As the summer winds down and the summer activities come to an end, it is time to finish up that summer reading. Some of the programs have ended, but not all of them. Though my children have earned some prizes, we are still waiting for others to arrive. Here is an update of our summer reading adventures:
Barnes and Noble
My son participated since the program is geared for children in 1st-6th grade. He read his 8 books and traded his reading journal for Clifford Makes the Team. Besides choosing his book, my son and daughters enjoyed playing with the Thomas & Friends trains and accessories. This reading program offered a great prize that turned into a nice morning activity in air conditioning which helped us beat the heat. 🙂
It’s not too late to earn your free book. Barnes and Noble’s Imagination’s Destination Summer Reading Program continues until September 6, 2011. You still have a little time to finish. Keep plugging away one word at a time.
 Borders
All three of my children completed the 10 books, and we filled out our Double-Dog Dare Challenge forms. However, all the Border, Border Express, and Waldenbooks stores in our area have closed, so we did not earn any prizes through this program. If you are close to one of the remaining stores that are closing, then you can still snag a free book by September 5, 2011.
Half Price Books
Another program we did not complete was the Feed your Brain Summer Reading Program. There are no Half Price Books locations in our neck of the woods. If you are close to one of these locations, then I hope you were able to finish in time. This program ended early on August 7, 2011.
TD Bank
Though we have completed our reading log, we have not yet opened our Young Saver accounts at TD Bank. Since posting of this summer reading program, TD Bank moved into our area. Yippee! I have until September 30, 2011 to open their accounts for their $10 deposits.
If you are near a TD Bank, your children or grandchildren still have until September 30, 2011 to complete their reading logs.
H-E-Buddy Summer Reading Club
Love this reading program! My kids finished their 10 books each. I filled out their forms and mailed them in. We are waiting for our prizes to arrive. In years past, we have received a t-shirt, pencil, bookmark, and certificate. I will post a summer reading finale when all the prizes have been received.
This great program is continuing. To get the prizes, you will need to have the summer reading form postmarked by October 1, 2011.
Local Library
In gathering all the information about the other programs, I forgot to encourage you to check your local library. Sorry about that! Of all the reading programs, our local library definitely had the best program. The Friends of the Library scheduled special programs throughout the summer where your reading log was your ticket to the event. As you reached milestones on your reading log, you could request your rewards.
This year, our library offered two options for summer reading:
- Option 1: Read by number of hours
- Option 2: Read by number of books
I was very thankful for the options this year with a young reader. The requirements for the program were to choose one of the options for each reader. So, I chose the hours for my son, the young reader, and the books for my girls. We all completed our goals.
The rewards were based on 3 levels. As you completed a level, you could request your reward. Since there were 3 levels and my children worked to complete all three levels, I waited until our summer reading was complete and then requested our rewards:
Level 1: 10 Hours or 40 Books
Chick-fil-A® Icedream ® coupon
Level 2: 5 More Hours (15 total) or 20 More Books (60 total)
Holographic ruler
Chick-fil-A® Kids Meal coupon
Level 3: 5 More Hours (20 total) or 20 More Books (80 total)
Reading medal
Free pass to a Recreation District park
Ticket voucher to a minor league baseball game
Our summer has been busy completing our summer reading programs. The generous rewards from these programs help this mom focus on setting a goal and reaching it. The joy my children receive when earning their rewards is worth all the time and energy spent investing in their future. Though the summer is winding down, it is not over yet. Keep using time wisely as you complete your summer reading!
Question: What was your family’s favorite summer reading program?