Summer Reading Programs

[Aubrey]

I am irrationally annoyed by these. I remember LOVING to keep track of my reading as a kid (OCD, much? lol) & good prizes.

 

The first year we did a summer reading prog w/ ds, I was surprised--the prizes had been reduced to a certificate & a book chosen from a bucket of donated books that...well.

 

B&N had an ok program, but the book list to choose from at the end of the summer has seemed shorter & less interesting every year.

 

1/2 Price was the best, & while I hate not being able to combine $5 coupons, I understand. We would only really turn in reading sheets 2-3 times/summer.

 

Keeping track is a beast, though. I kind-of wish they just had to keep track of BOOKS they've read instead of minutes, but I realize that that would make a picture book and a chapter book equal. Especially if the prize at the end is a certificate so that the only real joy in the program is the reading itself.

 

Sidenote: it makes me laugh that my 4yo gets a *prize* for being read to for x hours. :lol: She LOVES it!

 

Our library ended its summer reading program YESTERDAY. Early July??? Apparently it's the JUNE reading program now. :confused: We had to drive up there to turn in sheets yesterday, then we're supposed to drive up there Friday for the finale at 2pm. Story time is from 10-12, so assuming a body does that, too, you're either camping out at the library for 6 hrs w/ 4dc or making TWO trips in 100+ degree heat to the under-a/c'd library. :confused:

 

Then you actually pick up your prizes the following Friday. :lol:

 

So I'm thinking about extending this on my own. Keeping track of BOOKS read w/ some kind of add-on banner--maybe ds could make green links & dd could make pink ones--& giving them something for every ten books read or something like that. I keep a prize stash in the closet anyway, but maybe I could talk dh into letting me order a book for them for ea 10 they read.

 

I'm completely anal & love the idea of keeping track, but the kids? They could care less: they just want to read. *sigh* And they read too fast. We got a stack of books from the library one day--at least 5 ch books--& dd had scarfed them ALL by the end of the day. :001_huh:

[warneral]

Our library has prizes our kids love plus bonus ones (like tickets to WI historical museum which is somewhere we already planned on going) :)

 

We love it!

 

Have you heard of book adventure? You can assign your own prizes to it so that they also do a little reading comprehension too :)

[Karen in CO]

I do a reward system with my kids for reading. Right now, my older is reading Verne novels. She gets an Asterix the Gaul for every Verne she reads. The younger is in Dr. Suess. She gets a small toy for each one.

 

Do your own reward system with customized book lists and customized rewards.

[Aubrey]

Our library has prizes our kids love plus bonus ones (like tickets to WI historical museum which is somewhere we already planned on going) :)

 

We love it!

 

Have you heard of book adventure? You can assign your own prizes to it so that they also do a little reading comprehension too :)

 

I haven't heard of it.

 

Ds went to turn in our reading sheets yesterday but came back out to say that we had to go in to pick prizes. It was 102 degrees at 6pm. I unloaded everybody, trek inside, wait in line, & the prizes are pencils. I REALLY don't want to sound ungrateful, but if the librarian hadn't sent ds out to get us, he could have handled picking a pencil for himself OR one for everybody. (I don't care!)

 

But now 2yo & 4yo have to be held up to see into the bucket alternately, need forever to choose a color, & immediately lost them in the van. Did I mention I'm 6mos pg? :lol:

 

They will also get a book when the whole thing is over. I love books. The whole program is worth a single book to me, IF there are good book choices.

 

But yeah, the old days of coupons for free things at local businesses, zoo, etc seem to be over.

[Crimson Wife]

B&N keeps track of books, but I wasn't terribly impressed by the selection this year. DS wanted Charlotte's Web but they had only the Spanish-language version :glare:. The other non-twaddle books we already own. DD picked some fluffy American Girl choose-your-own-adventure book and DS picked a Mercy Watson book.

[mbosh237]

I have been completely underwhelmed by our local summer reading program. They set it up so that you fill out your form and turn it in when you have read 10 books (you fill out several). When you turn it in you fill out another piece of paper with your child's name, it gets put in a jar, and each week they pick out several and as their prize they get....candy....:confused:

 

Not happy with that at all. Not only that but the candy I have seen them hand out isn't even all age appropriate (now n laters, hard candy pieces, etc) that my children wouldn't be able to eat even IF their name were to be called.

