Youth will practice their lessons with young children attending summer day camp. In the fall, teens will bring their reading program to neighborhood schools and local youth programs. This is a great opportunity for limited-income teens to develop and practice leadership skills while helping young children in their neighborhoods become better readers. Members from three Macon County 4-H clubs partner with adults to teach, lead games and crafts, listen to reading and memory work, serve a simple meal, and direct music and drama activities. However, most don't get much practice reading, and I think the new materials and the books they get to take home will help improve their skills.
Summer can be a great time for learning.
The Adair County 4-H Youth Council will hold summer day camps across the county with themes of nature, space, and cultural awareness. The day camps will include hands-on learning experiences along with reading experiences. In addition, the elementary students will be encouraged to read at home through an incentive program in which they can earn books. Any books that are not awarded as part of the incentive program will be donated to local libraries to add to their children's nonfiction collections. Unfortunately, many children don't have a positive learning environment for the summer and tend to lose some of their reading skills.