Summer Reading!!!

Summer Reading is in full swing here at our house!

And we are loving every minute of it.

(This picture shows the pool that included a “swim up” library…)

“Can we get an armful of books, mom?!”

“Sure!”

“Can we read two books at one time, mom?!”

“Sure!!!”

The library is definitely one of our favorite places to visit during the summer. And there are few things I love more than cuddling up on the couch with a new library book and a hot cup of tea.  Unless, it’s cuddling up with a cute wee one and a fun read aloud book.

We have our personal favorite “go to” authors that the kiddos love. For the past few years we always get out some of our favorites from Keiko Kasza….like the Wolf’s Chicken Stew:

or  Badger’s Fancy Meal…..

Even the older kids will crowd around the couch to hear one of these books read.

We keep a nice big basket on our fireplace to house all of our library books and to contain how many missing books we have when they are due. Let’s just say I am sure there have been “community rooms” fully funded by our family library fines.

So…although I have some children that LOVE reading….aka “Turn off the flipping light and go to bed”….I also have children that I have to bribe to read. DDD loves reading Captain Underpants and Diary of a Whimpy Kid but forget any real form of literature. Sweet Pea loves reading….from the classics to Babysitter’s club. The Fashionista has a tougher time with reading and so this summer is about getting her excited about challenging herself. We are trying to move her beyond Junie B. Jones. haha.

Now….I have been known to come up with great incentive programs that leave me with a lot of work to do.  However…….I have learned that the simplier the better…..both for me and the children.

Intro….our Summer Reading Program……

Goal: to create a system that creates enthusiasm for reading and is easy to maintain.

I found these great Reading logs for the younger two girls.

I write the name of the books that I read them and I let them color them in.

Once their whole sheet is colored (30 books), I take them out for ice cream. I have showed the hubs and the big kids how to fill these forms out in case they read to the girls.

The older children need a little more incentive since they are reading chapter books.

So for them I found these great reading “chains” that we are working on. They each received a $5.00 Rita’s gift card for finishing their first book…and a $5.00 gift card for each 5 books they finish.

The name of their book and the date gets placed on these strips of paper and then stapled to make a paper chain.

I simply place these someplace that the kids can see them often. For us, this was on the door to our basement. This allows the little ones to continue to color in their reading logs and the big kids to add to their reading chains.

So with half of our books due back on Wednesday, we will be renewing and grabbing new books this week.  Thankfully,  I created a “recommended” book list for each child which we take to the library and they get assistance, from the librarians, with finding their books.

Here’s to more literature in your life!!!