Barnes and Noble has a summer reading initiative. We noticed the contest on one of our frequent visits to the store and my children got really excited about it. The contest is for elementary students from grades 1 - 6. The requirement is 8 books to be read between May 26 and September 7, 2009.
The theme for the challenge is based on books by Percy Jackson. I can’t say that I’m a fan or that we have read or ever will read his books, but the reading challenge is still a good motivator for children and the book list to choose a prize from has some excellent books like The Twenty-One Balloons or Biscuit takes a Walk. It’s simple, do-able, and besides your child is rewarded with a free book from a prize list.
As a home-school mom I definitely want to take advantage of the free motivation from outside our home. Also, if you so happen to enjoy a good bookstore Barnes & Noble has excellent learning resources. They really have excellent resources for at-home-learners.
I’m impressed by the number of workbooks, biographies, science resources, and other varieties of children’s books. My four year-old and my one-year old really enjoy the Thomas train table in the store which occupies them while I sit nearby and browse through learning materials. I visited one store location in Wisconsin, near Madison that had a whole section just for home-school families.
Borders also has an eight book reading challenge. It’s for ages 12 and under, and participants are rewarded with the choice of one of the $4.99 reduced- price reading challenge items. I’m not yet sure what they are because we are still working on the Barnes and Noble challenge. The contest at Borders which began in May runs until August 31, 2009.
Reading 16 books over the summer with extra outside motivation is just not a bad plan. I might even create my own reading challenge. An inexpensive toy or $5 is a great motivator. Maybe we can do 24 or 32 books. My 10 year old seems to be averaging one Boxcar Children book in a day! Being the demanding mom that I am, I’ll probably require book reports on each to maximize the fun.