I have enjoyed reading for as long as I can remember. However, I think I can credit a public library summer reading program to my utter obsession with books. It was a simple program that challenged kids to read 100 books in a summer. At each 10 books reached they had a prize of some sort. I remember things like coupons for Wendy’s Frosties and waterpark passes. It was the perfect thing to get me hunting out new books. After I had exhausted the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew selection from the library it forced me to find other series and books that I might not of tried otherwise.

Teaching my own children to read proved far more difficult than I thought it would be. It’s odd to me I have no personal recollection of learning to read. I just suddenly could read according to my juvenile memory. I’m sure my mom would tell a different story. However, we have endured and know I’m reaping the rewards of watching my children steadily grow more confident in reading. I have noticed however the daily Language Arts lessons are dragging on. It seemed more of a chore for my children to read than a joy. It was something I wanted to change. It made me want to inject some excitement into their brains about reading.

I looked into the public library reading program and while they still do one it’s nothing like what I remembered. So I decided to make my own. I challenged the children to read 100 books by mid September. The fun part… PRIZES! At each 10 books checkpoint they will receive a small prize and than a grand prize at the end. Complete with a chart of course.

I wasn’t to sure what the kids would think of it but they did not disappoint. They dove straight into the challenge and I think I was overly generous with the time line. Not even two weeks in and my oldest is already at the halfway point. The prize incentives are working! They are just small prizes and hilariously mostly food related. But it’s working!

Now they are very much still growing in confidence in their reading so anything to “long” is an immediate deterrent. They choose whatever books they want to read. The lions share of them are the “Ready to Read” style. Lots of pictures and small groups of words so it’s not overwhelming. That being said, I’ve noticed my daughter diving into some big books with multiple stories in them. This is where years of collecting books is paying off. They have a literal library at their finger tips. I can hardly wait until they get to the chapter book stage and read all the glorious books I remember from my childhood. Queue the glee!

While a personal library is marvelous, we do often visit our local library also. If you haven’t really utilized a public library since your own childhood, I highly recommended giving it a try again. The amount of resources they have to offer these days is so impressive and all for free usually.

The saying “Monkey see. Monkey do.” is also proving quite accurate. I’ve seen my two year old sitting and looking at books more often now too because she sees her older siblings doing it. It all just warms my heart. Will they love reading forever more? I hope so. It may take a few more challenges to really hook them good. I just can’t describe the full satisfaction of seeing them flourish like this after such painstaking work in teaching them to read. The rewards of a mother.