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Show Jf Pleasant Grove Review New Utah - Thursday, July 10, 2003 - Page 5 Summer reading fun co ntinu Over BY Linda Butler one thousand cxui- pnrolled in Pleasant "Laush It Up . ., P 9n03 summer ...heLiDraiJ - .--n are l"n)v loving and tM program. kias die inec ,. loving reading the library 1 tery Tuesday, Wednes-.-a Thursday, children i-erge upon the library to it:': le-appropriate stones ICtlVltieS. imvuw '"".7 1 turn in their weeKiy ;t,iing goals which are ... into a drawing. Each Child WHO leduica mo l oall treat 311(1 a C0UPn Y. -ui at a local mer- leant- , Connie Urton nas ueen kinging her children to the library s siuum iCvs forlyeais !or us, stie stun. j.hc 'tes are fun; the kids have enjoyed the teachers. It keeps reading, it Keeps tneir Lds going- You get great ieas for future reading - Kwriallv for older kids. Orion's daughter, Kim, A "now age 14, is too old to " attend the summer reading i program, but she occasionally ; ' accompanies her younger sib- ; . lings to their weekly classes. . Now an avid reader, Kirn i attributes her love of reading Ito attendance at the summer 'reading program. It was always fun,' she id. Td go and get every Lk they suggested. They lave me a love for reading." Keeping kids in touch with kfa is the main purpose of the Summer reading pro- ferani, according to April Har- i, library dii'ector. ley tate 1 ulian:: :st t :hey educi: iversit Hairison stated two goals for connecting children with books. "We want to promote libraries for the future," she said. "No matter what technology tech-nology has in store, there is something magical about turning a page in a book. We want to give the next generation genera-tion that pleasure." As important as the pleasure pleas-ure of reading is, the power of knowledge is also important. Harrison states her second reason for bringing children to books, "We want to create a society that likes to read. A literary society is a better society." For many families, coming to the weekly library classes is a special family treat. "My kids love summer reading," said Leslie West, who has four children participating partici-pating in the program. "It's our weekly trek. The kids get treats, they hear stories. It keeps us in touch with books all summer." The program has increased in" popularity each year. April Harrison noted that in 1981 reading certificates certifi-cates were given to children who read. She recalls the first organized organ-ized program was held in 1988, "Up, Up and Away with Books." Themed summer programs pro-grams were held in succeeding succeed-ing years, but a big change came in 1991 when the three north county libraries, Pleasant Pleas-ant Grove, American Fork, and Lehi, pooled resources to create similar summer programs pro-grams for the three libraries. It was also the first year that an organized registration registra-tion was held. Five hundred ses at ihe library amd three children were registered reg-istered for the "Alice in Wonderland" Won-derland" summer reading program in 1991. Only one session, which included all ages of children from 3 to 12, was held each week. Children were given game-boards game-boards that encouraged at-home at-home reading. Three hundred and fifty children completed all six gameboards. Two years later, in 1993, children were separated into age groups for their summer reading classes. One session was held each day. Mondays was for children chil-dren entering first grade. Tuesdays was for children entering second grade. A cooking class for children in grades 3 to 6 was held on Fridays. Fri-days. Wednesdays and Thursdays Thurs-days featured stories and crafts and were open to children chil-dren of all ages. By 1994, attendance had expanded so that more story time sessions became necessary. neces-sary. That summer's "Reading Stampede" had three story time sessions on Monday and three craft sessions for children chil-dren in grades 1 to 3 on Wednesday. Children in grades 4 to 6 attended a puppetry pup-petry class on Fridays. The current divisions of children into four age groups began in 1995 and has continued con-tinued to the present. Providing Provid-ing age-appropriate stories and activities maintains the children's interest in both the summer program and in reading, according to Harrison. Harri-son. Three- and four-year-olds meet downstairs in one group, the five- and six-year-olds meet in a second group. Many of the mothers are nearby, listening to the sto- MM HI 1 LLLb 1 I 1 ijfl -ft fj I'; ". i ,- !? i u 1D, ; . ; ,' I tUi.