Monday, May 7, 2012

Summer Reading Programs & Book Report printable

I really enjoy summer reading programs and so does mija. 
She especially like the extra activities and prizes. In fact, the only time we go to see the Kansas City Royals play is when we get free tickets through a local library's summer reading program! 
I like it because it's a great to get rewarded for something you'd do anyway. Also, in a state that counts hours for homeschooling, it's a fun way to catch up on hours for this school year or get ahead on hours for next school year!
And yes, usually you can count the books you read for more than one program which makes it convenient. Read each program to find out any specific details.


First of all, check you local libraries for their programs. Here are links for the summer reading programs of some of the libraries in the Kansas City Metro area. (The rest of you can skip ahead!)
Mid-Continent Public Library
Kansas City Public
Johnson County Library
(If you know the links to any of the others, feel free to leave them in the comments or on my FB page.


Don't limit summer reading to only libraries, however.  Here are some other ones to consider. (Thanks, Kansas City Mamas)

Book Adventure – Sylvan offers this FREE online reading incentive program. After your child reads a book, they take a simple comprehension quiz to make sure they understood what they read. (Similar to AR tests.)
There are hundreds of books to choose from in all reading levels. These are common books that can be found at your local library. Once they have earned enough points they can trade them in for some really neat prizes.
Half Price Books – They are offering kids ages 14 and under a chance to earn a $5 Gift Card for reading just 15 each day throughout the summer.
PBS Kids Summer Reading Challenge – This challenge kicks off on June 6th and includes a FREE six week reading program and the chance for your kids to win daily prizes for their participation.
Barnes & Noble Imagination Destination – This summer reading program through Barnes & Noble gives your child the ability to earn a FREE book after reading 8 books and keeping track of them in a reading log. (Find your local Kick Off Parties.)
Chuck E. Cheese – Earn 10 FREE tokens every time your child reads for 2 weeks in a row. Just fill out the form and bring it in to claim your free token.
Scholastic Summer Challenge - Log in your reading minutes to the Scholastic site and your child will be able to participate in a World Record challenge as well as earn digital prizes.
To make it easier for me to keep track of what books mija will be reading, I developed a small book report form that you are more than welcome to use as well. Here's what it looks like:

Even before the summer starts, it's time to sign up for the Pizza Hut Book It Program for next school year. Locally, we have a group of homeschoolers who meet at Pizza Hut once a month to use their certificates and fulfill the much touted socialization quotient!




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3 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome post! Thanks for sharing! :)

My oldest has participated in the BN summer reading program for a few years, and enjoyed it. He has also done the Book-It program since he started homeschooling (2005). My youngest, age 7, has really just started reading for pleasure, but he's looking forward to participating in these programs too.

Like you said, the summer reading programs are a great way to motivate the kiddos, but it's also a great way to make up those last few hours we need to reach our state quota for the year. ;)

One resource I would like to throw out, if you don't mind...we recently discovered a website with books by homeschoolers and about homeschoolers: Homeschool Literaure (www.homeschoolliterature.com). My youngest is interested in reading about other homeschoolers, but my oldest has enjoyed finding inspiration for writing. He discovered that Christopher Paolini (he wrote the Eragon book and the rest of the Inheritance series) was homeschooled and wrote his first book, Eragon, when he was 15! :)

Ok, off to check out the other summer reading programs you mentioned. Again, thanks so much for sharing!

Katie

Betsy Price said...

Cool, Katie! Thanks for sharing your experience and your idea!!

Unknown said...

No problem. And again, thank YOU. :)

Katie

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