To access the Smith Library Destiny Catalog, click here.

Why it is important to read aloud to your child

According to the Family Literacy Foundation, the many benefits of reading aloud with children are:

Children’s self esteem grows as they experience the security of having a parent or other caring person read aloud with them.
Children experience increased communication with parents and other family members.
Children are introduced to new concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, and alphabet, in a fun, age appropriate way.
Children build listening skills, vocabulary, memory, and language skills.
Children develop imagination and creativity.
Children learn information about the world around them.
Children develop individual interests in special subjects like dinosaurs, cats, or cars.
Children learn positive behavior patterns and social values.
Children learn positive attitudes towards themselves and others.
CHILDREN LEARN THE JOY OF READING!

Excerpt from American Library Association1996–2016 American Library Association

You are welcome to visit the library for books to read with your children.

Are you logging your reading time into Beanstack?

Every month we have a new reading challenge! The goal is to read 600 minutes or more! 600 minutes equates to 20 minutes per day (for most months). Every month we are seeing more growth and more students meeting or exceeding the goal. Top readers receive a small prize and public recognition for their efforts.

If you missed the email on how to log in or how to get the free Beanstack app here is the information:
School-Flyer – Family

Keep your eyes and ears open for new challenges all year long! We’ll have more school wide challenges and classroom challenges for the 2022 – 2023 school year. But your child can just log their time because they want to know how long they have read. Badges are earned along the journey. Do you have family read aloud time? Log the time, it counts! Do you listen to audiobooks? Log the time, it counts! When I read to classes in the library I log time for each student! So many ways to earn badges and it’s fun!

Young Reader’s Choice Award Junior Nominees

The Young Reader’s Choice Award Nominees are chapter books selected by the Pacific Northwest Library Association. It is the oldest children’s choice award in the U.S. and Canada. Thousands of students throughout Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta read the YRC nominees. Students in grades 4-6 who challenge themselves to read two or more of the nominees have the privilege of voting for the best book. At Smith we encourage them to join the YRCA Beanstack Challenge to log the books they read as well as the minutes read. This year we will have small group book clubs for students to join to discuss the books as they are read. Here are the 2023 nominees:

Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron
City Spies by James Ponti
When you Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
The Barren Grounds by David Robertson
Wink by Rob Harrell
When Stars are Scattered (Graphic Novel) by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Montana Treasure State Picture Book Award

This award was started in Missoula in 1990 and has been a popular activity in school libraries ever since. All over the state teachers and librarians read the 5 nominated titles to their classes, grades K-3. Children enjoy voting for their favorite! Every book has a related literature activity for students to complete. The lessons are collected and put into a booklet for students to refer to when it comes time to vote. Be sure to ask your student to share their booklet and their favorite book. The winning book is announced in April. The nominees for 2023 are: