The TD Summer Reading Club is back this year at both branches of the Timmins Public Library.
It’s for kids aged two to 13. Early childhood education advisor Melissa Vieno says it’s meant to prevent what’s known as “the summer slope”.
“A lot of children stop reading because they’re not in school and then then start losing some reading skills,” she explains. “So this is to encourage them to continue reading throughout the summer months, so that when they back into school in September, they continue to use their reading skills.”
The big kick-off to the season is at the main library branch, Saturday between 10:30am and 2:00pm. It features a literacy fair with ten partner agencies.
You can also sign up during the event, says Vieno.
“What we ask is that you keep track of how much you’ve read. So every 20 minutes you’ve read is another ballot into our grand prize draw. We’re also going to have some weekly draws and weekly challengers and we have lots of different activities planned for the summer.”
It doesn’t matter where, as long as you read.