How Can "Summer Bridge" Help Your Family?

What comes to mind when you hear the words “Summer Bridge”?

A quaint covered bridge spanning a country stream? A game of “Bridge” enjoyed on a sunny back porch?

To many parents, educators and librarians, however, “Summer Bridge” is a series of inviting, colorful and educational workbooks designed to help students “bridge” their learning from one grade level to the next during summer vacation or any time review is needed. Books from the series are available at MidPointe Library.

Their goal, like that of MidPointe’s current Summer Reading Program, is to prevent “summer slide,” learning loss that students experience from the end of one school year to the beginning of the next.

A “Summer Bridge” introduction explains the objective of the book series : “... to prevent learning loss and keep your child thinking, doing, and creating throughout the summer...Practice pages review skills your child learned” in the previous grade and preview those for the next grade…”

“Real-world explorations” are encouraged, allowing children to use their imaginations, apply learning skills and also enjoy the outdoors.

Two related series, “Summer Bridge Activities” and “Original Summer Bridge Activities,” are also available at MidPointe.

Preventing “summer slide” is the major goal of MidPointe Library’s free and fun “Summer Reading Program” underway now through July 31 at each of its four locations : Middletown, West Chester, Trenton and Monroe. The theme is “Libraries Rock!”

Former teacher and now MidPointe librarian, Ally Doliboa knows first-hand the effects a summer break can have on schoolchildren.

“I started out as a teacher. Now I’m a librarian, seeing the effects of summer on children in elementary school,” said Ms. Doliboa, Youth Services Team Leader at MidPointe’s Middletown location. “It takes many weeks to regain the skills that students have lost [during the summer] -- which means learning new concepts gets pushed back due to focusing on old concepts that students forgot from the previous school year...

“The results of this ‘summer slide’ are shocking, but the good news is there’s a solution to this problem : reading during summer. While most students think they have the summer off, they can’t forget how important it is to pick up a book or two or more during that time.”

One of MidPointe’s most highly attended activities, “Summer Reading” encourages kids, teens and adults to visit their nearest MidPointe library, check out books or audiobooks of personal interest, keep track of their reading/listening and receive prizes for their accomplishments. They’re also invited to attend fun programs with special guests -- animal and human -- as well as live music concerts at all MidPointe locations. All activities are free.

For more information about MidPointe Library’s Summer Reading Program  and the Summer Bridge book series, go to www.midpointelibrary.org.

**From “Summer Bridge Explorations, Bridging Grades 3 to 4, Carson Dellosa Publishing Group, 2015, Page v.