13 - Summer Reading

In this episode of Rooted & Rising, Andrew McDonald sits down with Katie Day, K–8 librarian, to talk about how families can keep kids engaged, curious, and learning throughout the summer months.

The conversation explores the importance of reading beyond the school year, what the “summer slide” really means, and how small, consistent habits can make a lasting difference. Katie shares practical, realistic ideas for families: how to encourage reading without turning it into a chore, how to help reluctant readers reengage, and how to create an environment where curiosity can grow naturally.

Together, they reflect on the role of stories in forming young minds and why fostering a love of reading is about more than academic success, it’s about helping students discover, imagine, and grow.

It’s a helpful and hopeful conversation for families looking to make the most of summer while keeping learning alive.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to Rooted in Rising, a short podcast where we highlight the people, programs, and moments that make Billings Catholic schools special. Each episode we'll spend just a few minutes sharing one story from across our system. Something worth noticing, worth celebrating, and worth building on. I'm Andrew McDonald, and I'm glad you're here. So it's pretty, pretty straightforward.

SPEAKER_02 0:31

And I'm like, how do you not got this, Katie? You you know this for 25 years.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

You absolutely have. So can you start by just introducing yourself and sharing your role in the school?

SPEAKER_03 0:43

Yes, my name is Katie Day. I'm the K through eight librarian here at St. Francis.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

How long have you been doing that?

SPEAKER_03 0:51

I've been in library for 10 years. Before that, I've taught first, second, and third grade. And at another school outside of Billings, for four years, I was also a K through three reading specialist.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

See, you've totally got this. Tons of experience with it. You've got the background. You're the perfect person for us to talk to about these things.

SPEAKER_03 1:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

For people who may not have been in the library recently, what do you love most about that space?

SPEAKER_03 1:17

Oh, it starts with the kids and the excitement. This has been a really fun month because we have brought in ladybugs and, of course, have read about ladybugs. We've brought in butterflies, we've brought in ant farms, and then our frogs have are with us all school year long. And I I get really excited when the kids are standing in line and they have their books and they start talking to each other about the stories they're about to check out. If you've ever stood in line with kindergartners or first graders, it's pretty exciting when they have their who would win books and they're just all excited about which animal is gonna win. Or, you know, this is my first year to do middle school, and I was I was really amazed about how much these kids could explain their their story to me and how they were willing to at least reach out and try and grow in their reading. I already have my book for the summer. It's gonna be a dog's way home, and that's simply because a sixth grade boy came into the library and he slapped that book on my desk, and and he reads lots of different genres, and he said, the best book I've ever read.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Yes.

unknown 2:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:42

So it's fun. That's what I love about library.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

It is really fun when you see kids get excited about reading and stories and the power that these stories have to kind of change their perspective, right? Do you have a lot of follow-up conversations with students after they've read a book, or is that kind of a rare occurrence when a kid recommends one to you?

SPEAKER_03 3:00

You know, with the older kids, it's much easier to have those follow-up. You know, I I ask what you once in a while I ask, what did you like about that book? That's that's more of a rare occurrence. Our conversation is what book they're gonna pick out.

unknown 3:16

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:17

And they'll tell me if they don't like it, or I say, you know, you get 25 pages into this book, bring it back. Don't force yourself into reading something you're not enjoying.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

I wish a librarian would have told me that because I still suffer through books. If I start when I have to finish it, I can't stop.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

And sometimes it takes a really long time then once I get moving. So I wish I would have had somebody like you say that to me when I was younger. But libraries have changed a lot over the years, right? So, how do you see the role of a school library today?

SPEAKER_03 3:47

Libraries have changed a lot over the years. They used to be that very quiet space where you don't talk and you get your book and you sit down and read quietly. Whereas now books need to be fun and enjoyable. And it's not just reading, although reading is the main focus, it's a conversation. Conversation is really important when we're talking about stories, and that's how we grow in our reading too. On when on different Friday mornings during the winter, they'll bring chess club in. Two teachers in the system will sponsor chess club. And I'm gonna put a plug in here right now. On Wednesday mornings during that same winter season, I'd kind of like to do a Lego club. I know we have Lego robotics, but sometimes kids just like to come in and create. Library is a safe place. It's really important that it's safe. It's safe to grow, it's safe to be creative. And so if anyone has any extra Legos that they don't use at their house anymore, we would love to use them.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

We've talked about that a couple times on this this podcast, right? That idea of creating these safe spaces for kids to be themselves. How do you do that in a in a library setting?

