Sen. Libous BOOKS program offers incentives
CHENANGO COUNTY – BOOKS (Books Open Opportunities for Kids to Succeed), a program funded by a state grant from Senator Tom Libous, will host a “Halfway There” party at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Arena Club in the Broome County Veterans’ Memorial Arena in downtown Binghamton.
BOOKS with Senator Libous has taken a unique position on reading programs for children for nearly 10 years. Rather than a reward for the number of books read, the program rewards readers for the time spent reading. The theroy in doing this is that it will persuade children to choose more challenging reading material and encourage struggling readers to read more.
According to the BOOKS program website, “It goes without saying that every parent wants their child to be successful in life, and the best way to do that is for your child to become a successful reader. Children who read well tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, get better jobs and become better earners.”
Reading Rewards is a year-round reading incentive program for preschool and school-aged children that provides them with free passes and gift cards to local museums, sporting events and businesses as rewards for time spent reading or being read to.
Some of the local sponsors – including the Colonia Movie Theater, Plaza Lanes, the Greene Bowlerdrome, the Kopernik Observatory, and McDonald’s – offer rewards as incentive to keep kids on track and engaged in reading throughout the year. The coveted final reward is a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble Booksellers.
Marcia Miller – who has served Regional Representative for the Sen. Libous BOOKS Program for more than 15 years – said, “Every library in Chenango County is a part of the BOOKS program; those libraries each get $300 annually in the form of a grant in which they use to invest into the children’s collections within the library.”
Each guest invited to the party read for more than 108 hours between June and December. This marks the halfway point in the 2013-2014 program and will encourage children to complete this year’s program by the May 31 deadline.
“This program is 100 percent free and comes at no cost to families,” said Miller.
Participants and their families will enjoy dinner and entertainment at the Arena Club along with visits by special guests. They’ll then attend the Binghamton Senators hockey game against the Rochester Americans.
Through BOOKS, Senator Libous also funds grants to local libraries for children’s programming and new children’s books. The program also sponsors BOOKS and Beyond: A Reader’s Theater at the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier, Broome County Airport and our very own Norwich Family YMCA.
In the Norwich YMCA, Books and Beyond program has furnished a television and DVD player, and books and bean bag chairs to give school-aged children the means to continue their reading success.
“Quite often I go in and see children sitting in the bean bags and reading, following along with the material. It's a good sight,” said Miller.
According to Miller, there are several children in Norwich that are attending the party that have achieved the 108-hour benchmark.
“We've already had three of them graduate the BOOKS program, which includes an intense six-step progressive program. This is a great program because it encourages children to read. Today's kids need incentive, and that's what this free program offers,” said Miller.
For more information on BOOKS, visit www.booksprogram.com.
BOOKS with Senator Libous has taken a unique position on reading programs for children for nearly 10 years. Rather than a reward for the number of books read, the program rewards readers for the time spent reading. The theroy in doing this is that it will persuade children to choose more challenging reading material and encourage struggling readers to read more.
According to the BOOKS program website, “It goes without saying that every parent wants their child to be successful in life, and the best way to do that is for your child to become a successful reader. Children who read well tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, get better jobs and become better earners.”
Reading Rewards is a year-round reading incentive program for preschool and school-aged children that provides them with free passes and gift cards to local museums, sporting events and businesses as rewards for time spent reading or being read to.
Some of the local sponsors – including the Colonia Movie Theater, Plaza Lanes, the Greene Bowlerdrome, the Kopernik Observatory, and McDonald’s – offer rewards as incentive to keep kids on track and engaged in reading throughout the year. The coveted final reward is a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble Booksellers.
Marcia Miller – who has served Regional Representative for the Sen. Libous BOOKS Program for more than 15 years – said, “Every library in Chenango County is a part of the BOOKS program; those libraries each get $300 annually in the form of a grant in which they use to invest into the children’s collections within the library.”
Each guest invited to the party read for more than 108 hours between June and December. This marks the halfway point in the 2013-2014 program and will encourage children to complete this year’s program by the May 31 deadline.
“This program is 100 percent free and comes at no cost to families,” said Miller.
Participants and their families will enjoy dinner and entertainment at the Arena Club along with visits by special guests. They’ll then attend the Binghamton Senators hockey game against the Rochester Americans.
Through BOOKS, Senator Libous also funds grants to local libraries for children’s programming and new children’s books. The program also sponsors BOOKS and Beyond: A Reader’s Theater at the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier, Broome County Airport and our very own Norwich Family YMCA.
In the Norwich YMCA, Books and Beyond program has furnished a television and DVD player, and books and bean bag chairs to give school-aged children the means to continue their reading success.
“Quite often I go in and see children sitting in the bean bags and reading, following along with the material. It's a good sight,” said Miller.
According to Miller, there are several children in Norwich that are attending the party that have achieved the 108-hour benchmark.
“We've already had three of them graduate the BOOKS program, which includes an intense six-step progressive program. This is a great program because it encourages children to read. Today's kids need incentive, and that's what this free program offers,” said Miller.
For more information on BOOKS, visit www.booksprogram.com.
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