By LAURA DANIEL
Tiger Media Network
The Hays Public Library is helping young learners stay on track this summer with its Reading Readiness: Readiness & Review program, designed for children entering kindergarten through second grade. The session is held on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1-2 p.m. and it lasts all summer. It aims to build and maintain foundational academic skills during the summer break—a time when many students experience a decline in learning known as the “summer slide.”
The program is limited to 14 students to ensure a more personalized experience. This smaller group size allows librarians to tailor instruction and better support each child’s development. Due to high interest, the session has already reached full capacity, and consistent weekly attendance is strongly encouraged.
“One of the main goals of the Readiness & Review program is to help kids maintain their current reading levels and make progress toward the next level,” said Kayla Ford, youth services manager at the library. “We start by asking parents for their child’s end-of-year reading level. If they don’t know it, we provide a simple assessment to determine it. Then we group students based on their reading level to offer the most appropriate support.”
Each session is structured around four engaging stations:
- Sight Words – Focused practice to build recognition and vocabulary.
- Games – Fun, educational games involving word and sentence building.
- Hands-On Activities – Interactive exercises that reinforce literacy concepts.
- Read-Aloud – Shared reading time to improve listening and comprehension skills.
At the end of each session, children receive a take-home bag with a new book, a set of sight words to add to their flashcard ring, and a themed bookmark. The bookmark serves as a visual reminder to read the week’s book at least four times—a proven strategy to increase fluency and sight word recognition. Students are also encouraged to read an additional book of their choice. Returning the completed bookmark earns them a small reward for their effort.
“By rereading the same book, kids often overcome initial reading struggles,” Ford said. “We’ve started to see noticeable improvements in fluency and confidence from week to week.”
Adult caregivers are also a key part of the program’s success. Caregivers are asked to attend the first session for a brief orientation on expectations and how to support their child at home. After that, they aren’t required to stay in the room during sessions but must remain on the Youth Floor.
“The real work happens at home,” Ford said. “Caregivers play a huge role by reviewing sight words and reading together during the week.”
While this summer’s session is full, the library plans to continue offering similar programs in the future to support young readers year-round.