 

No books have been handed out, it has only been about candy. Needless to say we stopped filling out the forms even though we read all the time.

[BatmansWife]

Our library has their summer reading program all summer. They get a sheet of paper with airplanes on it. You cross off (or color) and airplane for every 30 minutes of reading. My daughter finally got one filled up last week (there are 7 planes = 3.5 hours of reading). You can do as many of these as you want over the summer. For each completed sheet you get a coupon for a free little pizza at Hot N' Now (or Hot Stuff...something like that; can't remember). She just got her first pizza yesterday and was so excited. I really like this reading incentive because it's really gotten her to read on her own.

 

The library also has a program ever Wed too. Each week is some different activity/theme. At this program the kids put their names in a bucket and names are drawn for prizes, like a free Subway or a free movie ticket or a free coupon to get into a wildlife place in the area. But...my dd gets so discouraged because her name is never drawn. Some kids get their names drawn every week! I wish some way there was a way to make it a bit more fair. But, I guess that's life.

 

OK....so back to your idea about the links. When my oldest dd was young we did something similar one summer. We took colored construction paper and cut them into strips. For each book she read (and she always had her nose in a book) she would write the name of the book on a colored strip. She would then use these to make a paper chain. We hung it up on the ceiling (kind of draping down a little, if that makes any sense). You would not believe how big her paper chain got. It went back and forth and covered the entire ceiling (it was a fairly small room). Anyway, it was really cool for her to see her chain grow and to know that she had read all of those books; she was so proud. I actually had forgotten we had done that until I read your post about the plastic links. I'm going to start the paper chain with little dd now too. :D

Edited July 14, 2011 by ~AprilMay~

[Aubrey]

I have been completely underwhelmed by our local summer reading program. They set it up so that you fill out your form and turn it in when you have read 10 books (you fill out several). When you turn it in you fill out another piece of paper with your child's name, it gets put in a jar, and each week they pick out several and as their prize they get....candy....:confused:

 

Not happy with that at all. Not only that but the candy I have seen them hand out isn't even all age appropriate (now n laters, hard candy pieces, etc) that my children wouldn't be able to eat even IF their name were to be called.

 

No books have been handed out, it has only been about candy. Needless to say we stopped filling out the forms even though we read all the time.

 

Yeah, the last town we were in was more like that. A piece of candy ea week, a book at the end, & the Prizes were based on names drawn from a jar.

[Aubrey]

Our library has their summer reading program all summer. They get a sheet of paper with airplanes on it. You cross off (or color) and airplane for every 30 minutes of reading. My daughter finally got one filled up last week (there are 7 planes = 3.5 hours of reading). You can do as many of these as you want over the summer. For each completed sheet you get a coupon for a free little pizza and Hot N' Now. She just got her first pizza yesterday and was so excited. I really like this reading incentive because it's really gotten her to read on her own.

 

The library also has a program ever Wed too. Each week is some different activity/theme. At this program the kids put their names in a bucket and names are drawn for prizes, like a free Subway or a free movie ticket or a free coupon to get into a wildlife place in the area. But...my dd gets so discouraged because her name is never drawn. Some kids get their names drawn every week! I wish some way there was a way to make it a bit more fair. But, I guess that's life.

 

OK....so back to your idea about the links. When my oldest dd was young we did something similar one summer. We took colored construction paper and cut them into strips. For each book she read (and she always had her nose in a book) she would write the name of the book on a colored strip. She would then use these to make a paper chain. We hung it up on the ceiling (kind of draping down a little, if that makes any sense). You would not believe how big her paper chain got. It went back and forth and covered the entire ceiling (it was a fairly small room). Anyway, it was really cool for her to see her chain grow and to know that she had read all of those books; she was so proud. I actually had forgotten we had done that until I read your post about the plastic links. I'm going to start the paper chain with little dd now too. :D

 

I meant something more like paper links. But then I wonder--if my kids love reading, do I really NEED to give them incentives to do more??? :lol:

[SilverMoon]

My kids were stoked that our new library actually had a reading program that didn't offer food as the only reward. They anxiously filled up that list of twenty books the first week, only to find out they only get one sheet. The librarian looked at them like they had two heads when they asked for more. :001_huh: They did give out rubber duckies for every five books, and each kid got a ticket for a MLB game.

