On Saturday, the Eatonton-Putnam Library celebrated the end of its Summer Reading Program through a party.
The summer reading program had approximately 200 participants and has been going on throughout the summer with many activities to promote reading and creativity. Some of these activities have included movie days, craft workshops, and take-and-make craft bags. Another popular activity for kids was the Under the Sea scavenger hunt where children would hunt mermaid and shark tails around the library and turn them in to place their name in a drawing for a goodie basket.
“Kids had the availability to pick their own books or use suggestions online from Beanstack, which is like a goal for them. If they read so many books and recorded it there, then they could come in and be given a goodie bag,” said Carrie Pye, library assistant. “Most kids came in and picked out their own books, which is very exciting for them.”
The Eatonton-Putnam Library heavily encouraged summer reading through advertisements and discussion with patrons of the library. According to Pye, there are many benefits related to summer reading including increased creativity and vocabulary growth and helping the children be prepared for middle and high school.
“I believe it helps them as they get prepared to go into middle school or high school by encouraging inner creativity and a sense of adventure,” said Pye. “Reading can encourage students to join clubs or take creative classes, like drama. It creates a very outgoing sense of curiosity.”
According to a Scholastic EDU research article published in 2021, 83 percent of educators say that reading helps students understand those different to them and 81 percent stated that reading helps develop empathy by allowing students to see themselves within a character or a story. In this same study, 74 percent of kids stated that reading fiction and nonfiction helped them understand the world better.
“Reading is an important part of growing and learning, so we just want to encourage that,” said Pye. “Today (Saturday) is all about celebrating their ability to read and be creative.”
According to Pye, her favorite summer read was the Nancy Drew series. She has fond memories of reading the books inside on rainy or cloudy days. For her, the books opened a world of curiosity and questions that sucked her into a mystery she could never solve alone.
“As a kid, I’d say that mystery books like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys books sparked my interest in investigation type books and reading in general,” said Pye. “There is something about being able to read a book that you choose that just relaxes the mind and lets a kid just feel enjoyment.”
While the Summer Reading Program may be over, the library encourages parents and guardians to continue to assist their children in reading throughout the year. To encourage reading throughout the year, Pye recommends letting children pick their own books, encouraging conversation about books of interest and reading with the child.