Slime, Sloths, and Splashes of Color Highlight Library’s Summer Reading Program

The Friench Simpson Memorial Library had a successful summer reading program.

Overall, the library had a little over 300 participants that actually signed up to be a part of the reading program. For the total month of June, the youth collections at the library was 2,529 items.

“I also had statistics for the family programs,” Library Youth Services Coordinator Shay Davenport said. “Those are our big family shows on Tuesday so we had parent and children come in and participate.”

The first Tuesday of the month had 235 people, the second one had 197 people, the third had 213 people and, finally, the fourth Tuesday had 193 people.

“Our most popular program was the ‘yuck show,’” Davenport said. “We had about 235 people show up for that one. A really fun science guy came by and kept the kids interested. He also taught the kids stuff about science, so they learn a lot. At the end of the show, a kid got slimed. The kids really liked that one. Another popular show was a sloth show. A person came in and brought about five sloths. They were hanging from little branches and the kids got to touch the sloths and take pictures. We had about 200 people come for that one. We also had a ‘crocodile encounter.’ A guy brought baby snakes and crocodiles. The kids were really interested in the animal programs and the science programs. That’s something I’ll keep booking every year.”

The Wednesday programs were for younger children and that had a total of 85 children show up.

“Those programs have things like stuffed teddy bears, key chain makings, or rock paintings,” Davenport said.

There was a new program called the “Lego Club” and that had a total of 16 students participate.

As far as the summer reading program goes, Davenport said they had a little more engagement than last year.

“We had a lot more kids reach 1,000 pages,” Davenport said. “If you read at least 300 pages, you get a raffle ticket that you can put in a bucket to try and win a prize. Our numbers stayed the same in the program, but definitely more kids have been reading. We had one student who got 800 raffle tickets. Our highest number was about 60,000 pages. So, these kids have definitely been reading.”

The theme for the library programs was called “Color Our World.” “Each child gets to go home with a mobile after their done reading,” Davenport said. “They get these things that we cut out on a machine and once you get to 300 pages, you get your first mobile piece. We themed it out with art. For example, when you read 300 pages you get a crayon or when you read 500 pages you get a marker. We made that go along with our theme.”

The mobiles are hanging up in the library currently.

There were many businesses and sponsors who assisted in making this program possible. The largest donor was the Dickson-Allen Foundation. “They support us every year and they’re the reason we get to put on this whole thing, so we’re really grateful for them,” Davenport said.

Other donors include Phillips 66. They are donating an end of year party. The party will be coming up this Friday, Aug. 8. It will be at the Hallettsville City Pool starting at 1 p.m.

“It’ll be a great chance for the kids to celebrate their reading,” Davenport said. “There will be many fun things like food trucks and photo booths there.”

Another event that the library held was a color run last Monday. The event was a sponsored activity that kids of all ages enjoyed.

Davenport said community support was crucial for making this program possible and she wants to thank all the sponsors as well as the students and families who participated in the programs.

“These programs give people a safe space,” Davenport said. “Everyone has their own niche. It’s nice that even in a small community, we’re offering different programs for different people.”