Congratulations, York County! Thank You for an Awesome Summer!
We did it! We read more than 4 million minutes for our "All Together Now" 2023 Summer Learning Challenge! Thank you for helping us meet our reading goal, and thanks also to the Friends of the York County Library for helping to make this Challenge possible. Join us again next year for more thrilling performances, activities, and reading fun!
York County Library
Summer Learning Challenge
Summer Learning Challenge
This summer, let's get "All Together Now" for the Summer Learning Challenge! This year's theme emphasizes kindness, friendship, and unity, so there's no better time to join your friends and fellow booklovers as we celebrate the joys of reading together! The Challenge starts June 5 and runs through July 28, with prize drawings, reading incentives, free in-person and online events, and more, for all ages.
Participating is simple! Starting May 19, sign up at any YCL branch, the Bookmobile, or online using our fun, interactive Beanstack service. Once you've registered, simply pick up a reading log at any YCL branch or track your progress online using your Beanstack account when the Challenge begins. Log all your reading progress online or return the completed record by July 28 to receive your incentives!
Each time you complete the Challenge, you’ll be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing at the end of the program. Need help? See the Beanstack FAQ, view helpful videos and tutorials in the Beanstack Help Center, or read more below. Please note, if you have already registered for a previous reading challenge, simply sign in to begin the new challenge.
Jenna Bush Hager is honored to be CSLP's 2023 Summer Reading Champion! Click here to watch her announcement on "The Today Show," and learn more about #ReadWithJenna, her monthly book club, at www.today.com/read-with-jenna.
"All Together Now" Summer Learning Challenge for All Ages
How the Challenge Works
The challenge is simple! Starting Monday, June 5, begin tracking your progress online or use a reading log, available for each age group (infants/toddlers, children, or teens/adults). You'll get a prize for reading either: 10 books for infants and toddlers; 10 hours for children; or 15 hours for teens and adults.* For every time you complete the challenge, you'll earn one entry into a Grand Prize Drawing — up to 5 entries! You have until July 28, so make sure all of your reading has been logged in Beanstack!
#YCLReads2023
We want to hear all the fun you're having during the Summer Learning Challenge! Tag us on Facebook (yorkcountylibrary) or Twitter (@Beamer_YCL) with the hashtag #YCLReads2023.
Prizes and Drawings
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Infants & Toddlers, Ages 0–3: Reading certificate, board book, and choice of bath toy or plush finger puppet
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Children, Ages 3–11: Reading medal and certificate, and choice of light-up Earth pen, book, or wiggle caterpillar
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Teens, Ages 11–18: $5 gift card to a local business
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Adults, Ages 18 & Up: 15 oz. bistro-style ceramic coffee mug
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All Age Groups: One entry into a Grand Prize Drawing for every time you complete the Challenge, up to 5 entries. Grand prizes include:
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Infants & Toddlers: $50 Books-A-Million gift card, heart bubble-popper, "All Together Now" growth chart, tie dye plush dog, browsing bag and more
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Children: $50 Books-A-Million gift card, ice pop sidewalk chalk, tie-dye plush dog, "All Together Now" pencils, a drawstring sports bag, and more
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Teens: $100 gift card to a local business of your choice
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Adults: 11" Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 with S-Pen and 256GB of storage
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*Prizes may be substituted as necessary and are available only while supplies last. Prizes are awarded only for the first Challenge completion. All reading time must be logged into Beanstack to receive each entry for the Grand Prize Drawing.
Children's Summer Performances
This year, in addition to the exclusive virtual summer programs available on our YouTube Channel, our popular in-person summer performances have returned! All performances are free, but space for in-person events is limited. Please see our Events Calendar for times, locations, and registration requirements for the featured performances below. For virtual teen programs via our Discord channel, contact the Young Adult Department or visit the Teen Reading & Fun page.
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June 6–9: Gravity Check Juggling: Kick off summer reading with Gravity Check's unique spin on entertaining! From Ken's amazing Chinese yo-yos to Kyle's mind-blowing juggling abilities, you're bound to see something you have never seen before.
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June 12–25: Super Me: Take an interactive journey with The Story Ship into a comic book world to help a young boy escape from bullies! This fast-paced, immersive adventure combines high-energy movement, puzzles, astounding magic, animation, and a live actor. This virtual performance can be viewed on the YCL YouTube Channel from June 12–25.
