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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s about bringing community awareness of all ethnicities and backgrounds and just working together,\u201d she explained. \u201cFor our kick off to the program, we will have a small get-together at the library. Our first performance will be The Science Guys from Nashville and will get the kids excited about electromagnetism, which plays into our theme of bringing people together. We will also have a local author, local Emergency Management Services members, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gragg is also organizing a carnival party to round out the program\u2019s events. She has recruited several local government officials to appear at the event. They will be the willing and very wet participants in the dunking booth set up at the carnival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have the county mayor, Judd Matheny, on board, along with several other city officials,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is also looking for additional support and donations from the community. She welcomes the public and local businesses to participate in a program that\u00a0local kiddos get excited about. Gragg strives to make their time in the program special and memorable.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor events attended, they can put in for prizes,\u201d she said. \u201cWe also have bead necklaces. After they\u2019ve read for so many minutes, they get a bead and can keep adding to the necklace. We have some children that have necklaces from five and six years ago that they are still adding beads to. The kids love the beads, and they can even trade [them up] from simple beads to more fancy [ones]. It\u2019s great to see how excited they get about it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading is something that Gragg loves and enjoys sharing with readers of all ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel like the job was made for me because I love working with children,\u201d she said. \u201cI love event planning, being creative, and working alongside great people. We have a great team, and we\u2019re constantly adding to the programs we offer, such as the summer reading program.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is Gragg\u2019s second year with the Summer Reading Program. She said she hopes to help emphasize the importance of reading year-round while making it fun and memorable for her young patrons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPrograms such as these are critical because, during the summer, they lose a lot of the knowledge they retain during the school year,\u201d said Gragg. \u201cTo keep their brains working, reading is a great stimulant. We encourage as much reading as [possible] during the summer, so they have their best foot forward the next school year.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE LONG-AWAITED summer months are finally here, and kiddos are ready for fun in the sun. While it\u2019s essential to enjoy the time off, it\u2019s important to encourage them to keep reading over the summer.\u00a0 Summer reading is critical for helping kids maintain learning while school is out. It helps to foster social and emotional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":16012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/DSC_6129-1024x701.jpg\")
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