Summer Programs Set Up To Help Kids Keep Turning Pages

Children can lose up to a third of their reading skills during the summer if they don’t take a few minutes to curl up with a book, experts say.

With that in mind, Spokane-area parents and children can take advantage of three programs designed to ensure that reading is as much a part of summer as softball, swimming and ice cream.

On a national level, parents can enroll their children in the “Read*Write*Now!” program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

Carla Nuxoll, regional representative for the U.S. secretary of education, kicked off the program last week at Jefferson Elementary School.

Kids in grades 1-3 agree to read 30 minutes a day on their own and learn a new vocabulary word five days a week.

Younger children learn the sounds of words and the letters of the alphabet.

All the children pick reading partners - parents, friends or volunteers - to help them stay on track, said Dick Devlin, spokesman for the education department.

Parents can call 1-800-USA-LEARN and receive a kit for children and their reading partners.

The kit includes how-to materials, an activities book, two bookmarks, and two participation certificates. Also included is a Pizza Hut coupon for young bibliophiles who meet their summer reading goals.

Children or parents in need of a reading partner, or for those interested in tutoring readers, may call the Washington Literary Coalition at 1-800-433-0121.

“Even if someone has never tutored before, we’ll do everything to make them feel comfortable,” said Sally Duffy, chairman of the Literacy Coalition.

Duffy said the coalition pairs adults with children, as well as teenagers with younger students.

“A junior high student could tutor an elementary-age student - a fifth-grader,” Duffy said. “And a fifth-grader may be the perfect choice to tutor a second-grader.”

Duffy said the coalition will be working closely with area libraries, which also are offering their own summer reading programs.

The city’s summer program is called Spokane Reads.

“Anyone who signs up gets a reading log. We’re hoping they’ll spend 15 minutes a day reading,” said Nancy Ledeboer, deputy director of public services for the library.

The program will also feature area artists, writers, gardeners and scientists, who will present weekly readings at various libraries.

At the end of the summer, the reading log for all participants will be totaled, Ledeboer said, and a celebration will be held under the Clock Tower.

For a calender of the summer reading program, check city library branches or the Spokane Library’s home page: www.spokpl.lib.wa.us/sbread.html.

County libraries are offering Everybody Reads, a program for kids of all ages.

That program offers a reading log that kids can compile at home, said Susan Creed, the children’s librarian at the Valley Library.

“That way, it’s not competitive,” Creed said. “Some kids read more books than others.”

As an added incentive, any child who compiles reading minutes will receive a free water bottle.

The county’s program also offers a variety of activities at branch libraries, such as storytime, craft shows, puppet shows and a troupe of actors who dress the part of knights and ladies from the Middle Ages.

A calendar of events is available at every county library branch.

There are also reading programs available for teens, said Eva Lusk, director of user services for the Spokane County Library system.

Teens will get the chance to read, volunteer at a library or in the community, and contribute books to needy children.

Teens can choose to donate books to Crosswalk, a center for homeless Spokane children, or Success By Six, a program that donates books to parents of newborns.

Some county libraries will hold final summer parties.

, DataTimes