Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion summer reading clubs

Anyone else's kids rocking the summer reading clubs? We are only three weeks in and DD has finished our library's four times over. I have had to make up my own that are twice as hard. DD(4.5) has been reading on average 3 hours a day. And, that is not counting what we read to her (about 45 minutes a day.)

She has been finishing two or three rainbow magic or magic treehouse books a night after lights out--with her book lamp, and in the span of about an hour before we make her go to bed. We are not sure we can let her keep this up.

Her fluency has improved so much just in the last few weeks. (She read Pippi Longstocking to DH without much effort.) So, the motivation has been great. She is a fast reader. If anyone has any links to difficult reading clubs, please post them!

I never recall the library summer reading programs dictating what the kids should read. When I was growing up, they did award prizes based upon number of books read, so the kids reading the longer, more complex books would never win. Now they track time spent reading, and the awards are more individual goal awards (but your kiddo would clearly win everything they offer if she reads three hours a day).

Do you have to go to that particular library? We happen to live close to the county line, and a library in the next county is much closer to us than our own municipal library. There is an easy way in our state (PA) to sign up so that you can use any library in the state - don't know if it works that way where you are.

Our local library does one every year, and DD8 always breezes through them. When she was younger, we were the family walking away with a stack of a dozen books for DD (plus a handful of choice selections for the adults). The stack is much more manageable now, since she's reading so much more concentrated fare.

This year's program is based on the number of hours read, not books read. For DD's age group, 12 hours gets you a free, 30-minute tennis lesson. This means they're getting kids reading AND exercising... double-win.

I confess that I find these to be a lot of work for me, so I tend to avoid them. (Where's the bag-over-head smiley?) My kids are constantly reading for 15 minutes here, another 15 there, 20 here, 10 there...ugh. I don't want to track that, and they aren't really going to. Plus our library's prizes suck (like, bookmarks and pencils). DD did do it once in an organized way and got her picture on the "super reader" board, which she liked.

DD especially never goes anywhere without a book...in the car, in the bathroom ("Honey, how many minutes did you just read in the bathroom?)...

With ultra here. My kids graze on books. We did have one ambitious summer where someone got to be a prize reader. But they've decided they don't care about the program... and will continue to graze.

DeeDee

Here's one for Barnes & Noble: http://img1.imagesbn.com/pimages/kids/summerreading/2013/bnsummertearpad.pdf

I've heard Scholastic has one as well.


Our library does one for all ages- kids mark off each 20 minutes they read, teens mark each hour, and adults just write down the titles of their books. Prizes are coupons to local restaurants and entries to win bigger prizes.

I recognize my kids are not the target audience of summer reading programs so I don't sweat that it doesn't really fit.

DS just brought home a plastic cockroach as his first prize.

DD estimates time. DD estimates 3/4 minute per page, and then estimates time read when she finishes books. She doesn't bother tracking the grazing reading of the newspaper or magazines lying around.

Neither are motivated by the little prizes, but are motivated by the top 100 reader contest, which last year required about 10-12 hours of reading each week.

Mine aren't motivated by the prizes either... those programs/contests actually seem to turn them off. I just let them read what they want during the summer. DS9 is reading The Little Prince right now (I love that book!) and DD7 is attempting to read diary of a wimpy kid.

Our library's summer reading club requires no work from me. The kids are supposed to fill in a bubble for every 15 minutes read. We told DD to fill in a bubble for every chapter read (and then changed that to every two chapters for the easier books.) DD takes care of it all by herself. She brings a few books and her log everywhere she goes.

DD just loves it, but she is four and still motivated by the little prizes (which we are now inventing because I won't take any more from the library--trips for ice cream, a donut, a candy bar. She will do anything for sweets.

I just assumed the library a town over was using the same system. I'll have to check. The Barnes and Nobel one is to read five books. I checked out the scholastic reading club. That will require more work from me. It would be neat to see how much she is actually reading. I'll probably continue to make my own bubble sheets.