Keeping youth interested in reading over the summer break can be a challenge for parents everywhere.  

In the five branches of the La Crosse County Library System, the Summer Library program is underway to help children get engaged and use their curiosity to read more books.  

Youth Services Coordinator Dawn Tevis said that they’ve got a variety of activities planned between now and July 26 designed to spark that interest in discovering new things.  

“Because kids are in such a vulnerable place in the summer. Their schedules are changing; they have different choices on how to spend their time.  And it’s really this amazing opportunity to nurture relationships with them that we already have. To build new relationships but to give them opportunities to follow their curiosity and hopefully into reading and literacy endeavors,” Tevis said. 

She said that studies show that supporting kids in developing lifelong learning and reading is giving them a choice-giving them opportunities to follow their curiosity and that’s what we’re striving to do, Tevis said about the summer program.    

“And that, I think, is a blend of rooting these literacy experiences in place in this wonderful Driftless region that we’re in but that also creates a sense of wonder. ‘Let’s think about other places’ so it’s not just rooting them more powerfully in this wonderful place and community that we’re in but opening their eyes to possibilities globally as well.“ 

To build that sense of wonder, there are a variety of programs that participants in the program can take part in.  

There are guest presentations from Bruce the Bug Guy, Spoonman, Dragon Trainer Puppetry, and others during the summer.  

Activities are designed for appropriate age groups. STEAM camps for example, have separate programs for newborns to 36 months (Tiny STEAM), entering grades 2-4, and entering grades 5-8. There’s also teen bingo for those entering grades 6-12.  

With the theme Level Up at Your Library, youth can set their own reading goals and if they achieve them, they can get a free book that they can keep.  

It all culminates with an end-of-program ice cream party at the five branches.  

Click here for information on the Summer Program.  Besides more details, there's also a place to sign up for activities requiring registration.

While some activities need pre-registration, you can just drop in for others.  

The La Crosse County Library System has branches in Bangor, Campbell, Holmen, Onalaska, and West Salem. 

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