Sunday, May 3, 2015

summer of reading: bingo cards

It's no secret that we are a family of readers. I definitely don't have to do much coaxing to get my kids to read/be read to.  


BUT I love making our summers extra special, and one thing that we do every summer is participate in several summer reading programs.


One of our favorites is the Barnes and Noble program. Stop in at any store and pick up a reading journal (or print one here). After you read any 8 books, you can turn it in and choose a FREE book from their summer reading selection.


Pottery Barn has a similar program, although you have to complete one of their reading lists to receive a free book.


But my favorite summer reading programs are the ones we do ourselves!


This is the fourth summer that we will be hosting a kids' book club for the kids in our neighborhood/area. It's so fun to get kids together, having fun exploring and reading! I will be posting more details about this year's Bookworms events soon. We're doing it a little differently this year, and I'm excited to share my ideas!


Every day we make time in our schedule for reading, both individually and as a family. While Tempe will flop down with a book anywhere, any time, Helena requires a little bit more persuasion. Once she is reading, she loves it, but it's not something she will think to do on her own.

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This bingo chart is great for that, because it gets her out of her comfort zone!


They must read for 20 minutes to pass off a square (they don't have to do what that square says for the whole 20 minutes, though) and at the end of the summer, if they have blacked out their whole card, they get a small prize at our back-to-school family dinner. I make sure that everyone gets their card blacked out, because I want reading to be something that we do as a family and something that they feel is an accomplishment. 
Feel free to print my bingo card (or create your own!) to get your kids reading this summer!


More summer reading activities and ideas coming soon!
Please share if you have any fun things you do to encourage reading, creativity, and learning through play during the summers!


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