It's Time to Dig into Reading!

Let's be honest. How many of us have kids who have acted exactly like this? Oh, they may make it more than 15 minutes (maybe even a whole day), but then the wheedling starts in.
 "Mom, are we going to do anything today?"
 "Can we go somewhere?"
 "It's too hot to play outside."
 "What do you mean I can't watch TV for 8 hours a day all summer?"

Of course there are the myriad lessons, classes, camps, etc. available throughout the summer, but those can get expensive. In addition to the cost some sports, lessons, etc. require a huge time commitment.

If you haven't guessed what I am building up to, it is the fantastically fun and FREE summer reading program at the Portland District Library!  This year's theme is "Dig Into Reading" and we have been fervently preparing for what we hope will be a huge and enthusiastic turnout.

If you have been to the library in the past week you will have noticed that the story time room has been off limits. That is so we could transform it into an exciting Dig Into Reading play center complete with cave walls, dinosaurs, creepy crawly bugs, and even an unexplored tomb.

 

As you can see from these pictures children's librarians are truly dedicated (or maybe just a bit crazy). Since we only had white butcher paper Wendy and I laid out huge sheets in my driveway and stained them with coffee to resemble cave walls. I also made a giant T-rex head from foam board, fruit cups, hot glue, tissue paper, and a gallon of modge podge.

The fun will begin tonight at our "Dig Into Reading" kickoff party from 5-8pm. Kids can check out (ha ha--library pun) all of the cool stuff in the story time room, play games, and make out their summer bucket lists while their parents sign them up for the Summer Reading Club.

If your children have participated in summer reading before a few things have been restructured. We will still have the Summer Reading Club which is the take home portion. Depending on their reading level kids will receive either a picture book/easy reader log or a chapter book one. With the picture book/easy reader log kids cover a shovel for each book they read or have read to them. When they have ten colored they bring their log to the children's area and the librarian will let them choose a prize. The kids that are reading chapter books need to read two books each week to earn a prize.

In addition to the Summer Reading Club we will have a special Dig Into Reading program beginning at 2PM on the next six Tuesdays. These programs require no sign up and will be appropriate for all ages.  The first program on Tuesday, June 18th will be a special presentation by Woldumar Nature Center. Be sure to pick up a library calendar or check the website to see what else we have planned.

Now summer reading only lasts for six weeks, but the library will have activities throughout the summer. Every Monday will be movie day beginning with our Toddler Drive-In at 10am. This is just for those wee ones that cannot sit through a whole movie. Kids from one to five will sit in their own little car, have a non-choking hazard snack, and watch popular preschool cartoons like Dora the Explorer, Chuggington, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. At 1PM on Mondays we will show a full length movie for older kids and provide free popcorn.

I am also incredibly excited about the Young Author's Club. This will be the third summer that we have offered a weekly writing club for burgeoning young authors and the kids that come always seem to have a blast. If you have a child that enjoys writing or maybe just wants to become a better writer make sure to bring them to the library on Thursdays from 4-5PM. No sign up is required and kids do not need to bring anything except their imaginations. We will have lots of different writing activities, play games, and I promise to bring snacks each week.

When looking for something fun to do with your kids this summer don't forget the Portland District Library. We have books, movies, music, programs, and so much more to offer and if you are on a budget or just saving up for that vacation you cannot beat FREE!

Busy Days

It has been quite a while since I have posted and I am sure everyone has noticed the absence of  my eloquent and witty prose. Just kidding, usually when I post I just shoot for semi-coherent and then add lots of fun links and pictures.

Well, just in case your are curious, the reason I have not posted recently is that May and June  are insanely busy months for the children's area. Since the library is within walking distance of the elementary school, we are a popular destination for a fun and FREE field trip once the weather turns nice. This year we have over 20 tours scheduled for DK through 4th grade classes. After the official "tour" (which can be quite brief with some of the younger grades) we read a story and have an easy craft for the kids to make. The teachers then give the kids time to explore and play in the children's area.
 

 These pictures are of a kindergarten class discovering that our library is not just about sitting quietly with a book (but that is wonderful and important). It is also a place to play, pretend, and create your own stories.

Even though repeating my spiel can get a little tedious after the fourth or tenth time, I love that so many classes come to the library at the end of the year. It is a great opportunity to promote our summer reading program and get kids excited about coming to the library (because the library ROCKS and is more fun than Cedar Point!!!). Okay, maybe that last part is not true for everyone, even though it is for me because I get motion sickness in a rocking chair.

Hi.  This is Wendy here from Portland Library.  I have never blogged before, but here goes.  I guess I will start off by saying a little bit about me.  Since I work in a library one of the most important things I should tell you is what I enjoy reading.  First, I must say the Harry Potter books are the best books ever written and if you haven't read them you should.  Some other series I have really enjoyed are Twilight by Stephanie Myers, The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines by Richelle Mead.  I also enjoy a good romance; Nora Roberts is one of my favorites since she has some great romances involving vampires, witches, and other fantasy beings and what is romance if not a fantasy. ;)  Actually, I pretty much mostly read romances of some kind.  Right now I'm reading Fifty Shades of Gray and, call me crazy, but I think it is actually really romantic if you look past the fact that Christian has a few issues.  I was pleasantly surprised that it actually has a interesting plot.  If you can't tell I typically like bestsellers, but hey they are bestsellers for a reason, right? Hunger Games was also a pretty good series but honestly I preferred the book one over the other two. Okay enough on what I like to read.  Here is a shocker I also like to write.  Right now I'm working on a young adult fantasy.  I attend a writing group held here at the library every Wednesday at 10 a.m. I really enjoy it.  We work on different types of writing, enter contests, and have a lot of fun. I also do programs in the children's department and a story time once a week.  Well I guess that's about it for now.  I'll try to blog again soon.