SPEAKER_03 5:03

Well, library is about free choice and it's also about growing. And so I try and use my experience from the classroom and from being a reading specialist and then switching to the librarian rule and try and balance that out. A safe place would be they get free choice. And then I also ask that they find a book that they feel comfortable reading. And it's it's about choice. You know, a a book that one student is comfortable reading might not be the same safe choice for someone else. I d it's non-judgmental.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think that idea of growth you just hit on, and we're coming up on summer, and when we think about summer, right, it's there's freedom and there is choice. But but we also often hear about the summer slide. Right, what does that really mean for students?

SPEAKER_03 5:57

Okay, the summer slide is something we really need to pay attention to. You know, different statistics show that a student, if they don't read over the summer, can lose 22% of what they learn. So that could be up to two to three months that they've lost, that they work so hard to achieve. And you know, that's cumulative, which means that by sixth grade, they could be two years behind in their reading if if we don't jump in there and help them. And as a family, we all need to work together to help these kids grow.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Yeah. So what are some realistic ways families can keep kids reading then over the summer?

SPEAKER_03 6:36

You know, starting with the younger ages, we read to our kids. We have at any age, you have books just laying around all over the house. You know, for my kids, I used to plant books just on the coffee table to see what they would do. So we read to kids, we read with kids, and then they begin to read independently. You know, our community is very strong at supporting literacy. There's different activities throughout Billings that kids can participate in, which we've talked about in library this week, and it was great, kids would raise their hands and say, I did that. So, for example, I just talked to the Nothing Bunt store yesterday, and if you go in there, you can get a sheet of paper, a sign-off, a parent sign-off sheet, and they want you to read 400 minutes a month, which is not that big a deal. You know, you're looking at 15 to 20 minutes a day, and this is a 12-month program. And if you bring it back to their store, you get a little bun cake. There's also Reading Rocks that starts June 8th, and it's a group of people that meet at different parks throughout the week, and kids get to choose a free book, they get read to, they have different activities. Barnes Noble, if you go back into the kids section, there's a sign-off sheet, you record what you're reading during the summer. In August, you go back to Barnes Noble and you get to choose a free book off from one of their shelves. And you know, the last one, and we talked about the change in libraries, the Billings uh Public Library. There's a registration starting June 2nd, where they have a whole program where you sign up, you read, you record, you might journal a little bit, um, and you work towards prizes and badges at the library. But that particular library, they have a great story time. You know, kids can also go in and do steam activities. This Friday, I think it's this Friday, they're bringing in shelter cats at four o'clock. You can read with a cat. They're also doing paint with dirt. I was reading up on last night where they grind it, they use Montana dirt and they grind it down and they mix it with acrylic paint so you can go do an art project. There's lots of activities. I would just say go online to our Billings Public Library and look at their calendar events. Kids will not get bored. There's even game time, they pull out the game boards. So we just need to keep kids active and involved.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Yeah, the public library does an incredible job of some of those summer reading things. I can attest to that. You go online and sign up for their program, and then you have access to this whole app, and it's got things like outdoor scavenger hunts in addition to reading, right? And little family activities and QAs that you can ask your kids or that they have to interview a parent about, tons of different activities from them. And they do a wonderful job with those community events. They just had the the library con last week, and there was a bunch of folks dressed up at the library, a bunch of vendors down there and books and artwork on display. It was awesome.

SPEAKER_03 9:51

Yeah, and you know, they also will appeal to teens. And you know, that's your tough area because if we can get kids reading and comfortable and confident by third grade, we're on a great path. Now, if we haven't quite achieved that fourth grade on, it gets a little tougher. Middle school students, sometimes it's harder for them to find what their interest is. And so the biggest, the biggest thing I can say about that is they their reading needs to be an experience, not a chore. We have to take the stress and boredom out of reading, especially with our middle schools, middle schoolers, and go with what they're interested in. I mean, that's true for all ages, but our middle schoolers to reach them, they need to be reading what they're interested in.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Do you do you have like recommendations for a reluctant reader in middle school?

