Anyone familiar with library summer reading programs may be surprised to learn that activities beyond reading count for Pikes Peak Library District’s (PPLD) annual 2024 Summer Adventure presented by Children’s Hospital Colorado. Why the change from traditional reading-only programs? While they emphasize reading, summer reading programs are designed to have both literacy and learning outcomes. To achieve this, it is important to encourage people of all ages to learn and stay engaged by reading, exploring, and creating.

Literacy and learning find their way into many aspects of your everyday life in ways you might not even notice. You might recognize that reading a book or writing a letter supports literacy and learning, but there are many other activities that work these same parts of the brain. Children, teens, and adults all benefit from doing these types of activities.

Enjoy a walk around your neighborhood and you might find yourself reading signs or observing local plants, insects, and animals. Take a moment to try out a new instrument and you will spend time reading music and learning how that instrument works. There are even opportunities for learning and literacy in your kitchen! Try making a new dish for dinner and you might read a recipe, learn a cooking technique, or find new flavor and texture combinations to add to your cooking toolkit.

Not everyone learns in the same way, and including a variety of options for learning in summer reading programs helps accommodate different learning styles. Having more flexible activity options available makes people more likely to participate who might not have given summer reading a second thought otherwise.

Another reason that Summer Adventure includes many different types of activities is so anyone can participate no matter what their reading ability. A child who has trouble sitting down to read for 30 minutes can choose to work their brain by creating sports equipment from recycled materials. Someone who feels overwhelmed about reading a full-length book can break up this seemingly daunting task with other activities like reading a biography from the library’s databases or trying out new music while taking a hike. These open activity options allow anyone to learn and keep their mind engaged by being creative or learning new skills, topics, and ideas.

Everyone benefits from participating in summer reading programs. Summer Adventure, which is traditionally a program for children and teens, is open to adults for the first time in celebration of 50 years of summer reading programs at PPLD. Whether you want to participate on your own or with your family, friends, and community, there is plenty to read, create, and explore this summer. Stop by any PPLD location or visit ppld.org/summer to learn how to register and find out about this year’s prizes.

Carla Bamesberger is the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for Pikes Peak Library District. Besides reading and touting all that the District offers, this Coloradoan enjoys spending time with her husband and pets, biking, crafting, and gaming. She can be reached at cbamesberger@ppld.org or by calling (719) 531-6333, x6259.