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6 Fantastic Summer reading programs


I love summer.  And, for the most part, I love spending summer with my kids!  LOL.  As long as the bickering stays to a minimum we'll be good.  I usually try to plan a lot of activities to keep the kids busy and active, mentally and physically, through out their time away from school.  Back when I was a kid, my summers consisted of staying with my cousins and swimming in their pool, or staying with my grandparents, and going to the beach down the street.  I was pretty busy, and I loved it.

One of the things that we do every summer is: Summer Reading Programs.  We find all the ones we can, and my kids have fun tackling them, eager to earn their prizes.



I said to my oldest the other day: "Guess what we'll be doing on the first day of summer break?" and she replied, without missing a beat: "Going to the library to start summer reading!"

Hey, at least they're excited about it right!

I do try to be a little more lenient with her during the summer.  During school, when she was required to read every night, I told her it had to be chapter books (she's just finishing 2nd grade), even though it wasn't a requirement of the teacher.

This summer, I told her that for every chapter book she could read one fun book, whichever she choses.  She is going to be in four different sport camps, travel basketball, and Rec volleyball, so it's not like she'll be sitting around all summer!


I'm excited for my middle child, because this summer I'm going to start having her get beginner readers, and help her navigate those!  She's just entering Kindergarten next year, but she's really been interested in spelling words lately, so I'm going to run with it!

Anyways, here is a great list of places that give away items for completing a certain task:

1.  LIBRARY - Every public library will most likely be different.  I know our public library puts on a fantastic summer reading program.  Basically you have to fill in 25 stars, and you get a prize at each 5th increment.  To fill in a star you need to: read a book (or have someone read it to you), do the puzzle table work (at the library), or answer a question online.  My girls both love to do this one, and it's great, because it's geared at ALL types of learners!

2.  HALF PRICE BOOK STORE - With the Half Price Bookstore program, your child has to read for 15 minutes a day, or 300 minutes per month.  You can do it for both the month of June AND July.  For each completed month, the child will receive a $5 certificate to buy whatever they want at the store!

3.  BARNES AND NOBLE - This program requires you to read eight different books and then record them in your journal.  For doing so, your child will receive a free book!

4.  CHUCK E CHEESE - Chuck E. Cheese has a reward system for a lot of different areas, but the one I'll talk about is their reading one. This one is actually all year long and not just for the summer, so yay for your kids!  You just mark off every day your child reads, and when they hit two weeks, they can bring in the form for 10 free tokens!

5.  JUNIE B JONES - This one isn't so much a summer program, but a fun book club.  I know my daughter loves Junie B Jones so I'll be signing her up for this one as well!.  When you sign up, you'll receive one free Junie B. Jones book, activity pages, and a membership I.D. card!

6.  SYLVAN BOOK ADVENTURE - This one is another simple summer reading program.  You just have your child read books, take quizzes on said books, and earn points to go towards prizes!



Here are some of my 8 year old's favorite series

Here are some of my 4 year old's favorites

Here are some of my 2 year old's favorites

What will your kids be reading this summer?
Big sister reading to baby brother from the start!

Big sister reading to little sister before school. 

Well, at least the two little ones were reading! 

Comments

  1. I had no idea Barnes N Noble had a summer reading program! We are participating in our library summer reading program. I'm going to check out the others you mentioned also!

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    1. They've had it for a couple of years now. My daughter loves them!

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  2. Great post! I didn't know about some of those!

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  3. Thanks so much for these recommendations! I had no idea about several of them, including Barnes & Noble! We'll be checking these out, for sure.

    Our local library has some awesome summer programs, and a pretty decent collection of series for its size. Our boys (10 and 8) are big into Diary of a Wimpy Kid and A to Z Mysteries, respectively.

    Happy Summer! :)

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  4. I'm an avid reader and a huge supporter for getting younger generations into reading and spending less time on their phone or computer. As a kid I used to spend my summer enjoying a book or two so I think programs like these are a great way to get kids reading! Lovely post, and the photos are just darling.

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    1. Thank you! I really try to get my kids to read and to love it. I don't want them to think it's a chore.

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  5. You are genuinely such a fantastic mum... To be encouraging reading in so many fun ways is so wonderful. I would never have known about incentives used by different book clubs to encourage children to read... Makes me wish I could go back to being a child again!

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  6. Thanks for the posts! I love to read and will definitely encourage my little (I'm a big sis) to read more. Unfortunately, we need more incentives like these so that the younger generations find love in reading.

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    1. I know. My daughter loves being on her iPod and I'm like "Just go read a book!"

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  7. We love the Junie book club here! And our library gives out cool prizes for kids who meet their reading goals like trips to the childrens museum. its a great deal for all the little ones and moms alike!

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    1. Oh wow, children's museum passes...that's great! Ours gives little toys, donations in their name, free ice cream at a local place, and then the big prize is a free book.

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  8. I remember being a part of the Pizza Hut Book Club when I was a kid! I totally forgot about the fact that there are others out there now, I am totally looking into this for my daughter. Thank you!

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    1. I looked for that one, because that what I did too! Looks like they don't have a summer one anymore, just one that teachers can sign up for during the school year.

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  9. Great way to motivate the kids to read! I know mine love getting any type of rewards. Favorite series in this house are Captain Underpants (7yo son) and Dork Diaries (8yo daughter).

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    1. My daughter hasn't read Captain Underpants yet, but I think she has read a couple of the other! I honestly don't care so much on what she's reading, only that she's reading at all!

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  10. I used to love the summer reading program growing up. I remember our local pizza hut had one and if we read 10 books we got a free pizza. It always motivated me to read!

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    1. Ours did too. Now they just do it through the school year for teachers to sign up with.

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  11. Yes to all of these!! We also have local story times at many of the stores and libraries that we visit. Summer is the perfect time to grow their interest in reading.

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    1. That's great! The Once Upon a Child in our town used to do a summer reading story time program too. I hope they do it again.

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  12. Oh my goodness, those photos are adorable! We are big book fans in our house, I love that the kids will now just pick up book son their own and start reading. I'll have to have a look into what we have going on during the summer here in London.

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    1. That's great! You're doing a great job if you kids love to read!!!

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  13. Great post! So informative! I'm not a mother myself but know a few people that would really benefit from this.

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  14. Thank you so much for these! I homeschool and my oldest is a pain when it comes to reading so these will be super useful for us. :)

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    1. Having an incentive is always helpful for those that struggle to read! I hope it works out for you.

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  15. I didn't know about most of these! Thank you so much for sharing. I'll be signing my son up! We've only done the library the past couple of years since I didn't know about any others.

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    1. It's so great to have motivation for our kids to read! I hope some of these new ones work for you.

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  16. Such good advice! We love going to the library! My son loves to read.

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