Summer is Comin'… (insert Jaws theme song here!)

It’s getting to that point in the year where I have to seriously start thinking about summer reading, not that it hasn’t been happening for months now already.  We had our first school visit yesterday – at the middle school, after the kids have spent the last week and a half in testing.  Yep, it was nuts.  But, we tend to encourage the nuttiness a little bit with our trivia game.  We invite a few students up front to compete as well as offering true/false questions that the kids can answer from their seats (stand up if you believe the statement is true, stay seated if you believe the statement is false).  The kids absolutely love competing with each other and there are usually huge rounds of cheers when they answer correctly.
So now it begins, school visits over the next few weeks, program planning for the next three months, adding the events to the calendar hoping I don’t mess dates, times and locations up, and making sure everyone is ready for the onslaught of children when school is dismissed for the last time this school year.
I see summer as my version of a marathon – it’s definitely not a sprint and requires a lot of hard work, dedication and patience.  But, it’s also a great time to connect with kids I don’t normally see during the school year.  Hopefully, connecting kids to the great books they never knew existed and showing them just how cool the library can be.  Our summer program begins (officially) June 15th.  Am I ready?  Heck, no.  Will I be ready?  There’s always that last little thing that needs to get done.  But, I can’t wait.  I’m (getting) ready!