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June 13–16: Fantastic Friends: Let's get "All Together Now" with Professor Whizzpop for summer reading! This all-new magic show contains a laugh a minute, with plenty of amazing magic tricks and giggles we'll all enjoy together.
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June 21–22: Circus King: Storyteller and musician Sean Driscoll brings comedy theater, puppets, magic, music, and animation to this extraordinary live show about a young boy raised by a circus of misfits. Together, they find ways to help each other overcome their fears and realize their dreams. These performances will be held at off-site locations.
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June 26 – July 9: Zookeepers in the House!: Birmingham Zoo is partnering with children’s musician Roger Day to rock the zoo! This interactive, educational program features STEAM-based activities, animals, and some of Roger’s most popular songs. This virtual performance can be viewed on the YCL YouTube Channel from June 26 – July 9.
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June 27–30: Exotic Animal Encounters: Join Exotic Encounters for an educational adventure on the wild side! You'll meet and learn about such animals as kinkajous, prairie dogs, boa constrictors, chinchillas, tenrecs, and more.
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July 10–23: The Ugly Duckling: This fast-paced, fractured take on the classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen follows an ugly duckling trying to find her place in the world, with Porkchop Productions bringing your favorite characters (plus a few new ones) to life! Themes of bullying, acceptance, and finding the beauty within ourselves, along with an updated style relatable to children of all ages, makes for a theatre experience that will not soon be forgotten! This virtual performance can be viewed on the YCL YouTube Channel from July 10–23.
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July 11–14: Soap Bubble Circus: Mixing comedy, music, and interactive bubble magic, "Bubble Artist" Steve Langley engages and delights audiences of all ages in a one-of-a-kind, amazing, and educational experience! You'll see Soap Bubble Caterpillars, Volcanoes, Rotating Carousels ... and even a Soap Bubble Snowman walk across a tightrope!
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July 18–21: The Ant and the Grasshopper: In this side-splitting performance by Porkchop Productions, personalities collide when a hard-working ant and a lazy grasshopper find themselves living too close for comfort! While the ant spends her days preparing for the winter months ahead, the grasshopper is too busy playing video games and trying to become the next social media influencer!
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July 24–30: Aliens Alive: The Story Ship's "Aliens Alive" is an immersive space adventure where the audience helps to unravel musical messages from aliens using mathematics, sound science, and a Chladni Plate. With the Chladni Plate, you can actually "see" sound! This virtual performance can be viewed on the YCL YouTube Channel from July 24–30.
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July 25–28: A Friendship Adventure: Time to make some new friends through kindness and magic! Everyone will have great fun participating in the magic of B-Rad the Kids Magician while learning the importance of friendship and working together.
Friends • Leaderboards • Streaks • Achievements
Friends: You can add friends and family and challenge them to see who can read the most! Friends can view each other's reading logs, challenge histories, and badges, and compete on leaderboards. Just use the Beanstack mobile app or web version to get your unique friend code and get started.
Leaderboards: Compete with friends on leaderboards and see who has read the most during the past week or month. Leaderboards display the top 25 readers, and the top three readers will see gold, silver, and bronze medals next to their names!
Streaks: Track and grow your daily reading to maintain reading streaks. Each consecutive day you log reading — whether it's minutes, pages, books, or days — adds a day to your streak. There is no minimum; even 5 minutes a day helps keep a streak alive! You can also view your friends' streaks.
Achievements: Motivate yourself to read with surprise badge rewards for certain reading actions, like logging your first book, completing your first challenge, adding your tenth friend, maintaining a lengthy reading streak, or reading on special days or holidays. The more days you log your reading, the higher your chances of garnering achievements!
How to Log Reading
Use our Beanstack website to log in or create an account and log time for you and your family. If you have previously used our Beanstack site, you do not need to create a new account each year. If you need help resetting your password, just ask a staff member.
The Beanstack Tracker App, available for both Android and Apple devices, features a handy reading timer that automatically logs your time for you, or for multiple people at the same time. When setting up the app, make sure to select York County Library (SC).
Beanstack Tracker: Alexa Skill
If you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device, use the Beanstack Tracker: Alexa Skill to log your reading. Enable this Skill by saying "Alexa, enable Beanstack Tracker" or search for "Beanstack Tracker" on the Alexa Skill Store. Please note that to use this Alexa Skill, you must first have a Beanstack account.
If you are unable to use Beanstack or need help to register or log time, call or visit your local library location.
The Summer Learning Challenge is sponsored by
Thanks to Our Contributors
