The Dare County Library has announced that registration for its 2022 Summer Reading Program, “Oceans of Possibilities,” will begin this week.
Registration for the program begins on Monday, June 20, 2022, at the Kill Devil Hills Library as well as the Manteo Library. Registration for the program at the Hatteras Library begins on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
About the Summer Reading Program
The Dare County Library’s Summer Reading Program—which is free for participants and designed to be flexible and fun for children of all ages—helps area children maintain the reading skills they developed throughout the school year, so they will be better prepared to enter the classroom once again in the fall.
According to the Dare County Library, when children are out of school and not reading on a regular basis, they lose an average of one month’s worth of instruction—a phenomenon often referred to as “the summer slide.” The Dare County Library encourages local parents to help their children avoid experiencing “the summer slide” by participating in the free, fun and educational Summer Reading Program.
The program will reward children who read a total of 40 days during the 54 days of the program by providing them with a brand-new free book to keep, courtesy of the Dare County Library Foundation. The days that children spend reading throughout the summer are tracked at each Dare County Library location, and the books that each child reads as part of the program can either be Dare County Library books that they have checked out or books from home.
The Dare County Library’s Summer Reading Program also encourages children to participate in a variety of weekly programs that are scheduled to take place at each library location, but it is also flexible in order to allow children to participate in the events and activities of their choosing. Children and their parents can stop by the Dare County Library branch in their area during business hours to report and record their reading achievements.
Although the Dare County Library’s Summer Reading Program is open to children of all ages, preschool-aged children are invited to enroll in a special “Oceans of Possibilities” Summer Reading Program that is designed to improve their reading and listening skills. Parents of preschool-aged children who participate in this special program will have the opportunity to track the books they read with their preschoolers in a reading log, and the children will receive a sticker for each day that they read or are read to.
Registration Kickoff Events for the 2022 Summer Reading Program
To celebrate the launch of the 2022 Summer Reading Program, the Dare County Library will host a series of free kickoff registration events for children of all ages at each of its three branches.
Kill Devil Hills: The Kill Devil Hills Library has two exciting kickoff events planned, the first of which will take place on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. During this event, there will be “Oceans of Possibilities” as children go cruising around the library and taking part in several fun activities. The Kill Devil Hills Library will hold a repeat of this program and second Summer Reading Program signup event on Thursday, June 23, 2022, from 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Manteo Library: The Manteo Library’s kickoff event is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, and will feature interactive music performed by local band Nature Out Loud from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Craft activities will be available, and a library scavenger hunt will also be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Hatteras Library: The Hatteras Library’s programming will begin with a kickoff event that will be held on Thursday, June 23, 2022, featuring a visit from OBX Lizard Land and the organization’s live creatures. Two programs will be held at the Hatteras Library: one at 10 a.m., which will also be repeated at 11:15 a.m. Registration for the Dare County Library’s Summer Reading Program—as well as crafts and a library scavenger hunt—will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
All of the programs are free and designed to be enjoyed by children of all ages.
July and August Summer Reading Program Events and Activities
In addition to the kickoff events, several other Summer Reading Program events are scheduled to take place throughout July and August, including additional visits from OBX Lizard Land and their incredible creatures, fish printing, a “Bermuda Triangle” escape room, a “Titanic” escape room, a Lego-building contest, simple science experiments, dual-language bingo games to keep children’s Spanish knowledge fresh, learning all about bioluminescent creatures and a “Make Your Own Light-up Angler Fish” activity, as well as visits from the Coastal Studies Institute and North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island.
The 2022 Summer Reading Program will end with a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) finale that will be held at each of the Dare County Library’s three locations.
For more information about the Dare County Library’s 2022 Summer Reading Program, “Oceans of Possibilities”—including a calendar of events—please click the button below or contact the Dare County Library branch in your area at the following numbers.
- Manteo: 252-473-2372
- Hatteras: 252-986-2385
- Kill Devil Hills: 252-441-4331
Funding for the Summer Reading Program
Major funding for the Dare County Library’s 2022 Summer Reading Program comes from the Dare County Library Foundation, which was established in 2002 to enhance library services and collections.
The mission of the Dare County Library Foundation is to improve the quality of services that the Dare County Library provides to the community. By securing resources to support library programs and projects not normally met by public funding, the library can grow and better meet the needs of the community.