By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Thanks to a grant, 120 students in the Hays school district were able to shore up their reading skills during the summer.
A grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation allowed USD 489 teachers to choose 10 students from each school in grades K-2 for a free Summer Reading Camp. The students attended classes two hours per day three days a week through the month of June.
Free transportation and snacks were also offered to the children.
The children practiced independent reading, read in groups, had an author visit, went on trips to the Hays Public Library, worked on phonics and practiced writing skills.
One of the goals of the program was to help all the children in program get their own library cards, so they could go back to the library and check out their own books.
Teacher Aubrey Brooks of Roosevelt Elementary School said students tend to lose some of their skills during the summer.
“A lot of times during the summer the kids slide a little,” she said. “They slide back a little. We really think this is going to keep what they have done during the school year — to keep up those skills and move forward a little bit.”
Brooks said she has seen growth in children — some increasing their skills by a reading level. Practice is the best way to learn reading, and Brooks said the program has created an environment for the children to do that.
“The problem with the summer is children aren’t always reading and practicing their skills, and this is a way to make sure that is happening,” Brooks said. “This makes sure they are still using those skills and practicing their reading and their writing.”
Mandy Meagher, Wilson kindergarten teacher, said she is also trying to promote reading and writing practice among her students.
“It takes lots and lots of practice. Reading and writing are both skills you have to learn just like riding a bike or playing the piano,” she said. “The more you use those skills and practice those skills, the better you become. Just giving these kids that extra opportunity to practice those skills with a little bit of guidance will help them continue (to grow) and help them for first grade.”
Meagher said she thought the smaller groups and individual approach has helped the children in the program grow their skills. She said she wished the district could offer it for every child.
This is the first year for the program, and Brooks said she and the other teachers hope they receive the grant next year.
“This has been really wonderful for the kids,” she said. “The kids love it. They really want to come. We make it engaging for them. Our philosophy is that we want to make it exciting — reading and writing we want to make it exciting for the kids, so it is something they want to do.”
Brooks suggested parents continue to encourage their children to read and write during the summer.
“A blank piece of paper and a pen is enough,” she said. “It doesn’t need to be guided writing—just whatever they feel to get used to it and get comfortable with it. And to find a love of reading. That is something through this program and through the school year we try to get children to do so that they feel like they can go on an adventure and make reading exciting and see it in a positive way.”
Meagher said she agreed.
“The best thing you can do from the time they are a baby to the time they are older is to read to them because hearing those words and the fluency and the vocabulary helps them gain. Hearing those books is very important for their development and for them to be ready for school.
“I told my kindergarten class three things I wanted them to do everyday before they left. I wanted them to read a little bit. I wanted them to write a little bit, and I wanted them to have fun and be safe. If they spend just a little time everyday, it will continue that growth because both of those skills just need continual practice.”