The Eckville Municipal Library has six action packed weeks planned for the TD Summer Reading Club.
This year’s theme for the program is natural wonders, which will be incorporated through guest speakers, games and activities.
The Summer Reading Club will run Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. beginning July 11 and ending Aug. 15.
“I’m excited for this year, I think we’re going to have a lot of fun,” said Jennifer Ferdinand, children’s programmer for the library.
Each week of the program will feature a different topic kicking off with reduce, reuse, recycle.
The activity July 11 will have the participants build whatever they want out of recycled cardboard materials and a roll of tape to teach the kids about using reusable resources to protect the environment.
Other topics for the Summer Reading Club include bugs, bees and insects, archaeology and geology, and a birdhouse build on the final day.
Each day will feature a hands-on activity pertaining to the topic.
The club will also see two guest speakers to teach the kids about nature and animals.
Danielle Harris is a veterinary technologist instructor at Olds College who will teach about animals and humans working together, while the Medicine Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre will be teaching about wildlife and protection.
The presentation will include a special guest, either “Otis” the owl or “Fang” the skunk.
Of course the Summer Reading Club will also feature some reading.
Each morning will begin with story time before heading into the nature themed games and activities.
The children will also get a reading list of books and will collect points based on the books they have read as reading progress is charted throughout the summer.
“We had 1,127 books read by our 35 kids in six weeks (last year),” said Ferdinand, “so now this year we’re going to get them all excited about reading.”
The Summer Reading Club is free for children ages six to 12, but the program is accessible and they try to not turn anyone away.
The library even has a collection of braille books pertaining to the natural wonders theme.
“It’s nice for people in rural communities because not everybody can afford to send their kids to camp,” Ferdinand said.
Pre-registration is required and must be done before July 5. Forms can be picked up at and returned to the library.
The club will also be holding a joint registration night with the Recreation Board’s Summer Day Camp, which will be taking part in the Summer Reading Club this year.
“I want them to be so excited every day that they come,” added Ferdinand.
Each child will get a welcome package at their first day of Summer Reading Club filled with items such as stickers, puzzles and colouring books.