The sun is shining, the weather is getting hot, the trees are green, and the flowers are blooming. It’s almost summer! And for many local students, that means school vacation. As parents, we want them to enjoy their time off, but we also want to continue the learning throughout the summer months. What better way to accomplish that goal than with a summer reading program! The fantastic thing is that there are several to choose from, and each has prizes to motivate your kids to work hard and read lots. Check out the summer reading programs listed below, and choose one or more that will spark your child’s interest.
Summer Reading with the Allen County Public Library
Speaking of sparking your child’s interests, it’s time for another year of the SPARK program at the Allen County Public Library. SPARK stands for STEM, Play, Arts, Reading, and Knowledge. It’s a program for all ages that runs from June 1 to July 31, 2021. Participants track their time spent reading or listening to books and earn prizes along the way. There are programs for both children and adults, so go ahead and make this one a family project. In addition to prizes for reading, the library has plenty of extra programming going on as well You can see live animals, magicians, and other entertainers. In addition tracking your reading time through the SPARK program helps the community reach our 10 million minute goal. Once that goal is reached a donation will be made to Humane Fort Wayne which will feed pets in need for an entire month. Book worms and animal lovers unite! Visit the library’s SPARK page for more information and to sign up.
Earn a Free Book From Barnes & Noble
Each summer, Barnes & Noble bookstores host a great reading program for students in grades 1-6.It’s popular with students and teachers nationwide because, after completion, each child is eligible to receive a free book. The program works like this: Step 1, download and print the 2021 reading journal; step 2, read and record a designated number of books; and step 3, take the completed journal to your local Barnes & Noble between July 1 and August 31 to receive a free book from the books listed on the journal. Visit the Barnes & Noble summer reading program page to get started.
Take it virtual with Scholastic
Although the free summer reading program from Scholastic doesn’t offer physical prizes, it does provide children with a variety of fun and safe online opportunities. Kids can sign up on the home base to track their reader, attend interviews with their favorite authors, play book-related games, and more. In addition, by keeping a reading streak in Home Base, kids can help unlock a donation of 100,000 books to Save the Children. These books will go to kids in rural areas who do not have adequate access to literature. Visit the Scholastic website to learn more and sign up.
Get Free Audio Books with SYNC
Here’s one for the teenagers. From April 29 through August 4, the SYNC program makes 2 audio books available for download each week. These books are gear towards teens age 13 and up and are yours indefinitely once you’ve downloaded them. Books are curated from a variety of authors and genres and are designed to foster a love of reading in middle and high schoolers. Books are downloaded through the Soar app which is the student reading app from Overdrive for Libraries. Titles change every 7 days, so your teen is sure to find something that interests them. Click here to learn more.
Whichever program you choose, may your children’s summer be filled with great books and spectacular stories that will keep them entertained and excited about reading for years to come.