SPEAKER_03 10:47

It kind of depends upon the genre. You know, when they come in and they're ones, there's some that, you know, most of them have an idea what they want to do. Some of them just want to be told what to read because that's what they're used to in the classroom. And so that's when we start having conversations. What's your favorite book you used to read? You know, let's talk about genres. Do you like mysteries? Do you like fantasy? Do you like more action books? It's I think it's important to have those conversations because then they get the choice. It's not what a teacher or a librarian said, read this. Now, I do have some favorites. If we're still stuck, I'll start bringing out my favorites. Like three times lucky if you want a mistream, or your Charlie Throne Thorn, or your John Grisham has some the accused. That was one of my favorites for middle school. Or you bring in your fantasy. Oh, you've read all of Harry Potter. Well, this student suggested you read Fablehaven, which is also on my summer list, too. So, and sometimes kids, their peers, make really good recommendations. Alan Gratz is a great one for reluctant readers.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Yeah, too. Yeah, those are great. The Percy Jackson series, I think, can get a lot of people hooked into right at the beginning of that age group, right? Like first grade. What does good summer reading look like? Does it have to be books?

SPEAKER_03 12:15

No, it doesn't have to be books. And and that's where free choice comes in. You know, as a teacher, I would suggest you do a mixture. But if you're gonna take if if the all they've done is heavy reading literature books, you might want to go towards graphic novels. You might want to go towards appropriate magazines, you might want to do the how-to books, you might want to get out the menus books and start cooking, you might want to do the experiment books and start having fun with science, you know, and sometimes if if they're stuck and we're trying to find the book, maybe you go the backdoor route. For example, if if a if a kid is more into science or math or wants to go that direction, or it's just more hands-on, why not make a volcano out of clay, put some vinegar in there, and throw in some baking soda and food coloring and create that volcano and have fun with it. And then maybe, oh, I see you had a great time with volcano. Let's let's go and find a book you're interested in about volcanoes or go study the island of Hawaii or or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:29

You know, play tectonics. Maybe they'll get into that.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Take the back route through, do a cooking one. You know, yesterday in the library, it was birthday platter day. And so we read a book about cupcakes because that makes me think of birthdays, but why not bake cupcakes?

SPEAKER_00 13:48

Yeah, that idea of cooking, that's an awesome one. I haven't heard that one before, right? Like pull a cookbook out and actually like a a lot of cookbooks now even have like descriptions at the beginning of sections that talk about the food or like the region that it's from. Like, what a cool way to explore the world with uh with somebody that's into traveling or cooking, or maybe they don't know that they're into those things, but it brings that reading with with the like the experience, the taste, the sensation experience of a place.

SPEAKER_03 14:14

Study the country, make a paper mache globe. Have the bottom line is if you want kids to be lifelong readers, they have to enjoy the experience. It has and they have to have some intrinsic motivation. It has to be their choice.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Well, you you you that kind of sounds to me like curiosity, right? Like they have to have some kind of curiosity about something. And so how do you how do you recommend parents like nurture that curiosity in in kids? All kids are curious, right? But how do we how do we nurture that?

SPEAKER_03 14:48

Well, we provide experiences, we have conversation. You know, at a young age, you read all kinds of different books to kids. You read fiction, you read nonfiction, you have experiences. They can go to different camps, they can be exposed to other kids. That that's how I would say create the experiences.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Yeah, I think that's a great, a great reminder, right? That like everything we do can be an experience if we if we just engage our kids in those conversations too and chat with them. Like, what were your thoughts on this? Like, what did you like? What did you not like? Yeah. That's great. What are some simple habits that really make a difference?

