Library offers programs to children throughout summer
Keeping children involved in summertime activities might be easier than getting them to pick up a book or even go to the library.
The Moorestown Library offers programs during the summer that keep children involved in educational activities while making sure they are having fun.
According to Jen Dunne, principal librarian for children’s services, the library offers many programs throughout the year. During the summer, preschool story times are expanded to four times a week, and there are drop-in story times and activities so registration is not an issue. Movies are also shown in the library on Tuesday afternoons.
“We try to be more flexible in the summer to account for the various schedules people have,” she said.
The library also has a summer reading program for children in second to sixth grade and teens in seventh grade and up.
Dunne said there are more than 100 students signed up for the program and most participate in the various summer reading activities. The program is constructed differently than the school’s reading program, but both focus on getting students to read, she said.
Instead of assigned summer reading, students select a book to read for the library’s program and are given prizes at the end of the summer. Children who read between five to nine books will receive a prize from the grab box, while those who read 10 or more get a Barnes & Noble gift card. Children receive more points if they read longer books. The more points, the better the prize.
Teens must fill out a short book review and submit it to receive a raffle ticket.
Teens fill out the ticket selecting which prize they would like to win and drop it in the raffle box.
The more books they read, the better the chance of winning a prize.
“The primary goal is to keep up their reading skills,” Dunne said. “For them, I don’t think they see it as school related. I think for them it is just fun.”
Summer readers are also given a chance to report on their book, describing what was read. Children can report on three books per day until Saturday, Aug. 17.
Teen volunteers are staffed daily at the library waiting for the arrival of a young reader.
As for other programs, Dunne said the activities are supposed to encourage students to visit the library during the summer.
Merchantville resident Joanne Leibrand brought her son, Keith, to a Lego League program on Monday, July 8. She said this is the first time she has taken her son to the Moorestown Library.
“There are a lot more activities in Moorestown,” she said, adding she was looking for children’s activities for the summer and found out Lego League did not require registration.
Leibrand thinks library summer activities are a great way to get the kids out of the house. She said she would bring her son back to the library if he enjoys the Lego session.
Dunne said even the summer reading program is a great way to keep students’ minds active when on vacation.
“I think that it’s very important to include reading in their lives all year round. Especially in the summer when other educational activities fall on the wayside,” Dunne said.
For more information on the summer reading programs and activities, visit www.moorestown.lib.nj.us.
There are lists of drop-in activities on the “Kids Page” and “Teens Page.”
The library is located at 111 W. Second St. and is open on Mondays to Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The library is closed on Sundays.