 

 

(The 3yo at my side says: aaAaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAaAaAaA)

[nmoira]

Our library has a fantastic reading program this year, with good prizes at each "milestone." There choice of a book, theatre tickets, passes to the Children's Museum, admission to an indoor play-park, and more. So far we've picked up most of the Ramona books (I'm embarrassed to say we live less than a half hour's walk from Beverly Cleary's old house NE 37th near(ish) Klickitat Street and didn't have a single one of these), and some passes/coupons for local child-centered businesses.

[BatmansWife]

I meant something more like paper links. But then I wonder--if my kids love reading, do I really NEED to give them incentives to do more??? :lol:

 

Oh yes....I see you didn't say plastic links. :lol: I must have read it fast and thought of those baby links. Well....I don't think you need to give them an incentive to read more, but it is fun to reward them for the effort. I probably wouldn't do it all year long....just over the summer. :D I reread your post and saw you were thinking of a reward/prize every 10 books. If your kids like reading so much....maybe you better give the prize every 40 or 50 books (unless they are reading long chapter books). :001_smile: I think when my dd did the paper chain....that was her reward; just seeing the chain grow. Yeah....I guess I was pretty cheap. :D

Edited July 14, 2011 by ~AprilMay~

[RoundAbout]

Honestly I wouldn't do a reward program if they already love reading. Have you read any Alfie Kohn (Punished by Rewards)? There are a number of studies that show that incentive programs can actually turn a love for something into a job and thus can work as a disincentive over the long run.

 

I don't think a short term summer reading program is that bad and can actually serve as a way of recognizing a more bookish child (I loved them as a kid), but I think something permanent or coming from mom could be a negative over the long run.

[blondeviolin]

We are participating in three. The city library hands out a coupon to get free tots at Sonic for every ten books. :glare: The base library requires 500 pages to be read. I don't know what their prize is because I haven't done so great at recording page numbers. :blush: We're also doing B&N's this year. I'm just bummed because my littles don't get to participate there. They could even hand out 5 cent Oriental Trading prizes for the littles and they'd be happy.

[swellmomma]

My kids have done summer reading programs at the libraries in both towns we lived in. They prefer the one from our old city better. It was tracked by the number of minutes they read, and in addition to prizes for reading for 20 minutes 5 days a week they got to enter their names for the bigger grand prize. They also had different levels from infant through teens. 1 year my littlest dd won a backpack filled with board books (she was 1 yr old), and another year my oldest ds won 2 tickets to their halloween haunted library party (only the 20 kids that won tickets through the reading program and their "quest" got to attend, it was a closed party) Ds and dd went and had a blast.

 

Where we live now I am disappointed in their reading program. It is only open to ages 6-12, so youngest gets left out and starting next year oldest does too. And it is assigned reading. The library has bingo sheets printed out with the book titles already on them. The kids have to read the assigned titles and then mark it on their sheet, for each line they get a prize and for a blackout they do as well, but they are prizes like pencils and little notepads. There is a few spots on it for kids being able to chose their own books but the vast majority of it is assigned reading. The reading is all tied to the theme for the summer, this year the theme is splash, so the books all have to do with camping and water. Last year I can't remember what it was but it was a topic none of the kids enjoyed so they never finished even 1 row on their bingo sheets.

[Aubrey]

Oh yes....I see you didn't say plastic links. :lol: I must have read it fast and thought of those baby links. Well....I don't think you need to give them an incentive to read more, but it is fun to reward them for the effort. I probably wouldn't do it all year long....just over the summer. :D I reread your post and saw you were thinking of a reward/prize every 10 books. If your kids like reading so much....maybe you better give the prize every 40 or 50 books (unless they are reading long chapter books). :001_smile: I think when my dd did the paper chain....that was her reward; just seeing the chain grow. Yeah....I guess I was pretty cheap. :D

 

Yes, they're reading long chapter books. Well...8yo has been rereading MTH books over the summer, lol, but both of the bigs have also read the entire Narnia series & a random assortment of other books. I'd say they've read 10-20 decent sized chapter books in the last 6 weeks.

 

Ds read the Tucket series this week--2-3 days for the whole thing. He also had 20,000 Leagues under the Sea going at the same time & read pic books to the littles. :confused: :lol:

[Aubrey]

Honestly I wouldn't do a reward program if they already love reading. Have you read any Alfie Kohn (Punished by Rewards)? There are a number of studies that show that incentive programs can actually turn a love for something into a job and thus can work as a disincentive over the long run.

