More than 450 participate in reading program Published July 23, 2008 By Monte Miller 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Children from every corner of Scott Air Force Base have spent the summer enriching their minds through reading. The children have not just been reading, but they have also been winning prizes for their hard work. "This is tremendous,'" said base library director Sandy Koontz. "The kids are so excited and it's great to see them enjoy reading so much." The summer reading program theme this year was 'Get in the Game: Read!'. The participants ranged in age from preschool to high school and were all dependents of active duty military and Department of Defense civilians. "The program had several purposes," Mrs. Koontz said. "It promotes literacy and life long learning and encourages kids to find enjoyment in books. It is also designed to keep kids reading over the summer and increase their reading skills." Mrs. Koontz added the program is essential to keep the children's reading skills current during the summer when other activities trump reading and learning, so they will be sharp when school starts back up in about a month. In addition to reading, the program offered many activities almost everyday during June and July. For the teenagers there were trivia and a read-a-thon, and for the younger crowd there were age appropriate storytimes, crafts and songs. Other special events were held in conjunction with the summer reading program that offered great entertainment and drew large crowds including a magician, the Babaloo Music Show and visits from Izzy the Grizzlie and the St. Louis Cardinals' mascot Fredbird. "We are always trying to outdo ourselves each year," Mrs. Koontz said. "The entire program is paid for with sponsorship funds and the donors have been wonderful." This year, the program was sponsored by more than 15 outside benefactors. The incentives for children to read are tallied by the number of minutes spent reading. Parents are encouraged to get involved and record their child's reading. Participants earned points and prizes for every three hours of reading accumulated. "Without the parents backing, the kids aren't going to do it," Mrs. Koontz said. Mrs. Koontz has been at the base library for eight years and each year the program has grown. Last year the kids racked up a total of 302,376 minutes of reading during the program. That number is even more impressive when you consider that a year consists of 525,600 minutes. Again, they hope to top that mark this year. A special Summer Reading awards night is scheduled for July 31 in Rockwell Hall at 6:30 p.m. to recognize the top readers in the program. Mrs. Koontz added there will be other reading programs coming up including preschool storytimes and the Hooked on Books Club for elementary school aged kids.