Summer in Bozeman is a beautiful, much-anticipated season after the winter, but if you are the parent of school-age kids, it can also be stressful. We know that most kids experience the “summer slide” in reading and math, and can lose valuable skills over the summer months. How can we enjoy summer, let go of daily schedules and tasks, and still help our kids find time to read? Parents have learned that actions speak loudly, so it’s best to DO TOGETHER what you would like your kids to do. . . if you want your kids to read, make time to read as a family.

Here’s a few ideas for surviving
summer with school-age kids:

• On most days, try to find a quiet time for reading, both alone and reading aloud. Maybe after lunch? Allow kids to sleep in a bit with a good book and a glass of OJ? Or perhaps everyone takes 30 minutes in the late afternoon to find some shade on a blanket. Reading a little every day (yes, parents too) is the way to develop a reading habit.
• Visit your public library often. Providing relaxed time for kids to choose books on their own says more to kids about reading than all the nagging in the world. Allowing kids to choose what THEY want to read is the best way to keep them interested in reading through the summer. This is the time to read for fun, so let them follow their interests: comics, silly books, nonfiction, whatever they want.
• Be sure to take books, audio books, magazines, joke and puzzle books when you travel. Nothing like the limited environment of a car, motel room, or tent to discover the fun in books.
• Ask your children’s friends what books they’re reading. Talk about the popular books this year. If you can, plan a special trip with friends to the bookstore for a summer treat, or as a reward for an accomplishment.
• Hard to fit in math? Do one math problem a day with www.bedtimemath.org. Bedtime Math will send you one interesting problem each day, for preschool kids to adult. Let your kids help you cook, build stuff, and play lots of board and card games, and they won’t forget math over the summer either.

What’s happening at Bozeman Public Library this summer:

• “Dig Into Reading” Magic Show on Saturday, June 15 at 10am and again at 1pm. Kids can pick up their summer reading packet and get a calendar of all the weekly programs.
• Each week the Children’s Room offers a different theme, with storytime and activity bags available for childcare providers and parents. Join us for programs about gardening, burrowing animals, worms, rocks & caves, trucks & diggers, dinosaurs and more.
• Preschool storytime for ages 2-5 is held every Wednesday at 10:15 and 11:15. The Friday Club for kids ages 6-11 features hands-on activities and guests from 11-12:15.
• Afternoon programs continue in June and July: LEGO Club, Chess Club, Wii Wednesday and R.E.A.D. to a Dog. Plus we’ll have “Afternoon at the Movies” on June 20 and July 11.
• Puppeteer Markie Scholz returns with her amazing puppets for a “Dragon Digs” show on Thursday, July 18 at 3:00.
• Come back on Thursday, July 25 to hear Charlie “The Noise Guy” Williams perform a variety of humorous stories and sound effects.
• Creative Workshops is a month of free workshops for kids in August; registration begins on Monday, July 1.

Check the website at www.bozemanlibrary.org or call the Children’s Desk at 582-2404 for more information about programs during the summer.