Registration for the Library Summer Challenge, opens a new window is now open! This year’s theme, Wild Ideas, runs from June 1 through July 31. Visit our Summer Challenge, opens a new window pages or call 303.235.5275 to get started. People of all ages are invited to participate in the Library Summer Challenge! If you participated in last year’s program, sign in using your previous account. If this is your first time, create a new account for yourself or your family, opens a new window. And start logging your activities and reading time on June 1! Prizes will be available starting June 1.
Summer offers kids a great chance to have fun and unwind from school. But there’s also the potential for the summer slide, a phenomenon where kids tend to forget some of the things they learned the previous year. Students can lose as much as 25 to 30 percent of what they’ve learned during summer break, according to a study by the Brookings Institute, opens a new window. Reading throughout the summer and completing activities is one way to keep kids’ minds sharp so they are ready for the next school year.
Teachers in Jefferson County Public Schools know the importance of reading and learning throughout the summer, which is why they encourage their students and staff to participate in the Library Summer Challenge.
“We want to be innovative, resilient, lifelong learners,” said Tobye Ertelt, a digital teaching librarian at Oberon Middle School, one of the winners in last year’s school contest. “The more you read, the more vocabulary you get, the more your brain strengthens. Exercising your brain over the summer is important to keep everything fresh, both for children and adults.”
You and your kids can earn great prizes as you log your reading and complete all kinds of activities that count toward the goal of earning 500 points. Each minute of reading equals one point and each activity counts as 25 points. You can get a midway prize at 250 points and a finisher prize at 500. Every 500 points you earn after reaching the 500 mark enters you into the grand prize drawing for a new iPad. View the different prizes available, opens a new window to toddlers, kids, teens and adults.
Track your progress by downloading the Beanstack mobile app, opens a new window or pick up a paper tracker at any JCPL location. Download and print an activity sheet to track your wild fun at home. You can find dozens of activity suggestions on the mobile app or the lineup of great summer events on our website. Continue the fun by posting some of the things you’ve learned or done during the Library Summer Challenge on social media, tagging #JCPLove so we can see your progress!
Schools Benefit When You Participate
The school contest, opens a new window also begins June 1. When you register for the Library Summer Challenge, select the school you or your child will be attending. Then, as your kids log their reading and activities, the points will automatically count toward the school competition! Learn more about the school contest rules and details, opens a new window!
Ertelt and those at Oberon Middle plan to be school contest champions in 2021 and have already promoted the prizes among students.
The $800 Oberon won last year went directly back to the students with the purchase of student-selected books, including several novels, graphic novels, e-books and nonfiction books, for the library to increase excitement about reading.
“I am so very proud of our students,” Ertelt said. “They are so dedicated, competitive and excited about the Library Summer Challenge.
The school plans to use its win last year to motivate students. “We want to stay on top, so we’re going to use that as leverage,” Ertelt added.
Come up with your wild ideas for this summer and start logging your reading hours and activities to earn great prizes!
