Oregon Live – Tony Hernandez
“For parents looking to keep their young learners busy during the holiday break, the Multnomah County Library has recently launched three new programs for elementary school children. “Learning doesn’t have to stop,” said Mandy Tuthill, library school age services supervisor. “Learning is really fun.” The programs look to encourage early learners by giving away books and providing reading kits to check out and return three weeks later. Another initiative encourages students to read and do hands-on activities such as nature exploration and building robots. On Monday, officials began distributing more than 500 Welcome to Reading kits that contain five books in color-coded bags at various county branches. The goal is to provide a simplified manner for parents to find their child’s reading level and then check out a variety of books at that level, Tuthill said. Each bag contains suggestions for parents to monitor their children’s reading and to gauge if the books are too easy or too hard.”(more)