This Summer, Slide into the Nashville Public Library

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Lindsey Patrick NPLNashville Moms Blog is partnering with the Nashville Public Library to promote literacy and learning among babies and children in our city. As a part of this partnership, NPL is sponsoring a two-part giveaway of some awesome books—today’s giveaway is for school age children.

Our guest poster, Lindsey Patrick, is the Children’s Services Manager of Nashville Public Library in Nashville, TN. She has worked in youth services in St. Louis, Memphis, and Sacramento. This fall, she’ll begin teaching Children’s Literature at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Lindsey has an ironic “sshhh…” tattooed on her index finger, but she is happy to report that she never uses it with her patrons.


Have you heard of the Summer slide?

Summer slide is a not-so-fun part of Summer vacation – one that can set your children back academically. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with something that might be found in a playground or pool. It’s not even the name for those homemade rides you build in the yard with a tarp, soap, and a sprinkler.

Instead, summer slide describes something much more serious. Educators use this term for seasonal learning loss, which children can experience if they stop reading once school lets out for summer.

Think about it—while they’re in school, our kids are consistently engaged in building math, reading, writing, and problem-solving skills. So what happens during summer break if they don’t use these “mind muscles” for months at a time?

They can lose up to three months’ worth of classroom skills. What’s worse, this loss compounds every year. That means some kids begin each school year more and more behind their peers.

The good news is that summer slide is preventable, and Nashville Public Library is here to help!

To help local parents avoid Summer slide, Nashville Public Library is offering a free program called “NPL Summer Challenge.”  We hope you and your little ones will join us.

NPL Summer Challenge is free, local, and something families can do together.

To join NPL Summer Challenge, sign up online (http://www.library.nashville.org/summerchallenge/) or at any of our 21 NPL locations across town. The program is totally free and open to people of all ages; all you need is a free Nashville Public Library card!

NPL Summer Challenge is a game—you earn points for completing learning activities. For example, you and your children could enjoy a free magic, juggling or “mad science” show at the library, visit a local park, check out library books, or write a poem.

You win prizes for earning points—including discounted passes to local attractions. We’ll also give away a grand prize: a trip to the famous Dollywood theme park in East Tennessee!

As you compete individually or as a family, every NPL branch library is competing as a community as well. The points you earn will also help your local branch library reach its points goal. Every branch location that reaches its goal will throw an end-of-summer party for the neighborhood.

What’s more, if Nashville hits a citywide goal of 500,000 points, NPL will offer fine amnesty for one week after the program concludes. Everyone who participated will be eligible.

Prizes are great, but the best reasons to participate in NPL Summer Challenge are the “other” goodies you and your children will win: family fun time, improved academic skills, and an appreciation for lifelong learning.

We are going strong with summer learning at Nashville Public Library. Please join us soon!


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Our friends at the Nashville Public Library have generously donated five fabulous children’s book for one of our readers! These books look like so much fun that I’m going to have to find a couple of them for my own nine year old…and for my own Summer reading fun!

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6 COMMENTS

  1. Great giveaway – and thanks, Nashville Public Library! My fav children’s chapter book (right now) is The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I think my favorite from my childhood is Matilda. Thanks for coordinating, Meg!

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