-i i' .. f i A i " i 1 1 li 2 I h!f -W-' nine Ol'S 6 i Goodman. 11. on riaht. shows her pipe cleaner animal to friends Kirsten, 9, and Danielle Shrader 1 1 , at the Pleasant Grove Library's summer reading program. Can 756-7669 to Place a classified ad II Mbwj Momb'sE I 'Men II pg W 5pm. Sat Mat. 3 , mf.rHole r A SPG 7 W 5 pm. Sat Mot. 3 pm 0: I Mon-Thurs: 10am - 11pm Friday: 10am - Midnight j IHt PHONE ORDERS WELCOME! 580 E. State Rd., Am. Fork Credit cards gladly accepted. 492-1762 E3 :m2 ziarct 2 croose & Marley's Parade off Homes Come see our furnishings & accessories in the Cougar house featured in the Parade of Homes! r Scrooge and Marley's 791 North 100 East, Lehi Loa:ial in Traverse. Mountain - ... ...; Development. - r I .in Xr Photos by Linda Butler Emily Sumner shares stories with the three- and four-year-old children at Pleasant Grove Library's summer reading program. ries, then chatting with friends as they help their youngsters complete the crafts. The seven- and eight-year-olds meet in the library's main floor, and the older children, chil-dren, from age nine and up, meet in the upstairs loft. Harrison is especially pleased to see more children over age nine attending the program. Many of these are children who have grown up with the program. "We've kept our children reading," she said. Young people who feel they've outgrown the daytime summer reading program are invited to join in the teen group which meets Thursday evenings. This year, 1,076 children are registered for the summer reading program. Nine storycraft sessions are held each week. Each session lasts about 45 minutes. One unique feature of Pleasant Grove's summer program is the high level of staff involvement. "All of our staff is involved with Summer Reading," said Harmer. The staff is divided into four teams, with three librarians on each team. Each team is assigned a particular age group to work with for the whole summer season. Harmer praises the librarians librar-ians for their dedication to the program. "Our staff is so generous, creative and ingenious. It is amazing what they do to make the program fun," she said. Harmer laughed as she reminisced the staff's resourcefulness in creating some of the projects. "One year we made monsters mon-sters out of Styrofoam and dryer lint," she said. Children love the reading and crafts. "I like the books that they read to me," said Aaron McArthur. Hie younger sister, Jenna, agreed. Sister Brittany enjoys the stories and books, but said, "I like doing the crafts." Stephanie McArthur is thrilled to bring her children to the library. "The librarians all know my kids and make them feel like they're their best friend," she said. Friendly and fun. That's how most children and their parents see the summer reading program. . Harmer wants to keep the program friendly and fun, but said that may be difficult as the program continues to grow. Many of the sessions are full, but she doesn't foresee fore-see expanding the program to a fourth day. "The program is staff-intensive, staff-intensive, and because of numbers (of children) and space, the noise issue is obvious," obvi-ous," she said. "The program is growing. In order to continue contin-ue at this level we need a facility that meets our needs and funding for staff to meet the needs of the children." Experience the World in n uu viy 13 u viLl U IU ULlLlLI v 1 k J u jfl Performances July 12, 14, 15, 18, 18, 19, 2003 Spring Acres Arts Park 620 South 1350 East Springviile, Utah U.S.A. Ail performances start at 8:00 p.m. Actiuities Free Street Dance Wednesday, July 16 Springviile Museum of Art, 1 26 East 400 South 8:00 p.m. - Free of Charge Call 489-2726 for more information. www.worldfolkfest.com Ticiict Prices $8.00 Adults $7.00 Senior Citizens $3.00 Children 12 & under Call for special group ratss. Tickets available at the gats. inuitcd nations Holland Morning Star Scotland Cloggers West Bulgaria Hispanic Danes Mexico Alliance Come early pre-shov booths i exciting atn enjoy A 1 " |
