It’s time to think about summer reading programs 2018! I always get excited about summer reading programs, especially when the rewards are more books!
We all want to avoid the summer slump, but remember, our goal is to get your kids excited about reading. If these contests do that, great. If they add too much pressure, skip them.
Summer Reading Programs (with Prizes!)
- Your Local Library: Most libraries have free summer reading programs. Ours awards children with a new book of their choice. They even allow pre-readers to participate by listening to read-alouds.
- Barnes and Noble’s Summer Reading Program: Your child reads and records eight books and what they like about them to earn a free book from Barnes and Nobel’s preselected list. There are some FANTASTIC selections on the free book list this year including The Trumpet of the Swan, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. The contest is for kids grades 1 – 6. Here’s a direct link to the chart and prize books for 2018.
- Half Price Books Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program: This program lets kids earn a Bookworm Bucks coupon to be used in the store (usually $5, but I don’t see a specified amount). Kids can earn a total of two coupons during the summer by logging 300 minutes in June and again in July. Read-alouds count for kids learning to read. Also, Half Price Books is one of the few programs that allows kids up to 14 to participate! Here’s a link to their Reading Log.
- Local Independent Bookstores: Your local independent bookstore likely has a summer reading program for kids. San Antonio’s own beloved Miss Anastasia of The Twig Book Shop has created a summer reading program for kids, including pre-readers. Kids fill out 10 books read and turn it in for a chance to win weekly drawings (they can enter multiple times) throughout the summer (details here).
- Chuck E. Cheese will reward kids for positive behaviors like reading all year long! Just print out and fill in one of their Reward Calendars, log it for two weeks, and bring it with you on your next visit.
Summer Reading Challenges/Clubs/Resources
- Read the World Summer Book Club is hosted by Jamie C. Martin of Simple Homeschool. It’s based on Jamie’s wonderful book, Give Your Child the World. Each week in June and July focuses on a different continent. This is a reading challenge your whole family can participate in with printable charts and certificates.
- Traveling Through the Pages is put on by Pam Barnhill of Homeschool Solutions. This year’s theme is Enchanted Journey, and the reading packet comes with a reading map, chart, bookmarks, morning time plans, and more.
- Printable Summer Reading Packet is from Melissa Taylor of Imagination Soup. This packet is a bit like a reading bullet journal for kids where they can track multiple things like books read, minutes, cool words, and genre. This is perfect for your organized kid who loves to record things.
- Reading Hopscotch Challenge (below)is a reading chart I developed to encourage kids to read a variety of books. It’s a little less intense than the Traveling Through the Pages program above as kids only need to read 10 books to complete the challenge. It can be used in conjunction with another reading program or on its own. I’m not offering prizes this year, but there is a reward certificate.
Here’s a peek at the Reading Hopscotch Challenge:
