Reading Programs

As you can probably tell by our posts about libraries and the many book reviews on these pages, our family loves to read.

Reading in many ways is its own reward. It is also something that our children don't need a lot of motivation to do. Those who read do so with an insatiable voracity, and those not yet reading are constantly wanting to be read to. There are several programs we participate in that reward us for reading and as they say in these parts, that works for us. Here are a few we've used in the past year:

Six Flags

We found out about this through other home schoolers. If your children from K-6th grade read or were read to for 6 hours non school assignment books, they earned a free ticket to Six Flags. I blogged about this particular program earlier. The catch of this program is that pre-school children and 7th grade and above do not qualify. Nor do the adults taking the children. It still is a good reward for what our kids were going to do anyway.

Book It.

Pizza Hut sponsors a reading program for grades K-6. The teacher sets the monthly goals based on the student's reading ability. Once they meet the goal for the month the teacher gives them a certificate for a free personal pan pizza. The program runs from October through March. Public, Private, Parochial and Home Schooled children can all participate. My kids love this reading program. Our local Pizza Hut has the best waitress in the world who is always great at remembering us and the program.

Local Library Programs.

Summer Book Clubs are a library staple. Our local library always does a great job. They have summer reading programs for all ages. Amy and I are doing the adult program, and our kids are doing, well, the kids program. Each year they get several coupons for free or reduced priced retailers like free ice cream from McDonald's and a free buffet from Old Country Buffet. They also get a free book and several library programs including a special program for all club finishers.

Book Store Programs.

Every few years we participate in the Barnes and Noble program. Borders and Half Priced Books also have Summer reading programs, although we have not participated in them.

Emma liked the B&N program where you read 8 books and get 1 free (No Purchase needed) so much she wrote a song (To the tune of Alouette):

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Barnes & Barnes

Our local Minor League baseball team also has a summer reading program called Ozzie's Reading Club (Ozzie the Cougar is their mascot.) The teacher's determine the amount of books each student needs to read to advance to each base. Students hitting a "home run" earn a free ticket to a home game. We have not participated in the program ourselves, but have heard great things about it. Check to see if your local sports teams have such a program.

Summer Reading Programs definitely work for us. To see what other things are working out there, head over to We Are That Family for this weeks edition of Works For Me Wednesday.

This article is one of many excellent articles included at the Carnival of Homeschooling: We've Got Style edition hosted this week at Home School Bytes.

Next Time: African Tulips

Guest Post by Amy Roller - Book Review

Dave's been promising a garden update. Our home garden is doing fine, tons of tomatoes on the horizon. But the following book review is more pressing at the moment. :)

This all came at me from left field, but now I want to run with it. Last week, we went to Hinsdale, IL for a field trip with some other homeschool families. My dad grew up in Hinsdale, so I was familiar with the area, and knew the location was right near the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I had no idea what we were going to be doing, but I thought it was a farm tour. It ended up being a tour of a lovely woman's garden at her home. It was a two hour tour, that flew by, during which we encountered the most beautiful layout of God's creation that I've ever seen. And the lovely woman, Trudi Temple, was a treasure to behold. I just wanted to stand next to her to absorb her life force. Prior to this field trip, I had never heard of her, and knew nothing about her other than her passion for gardening (i.e., she spends three weeks in the fall/winter uprooting tropical plants to bring them inside for the winter, then another three weeks in the late spring, replanting them into their homes.) When we got home, I re-read the email we received about the field trip, and it mentioned something about the book this woman had written. I didn't even know her last name! My daughter Emma said, "I think it's Temple, because there was a sign on the house with that name." So I went to Amazon and looked her up. Lo, and behold, she has written a book that appeared to be about gardening. From the cover, it looks like it's going to be chock full of gardening tips, secrets, and how-to's. I was in for a surprise. Actually two surprises. If you know me at all, you know I don't buy books, I get them from the library. I ordered this book from the library, and when I got the call that it was in, I was very excited. Dave said he'd stop by the library on the way home from running other errands. When he got home, he presented me with a signed copy of her book, my own copy. I was happy, because I knew it would contain pictures to remind me of her beautiful gardens. However, her book, Trudi's Garden, is hardly about gardening at all. It's a tale of a young girl growing up in war-torn Germany, and the sheer determination it took to survive, thrive, and live an amazing life. And she is the founder of Market Day! I grew up on Market Day that my mom ordered. I couldn't believe it, I had listened to this woman talk about life and her garden (they can't be separated) for two hours, and she never mentioned Market Day. You know, that fundraiser at schools, churches, and park districts? She started it to raise money for missions, to help people, and even though she doesn't do much of the operating of Market Day anymore, she still raises money for solar ovens for Africa by giving tours of her gardens. This woman is amazing, and the book is a precious gift. It even includes some delectable-looking recipes from her childhood, which I will hasten to try! It is co-written by Laurie Bohlke, and I highly recommend that you all order it immediately from your library!! Or even do what Dave did, drive down to Anderson's Bookshops, in Naperville, and get a copy. If you're not in Illinois, go to their website and order a copy! This is a must-read!

Next Time: Reading Programs

Soaking up the Summer

We went camping, we got drenched.

Next Time: Garden Update (I promise)