 

I don't think a short term summer reading program is that bad and can actually serve as a way of recognizing a more bookish child (I loved them as a kid), but I think something permanent or coming from mom could be a negative over the long run.

 

I don't remember what it was I read, but I do remember something about punished by rewards. That's part of what has made me wonder...it's such a cultural thing here to reward reading.

 

Otoh, if all I'm doing is keeping a list of books they've read & giving them new ones periodically, that might not be too bad. It's not like they're working to earn a trip or something. :D

 

Like pp, I think my kids would find it rewarding just to make a paper chain to "see" how MUCH they've read. :tongue_smilie:

[RootAnn]

We're doing two reading programs this summer. The local library has gatherings once per week where they bring in people to talk/do something for an hour. The theme is some kind of multicultural thing (One World/Many Stories). They've had Native Americans, reptiles, and a guy who made & played native African musical instruments. Each week, they turn in their book log & get "book bucks." Books over 100 pages (if you write how many pages each book is on your log sheet) get more bucks than small chapter or picture books. At the end, they turn those in for prizes (everything from lip gloss to nice journals). So, the more you read, the better & more prizes you get to "buy." Every ten books you read, you get an entry in a drawing for a bike.

 

The "big city" library has a book log online. You get to choose by hours or books. Audiobooks count, so my #2 dd does better than she would otherwise. Picture books count the same as large books, so it is a bit unfair. Every 10 books gets you something - a sheet of coupons for local businesses, a free book, tickets to a baseball game on a certain date, or a free kids pass to the water park (normally $15/kid). This is the third year my older two have done it and they work really hard to get to the waterpark level. It is a huge treat for them to go with dad (because Mom doesn't go down the completely dark innertube tunnels like dad does) without all their little siblings in tow.

 

We don't do rewards otherwise. They love to be read to. My oldest loves to read (which hasn't always been the case). Someday, I hope the others will read on their own, too. *taptaptap*

[Farrar]

We go to the library so often that it feels like it would be mean of me to say "NO!" when the librarian tries to get them to do the summer reading program. The thing that bugs me is that the whole format changes every year. Last year, I actually really liked it. They had dopey, cheap prizes (but I like that better than huge stuff anyway) and the kids had to make their own reading goals, which I thought was brilliant. Then, every time you met a goal, you could come in and put your name up and get a prize. I liked it because it was so very open ended and that the kids and I could sit down and make goals that made sense for them - that they wanted, but that would also be challenging. They had a big special thing to record all the books they read all summer. So my kids read for themselves, wrote down their books (good writing practice for 5 yos) and got their prizes. I've got mixed feelings about the rewards component, but it's easier for me to get behind when it's like that.

 

This year, it's completely different. They get a reading "passport" and there's no space to mark down what book you read. Instead, you're supposed to put a check in these little slots for every 15 minutes you read or are read to. The read to thing really bugged me for independent readers, but I'm probably biased because we read aloud every day for often more than an hour, so that was too easy. Plus, it's got an international theme so you're supposed to read about all 7 continents. We're wrapping up the Renaissance now, so we finished all the North America and Europe slots in less than two weeks. I'm not going to change our history or our evening read alouds in order to get in Antarctica or anything, so it's unlikely we'll finish the whole thing. And the prize was a donut coupon, which they got right away. I think for families where they don't read much, it must work okay, but for us, this was absurd. But, hey, free Dunkin Donuts.

 

Maybe next summer I will tell the librarians no and make up my own program.

[itsheresomewhere]

Personally, I hate summer reading programs. One kid is disabled and not really reading yet and the other one is just starting to read. Why are audio books not allow for older kids with issues:glare:? Our local library is certain books only and it is annoying. If you want to encourage kids to read let them read anything in my opinion. Another library only lets the kids read grade level.

[stripe]

I don't care one way or another but some years ago, my son participated, and then when he got a book at the end, the librarian took his paper. I asked for it back, because I thought it was neat to have a record. I got a look that I translated as suspicion that I was going to milk it for another book. (I volunteered that they could make a note that he'd completed.) But they had to fish it out of the recycle bin!

 

I haven't bothered participating since.