Summer Reading Programs + Adorable Printable

The last day of school for our first grader, Noah, is on Friday.  He's had such a good year and he's really beginning to enjoy reading.  As an avid reader myself, I love that he loves books as much as I do.  I definitely don't want him to lose his enthusiasm over the summer, when there's so many other things to do (and so many video games to play.) So I was thrilled to find this adorable free printable on Heather's lovely blog, Home Again Jog (isn't that a cute name?)  I think I'm going to let Noah choose something from a "prize box" for every five books he reads.  This printable is the perfect way to track all those books!

click here to link to Heather's blog and print

I grab loads of kid's books at thrift stores and yard sales.  And, of course, we spend lots of time at the library. In addition to free books, almost every library branch has summer reading programs for kids that include incentives and prizes for reading, story hours and children's entertainers.  Yes, my name is Michele and I'm an obnoxious library pusher.  I worked in one for several years and it was the best job ever.

In addition to the library, I've pulled together a few other summer reading programs you might want to check out. 

Barnes & Noble

Pottery Barn Kids

Chuck E Cheese

Scholastic Summer Challenge

Who knew Pottery Barn had a summer reading program, right?  Now I can pretend I'm "there for the kids" when I'm actually shopping.  Win-win.