Dig Into (Summer) Reading

The best part about the summer vacation as a kid was having a whole summer with nothing to do.  It always sounded like a good idea, but after a couple of days, I got bored and my mom had to figure out something for me to do until school started again.    It usually involved swimming lessons (I sink), softball (I was a left-handed pitcher) and cleaning my room.

Parents in Liberal may have an easier time figuring out what their kids can do during the summer.   

Liberal Memorial Library will have their summer reading program from May 28^th to June 29th.   The theme for the children’s program is “dig into reading”.  We are going to travel through the sewers, explore burrowing animals, get the basics of gardening, dig into the past and for the final week of the program, dig up trouble. 

Just like in the past, every week children from birth to grade six can come to the library for an hour of books, songs, crafts and games.  We also have a lot of special programming for the whole family.   There are programs for tweens, teens and adults during the summer as well. 

The five-week program begins on May 28^th at 3:00 with a worm box building session.  The library is going to be home to a box of worms as the mascots of the program.   We are going to learn about worms and how to take care of them.  The names Justin Bieber and Frank have already been suggested by kids. 

We have the Soil Tunnel Trailer from 10:30-11:30 on Thursday, June 6^th.  Kids and adults will be able to see what it looks like under the earth, complete with 3-D worms and roots. 

On June 12^th  at 4:00, Dr. Patrick Ross of Southwestern College will be at the library to discover life in a cup of dirt.   We’ll dig in and discover the rich life and real value in a cup of dirt. 

On June 18^th at 3:00 we are going to see some big machinery that may have been used to make the roads in Liberal. 

Mad Science is coming back to the library.  Kids will be see how cool science is, and who knows, maybe even get to volunteer for a mad science experiment.  The program is on June 25^th at 1:00. 

We will also try not to dig up too much trouble by learning how to be a medieval jester and juggling.  Don’t worry, it’s a lot easier than it sounds.  While I can’t guarantee that every kid will learn to juggle in an hour, every kid will learn the basics, and with a little practice, they should be able to juggle well in no time.  Come to the library on Thursday May 27^th at 3:00. 

The library is showing a different movie each week on Friday May 31^st, June 7^th and June 14^th.    All movies are rated G or PG.  I’m excited about the movies because not only are they good movies but we are serving popcorn and lemonade.  

Of course, there is also the reading part of the summer reading program.  Children from birth to grade six have the opportunity to read for a t-shirt.  Kids set a reading goal when they sign up (at least 10 hours during the five weeks). When the five weeks are over, kids bring their signed forms back to the library (by Saturday, June 29^th).  At the end of the summer party (August 2^nd at 2:00), everyone who reached their goal will get a summer reading t-shirt. 

Sign up for the program begins May 20^th and programming begins on the 27^th.  For more information contact the library at 620-0180 or visit the website www.lmlibrary.org.