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 1^st-6^th 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?

Photograph Credit: H-E-B Summer Reading Club

My kids have participated in this summer reading program for the last 2 years. Though the H-E-B grocery store chain operates in Texas and northern Mexico and we live in South Carolina, my children still get rewarded for reading their 10 books and submitting the book titles on the form downloaded from their web site.

This company gives out great prizes. Each year, my kids earned a tee shirt, certificate, pencil, and stickers. I order the shirts larger than needed, so my kids will be able to wear them past this season. My daughter loves her “Buddy the Bag shirts.” (The mascot for H-E-B is a paper bag named Buddy.)  Her orange shirt from 2009 is fading, but the white shirt from 2010 still looks great. I highly recommend this reading program, and my kids will probably be guessing the color of this year’s shirt. 🙂

Photograph Credit: H-E-B Summer Reading Club

Per the H-E-Buddy Summer Reading Club web site, here is how to participate:Don’t procrastinate. Print out the form. Keep track of your children’s book reading. Enjoy the delight on their faces when they receive their just reward. Happy reading!

Photograph Credit: TD Bank

Now this is my kind of reading program. For those in the northeastern United States, TD Bank is offering $10 to young readers for reading 10 books. Cool, can I be a kid again? Earning money for reading is awesome. To participate, read these details from TD Bank’s web site:

• Read 10 books this summer
• Write down the names of the books they’ve read in the Summer Reading Form
• Print and take the form to your nearest TD Bank to get $10
• $10 will be deposited into a new or existing Young Saver Account

The fine print also states:

• One coupon per Customer during promotional period.
• Cannot be combined with any other offers.
• Valid May 4, 2011 through September 30, 2011.
• Bring form of ID for child for new account opening.

TD Bank suggests the following books regarding money and savings:

• If You Made a Million by David M. Schwartz
• Lemonade for Sale by Stuart J. Murphy
• Willie Wins by Almira Astudillo Gilles
• Jelly Beans for Sale by Bruce McMillan
• Pig Pig Gets a Job by David M. McPhail
• Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday by Stephen Manes
• A Dollar for Penny by Julie Glass
• Money Trouble by Bill Cosby
• The Can Man by Laura E. Williams

For those of you who live near a participating location, I encourage you to help your children read the 10 books, visit your local branch, and instill the benefits of saving the $10 earned. If your family participates and earns prizes, please come back to share your prizes in the comments.

Another summer reading program for students 14 years and younger is offered by Half Price Books. With all these summer reading programs, your student can enjoy many rewards for his/her efforts. Using time wisely working toward the reading goal will result in wonderful rewards when the goal is reached. Keep aiming for the goal!

Photograph Credit: Half Price Books

Here’s how kids 14 and under can participate:

1. Get a Feed Your Brain Reading Log and set a goal to read each day for at least 15 minutes or more throughout June and July. Grown-ups may read aloud for kids who are still learning.
2. Join us for our Feed Your Brain kick off on Sunday, June 5 at 2 pm for the Biggest Storytime of the Summer at your local Half Price Books.
3. Add up your minutes and have your parent or guardian initial at the end of each week.
4. Check-in at your local Half Price Books store to find more great books to Feed Your Brain throughout the summer!
5. Did you read 600 minutes or more? Turn in your completed reading log at Half Price Books July 25 – August 7 to receive your $5 Back-to-School Bucks summer reading reward!
6. Do you think you’re a Top Reader this summer? We’ll award one top reader per age group with a TOP READER prize, a $20 HPB Gift Card!

Finding something to read for 15 minutes each day amay seem difficult if you are looking for individual books. If you choose to read each day, try to start a series. For my little ones, I read a chapter of a Nancy Drew book or a Hardy Boy book each night. Sometimes, I will read more than one chapter if they ask or need a little more time to fall asleep. We enjoy the adventures and look forward to the resolution to the mystery. These mystery books have been enjoyable for my family. I hope you will find books or a series that works for your family. Happy reading!