Kids are out of school and getting them to read is a challenge every parent struggles with. Studies have shown that they can lose two months of knowledge over the summer if they don’t engage their brains in something other than fun. Parents don’t have to fight this battle alone. Several businesses and websites have stepped up to offer summer reading programs to kids where they can earn cool prizes and rewards.
If you haven’t read Valorie Delp’s Blog, All About BookAdventure.org., you should check it out. She discusses the advantages of using this website to encourage homeschooled children to read. They have a rewards program that can be custom made to fit your child’s personality.
Barnes and Noble has an awesome reading program. This will be our second year working on this one. When your child reads eight books and takes the completed journal into the store, they will receive a coupon for a free book. They usually have a bunch to choose from. This was the first program my daughter asked about this year. The featured author this year is Frindle’s Andrew Clements. Kids have until September 2, 2008 to bring in their journals.
Young readers can earn t-shirts and certificates on Hebuddy.com. If they read ten books and mail in their reading club form, kids will receive a free t-shirt, certificate, and a sticker. This site also has games kids can play to boost their skills. All club forms must be mailed by August 6, 2008.
Halfpricebooks.com and Cici’s Pizza have teamed up to feed your child’s brain and build their library. When your child reads 15 minutes a day for five days, they can earn a $3 shopping card for Half Price Books or a free child’s pizza buffet from Cici’s Pizza. The great thing about this program is that it can be done every week until August 2, 2008. They usually have lots of inexpensive kids books to choose from.
Commerce Bank will pay your kids to read this summer. When your child reads ten books and brings the completed form into the bank, Commerce will deposit $10 into their Young Savers Account.
The Magic Treehouse Series has an online program. Each child can download a passport and work towards earning stamps from around the world. Readers have to answer trivia questions about each story in order to receive a passport stamp.
The Old Spaghetti Factory is offering free spaghetti dinners to kids who read five books. Call your local restaurant for more details.
Local libraries are a great resource for summer reading programs that are aimed at getting your kids to want to read and use the library.
Well it only fits that your freebie for the day be a comic book. The Federal Reserve has a series of comic books that can be used to teach money topics like inflation, bank systems, saving money, and the Federal Reserve operations. They are free. All you have to do is order them. This could be a great learning tool for homeschoolers.
Don’t miss my upcoming blogs on where to find deals on children’s books and rewards for good report cards. If you haven’t already, click on the subscribe button to the right of this blog. All of the new deals will be delivered right to your email. You will never miss a deal or freebie again.
More deals for kids:
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Free Movie Tickets, Anyone?
More Free Movie Tickets, Part 2