The Prince George Public Library's six-week summer reading program for children up to 12 years old is back.
The kick off for the event is today from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
There will be activity stations to introduce each week's theme and a beekeeper will come in to talk about the benefits of bees. The Brain Injured Group will talk about summer safety and give away a bike.
The overall theme this year is Up, Up and Away and each week there will be a special focus. For instance, week one will highlight Living Things With Wings.
"This is where we got our idea for our global awareness piece this year," said Ruth Buehler, program coordinator at the library. "What we're going to be doing is reading books to raise money
for beekeeping kits that will be sent to families in Ghana and with the money earned selling the honey, they will be able to provide for their families."
Each beekeeping kit costs $55 and there has been a $550 donation made to provide 10 kits to families. The goal for each child is to read 10 books and earn $10 toward the project.
Each child chooses a bee and decorates it. The bee is then placed at the start of the beeline. Read 10 books and move the bee along the beeline for each book read, until the bee reaches the beehive.
"So if children read the required number of books, we can send all 10 kits to Ghana," said Buehler. "The biggest goal for our summer reading club is always for people to come into the library and have fun. That's our number one goal. Our second goal is to keep kids reading over the summer to maintain or improve their reading level. For the last three years we've put in a global awareness piece as well."
There's a new edition of the program called Double Digits for the 10-to-12-year-old crowd, hence the reference to double digits, Buehler added.
A different program will be held every Friday.
"The first Friday, July 12, we'll be bringing out the library's Lego, and offering Lego challenges," said Buehler. "So we supply the Lego, the children supply the creativity. The next one after that will be a crafter afternoon."
There's also a new program for five-and-six-year-olds called Play With a Story, beginning Wednesday, July 10 at 1:30. Jackie Plant will take the stories to a whole new level with a dramatic reading that should appeal to the younger set.
Storytime in the Park is a program where the library and the Childcare Resource and Referral partner up to read in a variety of parks throughout the summer every Thursday from 10:30 to 11 a.m. The story telling is so popular that there has been up to 200 people in attendance.
"We're really looking forward to it," said Buehler. "We're hoping hundreds of people come out and enjoy the library and reading throughout the summer."
For more information visit http://www.lib.pg.bc.ca/summer-reading-program.
