Keep ‘em Reading!

Do you have a child who hasn’t discovered how much fun it can be to read a good book?  Do they find reading a chore?  We have a a few programs designed to help them through the summer and keep them reading!  Both programs require preregistration.

Reading Buddies is a program where a young reader is paired with an older reading buddy (teen or adult) and they read and share books together once a week at the library.   

Growing Bookworms is a program designed to reinforce math and phonics skills for children going into 1st and 2nd grades.  We will read stories together and have fun with games and puzzles to review some basic skills.

Find out more and sign up on our website here, call the children’s department at 616-355-3736, or stop by and we would be happy to help you in person.

Note: We are still looking for a few more older reading partners for the Reading Buddies program.  Sign up here!

Read with Kids this Summer!

Do you like to read with kids?  Check out our 8-week Reading Buddies program for the summer!

We pair teens or adults with young readers, they meet weekly, and enjoy books together!  What could be better??  It’s great fun for all involved and it keeps the kids practicing their reading skills through the summer.

There are always loads of children who sign up for this but we would like to tap into more “big” buddies.    We have even added an evening session for those of you that work days.  We don’t like turning youngsters away! 

There is one required orientation session to show you some techniques to use as a reading partner.  Teens can pick up an application for this program in the Teen Department at the Main Library or at the North Side Branch. Teen applications are due by May 24.  Adults can sign up on our website here beginning May 13.

If you are interested in similar opportunities throughout the year you may want to consider becoming a Literacy Hero.  We begin our next training sessions on May 14.  Sign up here.