! Don’t get me wrong, this is work… during summer!! We have a team who take on different  jobs so that no one is doing it all. 

Everyone, students, parents and staff, looks forward to our Summer Library program every year. It has become a staple that we hope will continue because we have seen the rewards. Our students are reading, making and learning during their summers.