SPEAKER_03 15:30

Starting early, reading with your kids. I think kids want your attention and they want to know, they want your time. They, you know, it's a bonding time. Start early. Talk to your kids, have fun conversations. Here's an idea. At the dinner table, you have a bowl with different conversation topics in it, and you put that piece of paper in the bowl and they draw it out, and that's what you have conversations, and it's amazing where those go. And then something I think I mentioned is I planted books around the house. There were different topics on our coffee table, or even yesterday I got a book in the mail for our library and it was about the space station. I just left it on the counter to see if any of either of my kids would even touch it, glance at it. And I noticed this morning before I left to school it had been moved. So somebody looked at it. You know, somebody that, you know, by the way, those who was, whois series, those are awesome for kids.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:36

Yeah. And they can't, I what I noticed about our St. Francis kids is they're really into history. They're they're really into biographies, they're into animals, and those who was, whereis books, I noticed that there are even more graphic novels like the Nathan Hale books that are coming out, and it's a relaxed way to learn about history. Some of those history books can be a little dry, and maybe you only read the captions, but there's there's different ways to get the information to grow and and make them just want to learn something.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Yeah, one of the things I didn't hear you say is enforce like you're gonna sit there and read for 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_03 17:22

No.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

No, not a good idea.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

I no, it should not. I I think you create boundaries.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 17:29

And I think there is a time to read. And whether it be at night or whether it be during the day, there is an allotted time of day, but I'm not saying how much. I mean, we know 15 to 20 minutes is the standard. But books are different sizes, so I can't tell you exactly how many books to read. You know, I read a study yesterday about it should be five books in a summer. Well, that that depends upon the book too. And and once again, if it's drawn by interest, there might be an experience during the summer. You go on a trip and you hit the the caverns, you know, there there might spark something. You go to Yellowstone Park and you might be pulling a book out about Scat, right? And you know, I it just depends. But I will not say exactly how much because we know there's a certain boundary, but after that, it's it you you go with the kid.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

If families took just one thing away from this conversation for the summer, what would you hope it was?

SPEAKER_03 18:37

Screen time.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:39

Screen time completely. I know video games are fun, I know they're at my house too, but it you you gotta put a time limit. I know phones are big, I know they're big for me, but I've set the timer on my phone, and when it goes off, I'm done. You know, that's it. That's it. And and even, you know, when my kids were under 18, I could even do some more, what do you call it, put boundaries, certain locks. Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Yeah, like parental controls.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

I think there's enough information and research out there that social media about social media and the stress, anxiety, and depression, you know, that's a whole nother podcast.

SPEAKER_00 19:24

It's like a series, it's a podcast series for sure.

SPEAKER_03 19:27

But if we could get kids to relax and to have experiences outside the screen, I I think I think that would really help them grow.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Just silence, even. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 19:41

Like be at peace.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

When are when are we ever just at in in silence? Yes. My my kids think it's a foreign concept, right? Like they have to have something, whether it's music or a podcast or a TV in the background, right? Something is going. And there you're always stimulated. I think so much of us live our lives like that. And I think that's why sometimes it's hard for younger kids to really get into reading because they're uncomfortable with just quiet, right? Like, how often do we really get to experience that?

SPEAKER_03 20:07

And that's still time. I would agree. You know, maybe build a tent in the living room, put some pillows in there and a flashlight, and just relax. How often do we relax? Because I can tell you at my house, we are go, go, go, go. It doesn't stop.

unknown 20:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

So summer can be a good opportunity for us to practice relaxation. Yes. And maybe some silence.

SPEAKER_03 20:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

What's one simple piece of encouragement you'd offer to parents heading into the summer?

SPEAKER_03 20:33

Stay positive. Be happy. Make plans. Enjoy your family. Create, sit, sit down together and you know, whatever's within your means, create experiences, whether it's here in town going to Lake Elmo, whether it's going to Yellowstone Park, explore our state. Our state is pretty cool. It's a great place. You could go to Ringing Rocks, you could go to Lewis and Clark Cavern. I would also say have conversation. You know, enjoy visiting with each other, learn about each other's likes. I mean, kids like to hear about their parents' own past and experiences. I guess, and and then just enjoy each other as a family.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Yeah. Yeah, it's a great piece of advice. Well, Katie, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. I think that was super enlightening, really informative. I enjoyed the conversation so much.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

Oh, wonderful. And I will put in in this week and next week's Friday newsletter will be the information that about different opportunities in our community.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Awesome. So uh this might come out after those weeks, right? So just go and look back at the the last two week newsletters for St. Francis. Yes and all that stuff will be there. Yes. Awesome. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 21:54

You're welcome. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Thanks for listening. Rooted in rising. We'll be back next week with another story worth celebrating.