Summer Is Here...Time To Read!

This weekend Todd and I got our Library Cards.  Let me tell you, there was a LOT of excitement surrounding this event.

I am prodigiously ashamed to say that while living in Humboldt County, I took the library for granted.  The Humboldt County library is beautiful and has a lot to offer to the community.  Unfortunately, it also had a particularly odd schedule.  Due to lack of funds, for the first 10 years after it's move to the new building, the county could not afford to actually run the library.  This lead to many people abandoning the library out of sheer frustration and confusion.  I will admit that in recent years they have improved their hours, but they still need more support to get to where they want to be.

This brings me to the delight that surrounded our new Library Cards to the Salem Public Library.  The library itself is huge (to me) and has half a floor dedicated 100% to the Children's Section.  Obviously this is where we will be spending most of our time.

While we were there we decided to not only sign both boys up for the Summer Reading Program, but we also decided that Kindergarten Graduation was a good reason to get AJ his own Library Card.  He was so proud and loved the frog on the front.

We spent nearly an hour there and pulled the kids out with the promise that we will come back at least TWICE this coming week.  The effect of visiting and getting the cards had the desired effect on both of the boys, because since that visit we have read about three hours.  It also presented a challenge that I was more than happy to meet.  Do I really want the boys tearing books off the bookshelf?  Or can I make a box or basket of some sort to organize their books?

Thus came about the idea for the "READING BOX".  I took a medium sized, slightly shallow box and cut the flaps off.  I labeled the four flaps as dividers for the box ("Read To Me", "Read With Me", "Read Myself" and "Library").  Then I wrapped the box, labeled the box, and reinforced all of the loose edges with packing tape.

The idea for the dividers came to me while I was sorting through books to read with AJ.  We have a TON of Children's Books.  Some of them AJ can read all by himself, some of them he is working on and still needs help with, and some of them are harder books that I read to the boys at bedtime.  I also decided to add a section for Library Books so that there is always a place to put them while they are not being read.

It makes me so happy to see AJ applying himself to his reading.  He wasn't so thrilled with reading during the school year, so I think this Summer Reading Program might be the best thing that happened to us.  I made a deal with him that I would only match his hours of reading.  I read to the boys all of the time, but I told him that half of his logged hours would have to be his own.  It seemed to help because this morning he read 45 minutes all by himself!