Reading Week: Reading Incentive Programs

Many public library systems have summer reading programs with incentives for children to keep reading when school is out. Why are summer reading incentive programs important? They help keep kids interested in reading and aid them in maintaining their skills in the absence of school.

I signed Little Miss Techie up for our library’s summer reading club when she was 1 ½. (I know, I’m a total book nerd!) Even though we read the books to her, our librarians insisted that it counted towards participation. This year she and Captain Computer have already made sure that I am keeping up with their book log so they can qualify for monthly prizes.

Whether or not your library has a summer reading program, you can also participate in an online summer reading program through Scholastic’s Summer Reading Buzz. The Summer Reading Buzz is fun, interactive, geared for children of all ages, and gives readers a chance to earn books for other kids.

To join the Summer Reading Buzz, create a login for each of child in your family. Each child needs their own login since their age is used to place them in a “hive” based on their age. Children are either honeybees, bumblebees, hornets, of wasps. Each hive receives recommendations of age appropriate books that might be of interest to them. Book selections that your child might enjoy appear on the Headquarters page as Book of the Week.

Also located on the Headquarters page is the Reading Meter. As you child adds books to their reading log, Scholastic is partnering with nonprofit Room to Read and donating one book for each 4 read to a child in need. Why is 4 the magic number? Reading 4+ books allows kids to keep up their reading skills over the summer. Not only will your child keep reading throughout the summer, but they are helping to provide 50,000 books to other children!

Many of the features of Scholastic’s Summer Reading Buzz are perfect for upper elementary students. Buzz Boards allow older students to connect with same-age peers to discuss books. Buzz Extras contains Celebrity Book Buzz where favorite celebrities, like Abigail Breslin, share books they enjoyed when they were younger and titles they are currently reading. Older students can also navigate to Scholastic games and other interactive content through links.

But if you are discounting the Summer Reading Buzz for your first or second grader, don’t! The site has something for everyone and with the soon to be released Garden Game, younger students will enjoy earning virtual seeds for every book they read to grow a virtual garden. The Garden Game will be introduced as part of the site in late June/early July and allows I know Little Miss Techie, budding gardener extraordinaire, is going to love checking out this feature of the Summer Reading Buzz!

Oh, and one more thing… There’s also a Buzz Sweeps where you can win a Disney family vacation as a reward for reading! Anyone who in grades PreK–8 who logs 4 or more books on the Summer Reading Buzz until September 1st for a chance to win a Disney Vacation Dream. How cool is that?

Not sure what your child should read or haven’t heard of the selections suggested by their hive? Not to worry…Scholastic has covered that too with an incredibly comprehensive list of the best books for each age group. Download it here.

So what are you waiting for???

Create a login for your child, explore the Scholastic Summer Reading Buzz site, keep reading, enter to win that Disney trip, and be eligible for another great Scholastic sponsored giveaway!

Come back tomorrow to learn the details about the Scholastic giveaway!

This blog post is original to Tech Savvy Mama and may not be reposted without permission. Tech Savvy Mama does not do paid blog posts.