Georgia Public Library Services has been coordinating the Vacation Reading Program across the state for more than 20 years and 2002 is no exception. This year's theme is world.wide.reading@your library and the public libraries in your community are already getting started.
The Vacation Reading Program centers on two key elements: a self-directed, independent reading component and a theme-based programming effort to encourage children and families to participate.
Summer is a time for fun, but it's also a time to continue learning. Children who continue reading during school vacation s maintain or increase vocabulary and language skills, while those who do not read will actually lose them. The Vacation Reading Program helps encourage school children to continue building their skills throughout the summer months by making reading fun. One of the program's major purposes is to encourage children to read for pleasure! Children will enjoy the opportunity to read what they want, rather than something that has been assigned.
Georgia Public Library Services realizes that literacy learning needs to start at a young age, so the Vacation Reading Program encourages adult caregivers to read aloud with children who are not old enough to read themselves. This promotes a love of reading and offers a good role model for the importance of reading.
The Vacation Reading Program is one of the most important components in the broader scope of library service to children and their families. By engaging the imagination through personal interaction, literature based programs, displays, and age-appropriate print and audiovisual collections, the library fosters a love of reading in children. Encouraging the use and exploration of the public library equips children to succeed throughout their school years and prepares them to become life-long learners as well as life-long public library users.
Be sure to talk with your class before they leave for the summer and encourage them to make the most of summer through the Vacation Reading Program!
