In those early years with a little one, we would venture out together to the weekly story times, and I am convinced that those early experiences played a powerful role in encouraging him to love books.
As our family has grown, it has become a little more difficult to make it to weekly programs for each child, so a monthly Family Story Time offered by one of the branches in our area has been a good option for us!
One of the things I love most about them is that they offer a fun summer reading program that engages kids (from toddlers on up!) with all kinds of fun incentives, etc.
My kids have really enjoyed this, and I’ve been grateful for the Fine Waiver cards they earn. Those cards help us deal with some of the issues we have with books throughout the year. Ha!
We’re casually doing some of what the library is offering as part of their summer reading program (hello, fine waiver cards!), but my oldest is also taking advantage of Focus on the Family’s summer reading program.
This summer, he’s been reading all kinds of books about Colonial America. This topic is part of the reading in his second-grade Social Studies textbook.