Summer reading begins June 1 online

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The annual Summer Reading Program at the Colleton County Memorial Library (CCML) will be offered online this year June 1 through August 1. Theme is “Imagine Your Story.”
The Children’s Department will offer two weekly programs on YouTube, the library’s website (colletonlibrary.org) and its Facebook page for the first Virtual Summer Reading Program (VSRP) for ages birth–12 years. These programs will include Storytimes with Miss Shiela on Wednesdays and guest performers on Thursdays. Storytimes with Miss Shiela will feature a 2-voice series with guest readers each week. “This is something new that we are doing that will be fun to watch and causes children to ‘Imagine a Story’,” Shiela Keaise, children’s librarian, said.
Children can record the books they read or listen to, as well as programs they watch, on a free app called “READsquared.” Parents or adults will need to download the program, create an account and then record their summer reading activities. The only requirement to sign up is a library card. “Because having fun isn’t hard, when you’ve got a library card,” said Keaise. Plus every child who signs up on READsquared gets a free book, available with curbside pick-up weekly on the Bookmobile that will be stationed in front of the library. Any child who cannot come to the CCML weekly pickup can get completion packets toward the end of the VSRP from July 30-August 3.
VSRP participants can also show the programs watched by subscribing to the library’s YouTube channel and by clicking “Like It” or “Dislike It.”
“This will be one way of seeing how many people are watching our weekly programs and if they like it,” said Keaise. The other way to get credit for watching the CCML programs is by putting the VSRP code (that will be included in every Children’s Department YouTube program) in the READsquared program box when asked.
Children can accumulate prizes weekly. When children read one or two books daily, listen to Hoopla or Overdrive (Jasmine Digital) and watch a program per day, they can record their activities in Readsquared and earn up to 200 points per week, 40 points per day. Prizes will be given out through curbside pickup provided by the Mobile Library. The Mobile Library will be stationed in the front of the library for prizes available each week.
Children can also receive a prize for submitting a 10-second video of what they are reading and doing this summer. Send all 10-second videos to Miss Shiela’s email at skeaise@colletoncounty.org.
There won’t be end-of-program awards this year, but every child can qualify to earn nine prizes at the end of the summer. Children who are visiting in Colleton County for two weeks-one month can still earn 2-4 prizes if they sign up on READsquared and read/watch our programs.
“Children who record their books read and programs watched in READsquared each week during our Virtual Summer Reading Program for the entire nine weeks (June 1–August 1) will receive a free t-shirt (while supplies last) or a medal and prize that will be given out from July 30-August 3,” said Keaise.
Awards given include:
Week 1: Imagine Your Story Balloon
Week 2: Pencil and Pad
Week 3: Star Wand
Week 4: Imagine Your Story Plastic Cup
Week 5: Coloring Book/Crayons
Week 6: Metallic Unicorn Headband
Week 7: Wizard Hat
Week 8: Rainbow Coil Spring
Week 9: Grab Grabber
Virtual programs include:

June 1: Magic Purple Circle with Darion McCloud
June 3: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Carl Coffin
June 4: Big Mama’s Fairtailes with Lighthouse Theater Kids
June 10: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Darion McCloud
June 11: Bright Star Theatre: Once Upon A Time
June 17: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Michelle Strickland
June 18: Celebrating 20 Years with Queen Quet, chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation
June 14: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Queen Quet
June 25: Paint This with Brother Nizar
July 1: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Brother Nizar
July 2: Making Math Fun with math queen Magdline Monroe
July 8: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Magdline Monroe
July 9: Big Mama’s Fairytales with Lighthouse Theater Kids
July 15: Storytime with pianist Carolyn Burns, Fairytales Songs that Tell a Story
July 18: Paint This with Brother Nizar
July 22: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Rhonda Kierpiec
July 23: Chief Terrapin Shares His Story
July 29: Storytime with Miss Shiela and Chief Terrapin
July 30: Imagining Your Story with Raggs
August 1: Universal Nerd Presents “The Heroes Story”
For information, call the library, 843-549-5621.