For the next several months, reading doesn’t have to mean sitting at a school desk.

Libraries such as Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library are hosting a smorgasbord or events and activities as part of their annual summer reading programs to not only nurture a general love of lifelong reading, but to help kids avoid what educators call “summer slide.”

In Meridian, this year’s theme is “Adventure Begins and Your Library,” and is open to everyone from preschoolers to adults. The program kicked off on Thursday, May 30, and goes through the summer. A schedule of events can be found at meridianlauderdalecolibrary.com.

Students who don’t regularly read during summer vacation typically regress in reading skills. Local teachers have said that often the start of the school year means getting kids caught up to where they left off in the spring. Research from the Children’s Literacy Initiative suggests students who do not read during summer months can fall two years behind by fifth grade.

Beyond summer reading, libraries coordinate all kinds of fun activities, including storytimes, craft projects and musical entertainment.

Reading doesn’t have to be a chore or be assigned. Kids should be armed with library cards and pursue materials they are interested in. Librarians also know how to find a variety of books for different-level readers.

Librarians say families need to model taking time to read every day — and everything counts: listening to audiobooks, reciting nursery rhymes or poetry, singing, rapping, reading aloud sports knowledge and news of the day, looking up facts about the planets, selecting and making recipes, telling elephant jokes, etc.

If participants haven’t enrolled yet in the library’s summer reading program, that’s no problem. Kids can start anytime — and can read anywhere, whether that be in a hammock, at the beach or in a corner of an air-conditioned library.

CNHI News Service