MIFFLINTOWN — When Jocinda Rhinier talks about kids suffering from the “summer slide,” the children’s librarian at the Juniata County Library isn’t talking about them using playground equipment on a hot June day.

Research shows that kids can experience a two-month lag in their reading level during the summertime. Rhinier hopes that a wealth of summer programs at the library will help reduce any drop off for children and teens now that school is out.

“I think that’s a pretty well-known problem,” explained Rhinier of the library, located at 498 Jefferson St., Mifflintown. “When kids are not in school, they’re not getting that daily practice reading, so they regress a couple months behind where they were when they left school.

“The library offers free educational and fun programs and activities for all kids to help combat that loss,” she added.

The library’s summer reading theme this year is “All Together Now,” which focuses on community, friendship, unity and kindness.

The programs offered during the summer provide kids with a chance to explore their literacy interests and to choose books they might not normally get to read in school.

“When kids can read for enjoyment and read what they actually love, it helps them enjoy reading even more,” Rhinier said.

New programs have been added to the library’s programming this year, such as Story Makers which focuses on nautical folklore, superstition, legends and tall tales and is geared to ages 8 to 12.

“We will be using different kinds of learning styles to teach the kids about topics — reading, writing and creating with a hands-on approach – and engage kids as we learn about these topics,” Rhinier said.

Another new program, Math Club, enables kids of different ages to review school lessons in fun and exciting ways. “The last couple of summers, it has been pretty popular,” she explained. “The lessons are the same, but they are age-appropriate activities.”

The library has lots of other programs including:

Storytime for toddlers to kindergartners, who can learn about being a friend, being kind and being creative, 10 a.m. Mondays for preschoolers and 10 a.m. Tuesdays for toddlers.

Crazy 8s Math Club for kids, who play games, solve puzzles and run races, grades K-2, 2 p.m. Mondays; and grades 3 to 5, 2 p.m. Tuesdays.

Soaking in Soil for grades 3 and up, who can learn about microbial activity in soil and conduct a soil assessment, 10 to 11 a.m., June 28.

Dinosaur Expedition Adventure Show for all ages, who can learn about paleontology from field paleontologists Mike and Roberta Straka, 10 to 11 a.m. July 19.

Friday Field Trips to visit places in Juniata County that help make the community a great place: Mifflintown Fire Co. on July 7; and Juniata County Food Pantry on July 21.

Monthly book clubs for students in grades 4 and up, which meet monthly to discuss the book of the month.

Registration is recommended for all programs. For more information, visit www.juniatalibrary.org or find their page on Facebook.

Attendees don’t need a library card to signup. The library opens daily at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday and closes at 7 p.m. Monday and Thursday, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.