Summer Reading

"Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words."

Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

So, one of the only things I remember about reading in my childhood is a good ol' reading program. I specifically remember our library in Cross Lanes, WV hosting a summer reading program that let you accumulate "coins" as you read books and at the end of the summer, they held a "shop" (read: yard sale) where you could cash in your coins for little trinkets. Man I felt like hot stuff with that little straw purse I bought. :)

Reading finally "clicked" for Harper late in the school year, so I wanted to build on that (or at least maintain it). The girls are both signed up for the summer reading program at the library, but to be honest, it's pretty meager. Most of the library's summer efforts are tied to events AT the library versus reading at home. Plus, her school didn't send home anything for guidance over the summer. Nada. 

Enter "Book-It" Fertitta style. Since I loved to read growing up (still do!  Just finished my 25th of 2016), I looooves the Book It program in elementary school. I mean, who doesn't love to get a personal pan pizza just for reading. :). 

Since Harp is so competitive and achievement based, I ordered a few sticker charts from Amazon and told Harper that for every completed chart (20 books read on her own, no duplicates), we would go for ice cream. She took the bait. Haha. I figured it would probably take a couple weeks to do (she struggles with a lot of ADD symptoms), but nope. SIX DAYS later we are headed to Sweet Frog to cash in her reward.

My favorite part is telling everyone why we're there. "Hey, this is Harper, and she earned an ice cream for reading 20 books this week!"  No matter what the reason, my girls always beam when they see how proud we are of them. 

I hope she learns to love to read. Despite how easy my Kindle and Audible are, ive tried to make a point of getting physical books from the library so that she can see how much Mama loves to read, too. 

"From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived."

Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn