What happens when you have one kid who LOVES to read and two kids who are “meh” about reading…you host a Reading Under The Stars” night of course. Keeping the book lover excited to read and getting the ones who could take it or leave it excited about reading. Recently, that’s just what we had the chance to do thanks to Scholastic’s Summer Reading program.
This year’s Summer Reading theme is Reading Under the Stars, and is powered by EVEREADY®, the maker of batteries and flashlights, to encourage families to discover new and fun ways to explore reading outside this summer. This is the 8th year, Scholastic has issued the summer reading challenge, and it’s all in hope that kids will stay on top of their reading through the summer. That way when they return back to school, they don’t have to get back into the swing of reading!
For our reading under the stars night, we had supplies galore. Lights and batteries a plenty, thanks to EVEREADY®. Plus, Scholastic provided some books to add to our library, fun posters, a blanket, reading minute log sheets, and so much more. Everything we needed for a perfect night of reading under the stars!
We took our log sheets outdoors with us, they are perfect for carrying around so you can keep track of those minutes on the go. Then when you get home, log into the Summer Reading site and log those minutes. My kids really enjoy being able to log into the site (online or on a smartphone) and add their minutes to see if they can beat the challenges issued. They can also find great books to read for their summer reading challenge. They have been a part of helping beat the previous world record!
I can even log on and check my kids reading progress, not to mention, minutes logged can help out your local schools. By logging minutes, students can help schools get supplies to encourage reading. That is enough initiative for me to encourage them to read, reminding them they can help others! I love that there are so many resources, activities, games, and other fun things on the site. Scholastic is truly going all out to make sure our kids stay on top of their reading and I am going to do my best to make sure my kids do just that!
In 2013, Scholastic inspired more than 130,000 kids from 4,200 schools in all 50 States and 31 countries to set a new record for summer reading of 176 million-plus minutes! And if the site is correct, it seems that this year we have already beat that record! Way to go kids!!
Be sure to Follow Along socially:
- Like Scholastic Parents on Facebook
- Follow Scholastic on Twitter and Instagram #SummerReading
- Follow the Summer Reading Challenge Pinterest Board
- Like the Summer Reading Challenge YouTube Playlist
What are some of your kids favorite books??
Toni Patton
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My son loves anything with Dragons and for me my favorite kids book is anything by shel Silverstein.
I love how this program gets kids reading over the summer. It’s important for improving their fluency and comprehension.
What a cool way to get kids reading. I am having a why didn’t I think of that moment. Thanks for the idea.
It is important to help children develop a love of reading when they are young. It makes life so much better for them later in life.
I like the flashlight, but not for reading, but camping, thank u toni
I like the flashlight, but not for reading, but camping.24
by the way, I get a 524 comment error from your blog when replying
I like the flashlight, but not for reading, but camping. thank u Toni, damn my keyboard
by the way, I get a 524 comment error from your blog when replying
This looks like such fun for kiddies,Mine would love to do something like this.
I am all for anything that encourages kids to get out there and read more. What an awesome idea.
We read outside all the time but not once the sun goes down. My little one is still afraid of the dark.
That is so much fun! What a fantastic way to get the kiddos interested in reading more!
I think this is awesome! I work in a school and encouraging kids to read over the summer is like pulling teeth sometimes. I would love to add something like this into the class to help make reading a little more fun and encourage it over the summer. Thanks for sharing:)
Wow, the Scholastic stats are impressive! What a great way to get your kids interested in reading. I love those pics by the way!
I would pitch a tent right now if it meant I could get some uninterrupted peace with a good book!
What a fun idea! My parents never allowed us to read with flashlights due to the fear of making our eyesight worse. So fun though!
Love summer reading programs for kids! This is a really cute idea. Thanks for sharing.
What an awesome way to get kids busy reading for the summer!
I love seeing my son with a flashlight and reading a book! So many kids are all about tablets and never touch a book. Great post!
176 million minutes of reading is such a huge accomplishment! I absolutely love Scholastic. As a kid, flipping through their book fair catalogs was what inspired me to become a reader, and eventually a professional writer.
My oldest loves the vampire stuff while my youngest loves any book at all. I love to encourage reading, it really helps with her vocabulary.
I think it’s so fabulous that Scholastic is doing this to encourage reading. It’s so, so important, and they make it such a fun program. Love this under the stars angle.
This looks like such fun to read under the stars. My little one is into fancy nancy and my older one is into biographies.
I love the reading outside idea! My daughter has a hammock swing on her back porch and reads out there almost daily.
What a fun idea! I would love to do this with my toddler. Looks like your family really enjoyed it too and you certainly had everything you needed for the perfect outdoor book party!
My kids would love going outside for story time! Thank you for the inspiration.
My nephew loves to read but he did go through a short time where he suddenly lost all interest in reading. It’s nice that this program gets kids reading, especially during the summer!
looks like a great and fun idea for kids to get into reading and seeing if they can meet the challenges and record their minutes and help their schools