At the local libraries, the theme of their summer reading programs is "Be Creative" and to help families spark their imaginations, The Missourian is offering a contest throughout May to find out how kids express their creativity.
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It can be gardening, photography, painting, drawing or coloring pictures, writing poetry or short stories, woodworking, acting, singing, playing an instrument . . . there are few rules or restrictions.
"The great thing about this contest is that kids are not boxed in," said Dawn Kitchell, Educational Services director for The Missourian. "Creativity can be expressed in a vast number of ways.
"We hope the contest will spark ideas in parents for ways to be creative with their kids," she said. "We hope it will be a jumping-off point for parents to take the idea further."
With their entry, the kids can include a photo of them being creative, but they also need to have some sort of written component to explain the photo, said Kitchell.
The entries are due at The Missourian Monday, June 1. The paper will select the most creative entry, and that child will receive two tickets to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform Saturday, June 20, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Not since 1958 has the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, dubbed "America's Choir" by President Ronald Reagan, performed in Missouri.
'Beautiful Music'
The serial story at the heart of The Missourian's Summer Reading Program is "Beautiful Music," an eight-chapter historical fiction serialized story written by Missouri author Kay Hively.
It tells the story of young Violet Howard living on her family's farm in 1814 Vermont. For Violet, the war of 1812 seems far away. As the war draws nearer, so does a song that would later be of great importance, penned first as a poem during a nearby naval battle in Baltimore, Md.
As Violet learns the words of this patriotic song, she doesn't know that those words will one day become her country's national anthem. "Beautiful Music" tells the story of how a little tune, written in the midst of battle, became the greatest song in America.
Each chapter of the story will be published in an issue of the Weekend Missourian, between May 30-31 and July 18-19. With each chapter, there will be an icon for kids to clip out and paste on an entry form in the Summer Reader Booklet (which can be found in this issue of The Missourian.)
Kids who read all eight chapters and collect all eight icons can submit their completed form by July 25 to receive a free ticket to the 2009 Washington Town and Country Fair for Thursday, Aug. 6. That evening all of the children who participated will be honored at a Reader Recognition Ceremony from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Family Fun Center and a grand prize Reader Reward Basket will be awarded.
The kids also will be given a special button to wear each day they're at the Fair that will earn them a free soda.
During the event, as always, leaders from the community will read books to the children. Bank of Franklin County's Jerry Jasper is always a popular reader, Kitchell said.
"Jerry really enjoys reading to the kids and puts a lot of thought into making the experience fun."
Jasper somehow manages to find props that go right along with the title he's reading and gives them away to the kids.
"One year he read 'My Momma Likes to Say' and made a money tree to disprove the line in the book that says 'Money doesn't grow on trees.' And the year he read the book 'Peanut,' he found stuffed elephants and threw out packaged peanuts to the audience!"
Kitchell noted that last year participation in the Summer Reading Program was up 41 percent. A total of 230 children earned a ticket to the Fair, she said, and more than 300 children participated in the Reader Recognition Night. (Children under 5 don't earn a ticket because their admission is already free to the Fair, but they can participate in the program, and all young readers are welcome at the reading night at the Fair.)
The Missourian's Summer Reader Booklet, which includes the entry form, also can be picked up at the Bank of Franklin County, local libraries and The Missourian offices. They also have been distributed to some schools.
In addition to the entry form, the booklet includes the schedules for the Washington Public and Scenic Regional libraries' summer reading programs, the schedule for the Family Fun Center at the Washington Town and Country Fair and ideas on how to use the newspaper for creative outlets.
Camp Kid Scoop
Kid Scoop's summer version, Camp Kid Scoop, will center on creativity with its theme of "Let's Get Creative." The 12-week series of pages will include the same kind of games and puzzles kids enjoy from the regular Kid Scoop feature, but this year Camp Kid Scoop will have a new attraction - online components.
Camp Kid Scoop will feature a new topic each week for kids and families designed to get kids exploring their creative side with the newspaper and the Internet, said Kitchell. In the paper, a feature will provide a puzzle or game and links to take children online where they'll find such things as tips for kids on taking great photos, how to do creative gardening, cartooning tips, how to make musical instruments out of found objects, even outline how to put on a backyard carnival in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Kids can link to the Camp Kid Scoop Web page through emissourian.com. "This is one more way to keep kids reading over the summer, and with the online component, we're giving them some fun ways to use technology, too," said Kitchell.
Sponsor Is More Like a Partner
The Missourian's Summer Reading Program began back in 2001 with sponsorship from the Bank of Franklin County. Kitchell said sponsor doesn't begin to describe all that the bank does for the program; partner is more apt. "Their level of commitment is important," said Kitchell. "They don't just send us a check and have their logo put on the booklet. They are committed at every level - they help distribute the Summer Reader Booklets, they participate at the Reader Recognition Night by reading at the event, giving out prizes, providing our audio/visual equipment . . . They embrace the whole program."
Bank President/CEO Bob Dobsch gets excited about being involved in programs like The Missourian's Summer Reading Program because he knows the impact they have on children.
"Reading is essential in today's world," said Dobsch. "It's the building block of all learning.
"Reading allows kids to explore and experience things they may never be able to otherwise."
He noted that encouraging kids to read over the summer is particularly beneficial. It helps them maintain, maybe even improve, their vocabulary and reading skills during their time off from school. And they get to choose the material.
"Summer reading allows kids to read for fun," said Dobsch, "and hopefully develops their love of reading, which will serve them well in the future."
$5 Summer Subscription
To make participation in the Summer Reading Program accessible to as many children as possible, The Missourian every year offers a deeply discounted summer subscription rate for students. Cost is just $5 to receive every issue of the newspaper twice a week for 12 weeks - that's 21 cents a copy and includes delivery.
To sign up, call The Missourian at 636-239-7701.
Copies of The Missourian also are always available at local libraries. If kids miss a chapter or two of the serial story, they can visit the library to catch up. Between The Missourian's Summer Reading Program and the activities offered at the local libraries (see the Summer Reader Booklet for more details), kids have a variety of low-cost entertainment options this summer. All they need to do is "be creative."
"Creativity is free," said Kitchell. "It doesn't take any money to spark your imagination, and often those are some of the most valuable experiences."
