Reading is alive and well among Winkler’s children, and interest in the Bookland Explorers program at Winkler Library is proof. After a season of a record-breaking number of participants, the young readers took a break from the books to celebrate the end of the library’s summer programming on August 19th.
Isaiah Armstrong and Mikaela Warkentin, summer programmers, have organized every step of the summer reading program at the Winkler Branch of the South Central Regional Library (SCRL).
“We . . . plan all of our workshops and events for the summer preferably well in advance,” says Warkentin. “It’s a lot of work to prepare for summer reading.”
This year, the pair had even more to prepare for in anticipation of the program’s biggest numbers yet.
“For our teen program, we had around 50-55 [readers] sign up in just our library alone, which was higher than what we've had before,” says Armstrong. “For the Bookland Explorers, we had over 650. It was a record turnout.”
In the program, participants ages 5-12 logged minutes earned from various forms of reading, including reading themselves, listening to audiobooks, or being read to by a loved one. Logged minutes earned draw entries for various weekly prizes and grand prizes at the end of the Bookland Explorers season. The prizes this year were selected thoughtfully.
“We listened . . . to the participants [from] last year [and] previous years and we made sure to get Lego for grand prizes,” says Warkentin. “We [also] got a Bluey prize pack, which is pretty popular. And of course . . . books. We give books as grand prizes and weekly book draw prizes . . . so it incentivizes people to visit the library every week.”
The summer programmers say the prize system encourages children to read and helps prevent reading level losses during the school break. Warkentin is confident the reading program has positively impacted the community this summer due to its high number of participants.
“I don't think [the reading level loss] exists anymore . . . in this library because of the sheer amount of kids who participated in summer programming,” she says. “It makes reading fun, and we try and read fun stories. We try and make it fun for a wide range of kids.”
To celebrate another exciting season of Bookland Explorers, the Winkler Library held a wind-up on August 19th with a carnival in Bethel Heritage Park. Games included ring toss, outdoor bowling, giant checkers, and giant Connect 4. There was also face paint and treats. Warkentin says that the event went well.
“We had around 350 kids and their families show up, both kids in the program and kids [who weren’t in it who] wanted to see what we've got going on for summer programming,” she says. “It was a great turn out at the Bethel Heritage Park.”
For Armstrong, the wind-up was a fitting celebration to wrap up the program that sought to enrich young readers.
“We had a lot of feedback from parents saying that their kids were just reading all the time,” he says. “It gets them off their devices a little bit more [and] gets them engaging with different kinds of books that they wouldn't have read otherwise.”
Armstrong says it was “fun” for him to see children’s love for books grow and to see them seeking new recommendations for further reading throughout the summer.
“I will also say that the social element is really valuable,” says Warkentin. “We have a large home school community in Winkler and in the surrounding area, and a lot of kids got to meet and spend time with kids that they wouldn't normally meet.”
While Bookland Explorers has concluded for the season, the library always has events happening. To stay in the loop, visit the SCRL website here.
~With files from Alexander Peters~