Harry Potter and other fictional characters may be working their magic to provide young West New Yorkers with a new way to keep cool this summer.
Children are getting back into reading, and the local library has seized on this trend to implement new reading and writing programs for kindergarteners through high school-aged kids.
Programs such as the Book Bug Club, which meets once a week, allows children to share their favorite books and participate in events in which they can earn weekly prizes. They can get swept away with their favorite Harry Potter books, or rediscover old classic tales like Treasure Island.
Of course, if just reading about these mythical lands and beasts is not enough, the library’s writing workshop puts the pen in youngsters’ hands.
Summer programming
“This is a first-time endeavor for me and for the library,” said Michael Richter, 27, library assistant and coordinator for the programs. “One of the things we want is to have more community involvement, and not just be seen as a resource center.”
Richter, who proposed the idea for the programs, wants parents and children to see the library as a place that offers great activities for the community, not just on an educational level, but a cultural level as well.
“I understand the need for something different and something more useful to the kids, not just what they have been given in school,” said Richter.
The writing workshop is a perfect example of Richter’s goal for the programs, which he initially began after noticing some of the difficulties older children were having on school reports throughout the year.
“We’re meeting once a week right now, but if this works out, then next year we will meet quite often,” said Richter. “We started meeting the first Wednesday of the month, which was July 7.”
Every week, he starts them off with a prop, a physical object they can describe as a way to jump start their imagination. They are also given a creative writing word list, and a weekly writing assignment.
Currently, there are 15 kids registered in the program ranging from sixth through the 12th grade. Some of them come on different weeks due to scheduling conflicts, but a few regularly attend the workshop.
“There are a lot more kids that are registered than attend [regularly] because it’s a Wednesday afternoon,” said Richter, who feels that those kids and parents who come regularly should be commended for their time and attention.
Kids in the writing workshop are evaluated on more than just their grammar, which in a way becomes more secondary to their storytelling.
“This is an opportunity for them to use their imagination and write without having someone tell them they can’t use a period here or there,” said Richter. “Toward the end, what I’m looking for is more than just an understanding of grammar and punctuation, but an understanding about how to use their ideas and their creativity.”
Richter’s main goal is to expand their imaginations in creative storytelling. Recently, he introduced his younger group to the art of writing a “hook,” which usually refers to the opening scene or paragraph that grabs the reader and convinces them to keep going.
“It’s an opportunity for them to think a little bit more, so they can write a hook for a work of fiction or a story that isn’t straightforward,” said Richter. “It’s pretty impressive when a young child can create imaginary events that make sense on paper.”
The writing workshop meets every Wednesday and is broken up into two groups. From 2 to 3 p.m., middle school grades from sixth to eighth meet on the second floor of the children’s section in the library. From 3 to 4 p.m., high school grades from ninth through 12th meet.
“The older group comes in later, and the work they have to do is centered around the same idea, but the focus in on a much higher level of ability,” said Richter.
Bookworms
The Book Bug Club, which focuses on principles of the outdoors such as insects and astronomy, meets every Friday at 10 a.m. and host scavenger hunts as well as other fun events.
The kids are normally asked to write book reviews on what they’ve read throughout the week, and are given prizes for the highest amount or the most difficult books read.
The book club has about 40 kids registered, ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade, with about 20 interchanging every week.
The parents of these kids have also shown great interest in the programs, and at times even ask for additional materials that would aid the children.
“I’m pretty happy how the parents have taken an interest in the book club and writing programs,” said Richter. “What I would hope is that through continued work with the programs and the kids, the library and community will be able to come together to produce more effective children’s programming.”
Both the book club and the writing workshops will be running until the beginning of the school year in September.
For more information, call the West New York Public Library at (201) 295-5135.