Welcome to our Summer Bucket List Series! If you missed our posts on dinosaur tracks here in Utah, click here. Want to know more about free summer films in the park? Click here. Then, we’ve got your complete list of splash pads along the Wasatch Front here.
Become Awesome Mom with our big fat list of summer fun ideas on our Pinterest page here.
Free Family Summer Reading Programs. If you’re still forcing your dispirited offspring to do worksheets in an effort to avoid that “summer learning lag,” there’s a better way. Lovely local and national reading programs have done all the work for you-right down to creating the charts and offering free prizes. Have a look…
National Programs:
Barnes & Noble:
Step 2. Bring the completed Reading Journal to your local B&N store. Find a Store
Step 3. Choose a FREE BOOK from our selection on the Reading Journal list at the store… Enjoy reading!
Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge:
This is a nationwide on-line reading program: there’s great resources for parents and teachers, free eBooks, craft activities and lesson plans. There’s tons of prizes available for kids meeting their reading goals.
Chuck E. Cheese:
Download and print the calender here. Mark off the days as your child accomplishes their goals, then bring in the completed chart for 10 free tokens.
Sylvan Learning:
Book Adventure is a fun, free way to motivate your child to read! Kids in grades K-8 can search for books, read them offline, come back to quiz on what they’ve read, and earn prizes for their reading success. Get started here.
Pizza Hut:
Your kiddos can join the Wimpy Kid gang for the BOOK IT! Summer Reading Challenge, an online interactive reading program that encourages children in grades K-6 to read throughout the summer. You can register here. There’s pizza involved. No child can resist pizza.
Local Programs:
Salt Lake City Library System:
First Lady Jeanette Herbert’s “Read With A Child”
- Read: Read as often as you can, including silent reading.
- Track: Track your progress by coloring in the buckets on the last page of the calendar (Download a *PDF of the calendar below).
- Report: Fill out the Family Progress Card or report here online. The online link will be available August 1, 2015.
- Success: After you report your reading at the end of the summer, you will receive a Certificate of Achievement from the Governor and First Lady.
Provo City Reading Program:
- Sign up at the library or online at home.
- Read 20 minutes a day, six days a week and record your time online.
- Read books from Provo City Library. The number of books checked out helps us to monitor the success of our Summer Reading Program.
- Read six days a week. You may read ahead or catch up if you get behind. You may read more than your reading goal, but you may only collect one prize.
Utah State Fair Reading Program:
- Open to children who are between the ages of 6-12 as of September 1, 2015
- Books may be read from April 1 to July 27, 2015
- Children read ten books and fill out the reading record form
- Reading is verified by a teacher, parent, guardian, or librarian
- Children mail their completed forms to the Fair- Entries must be postmarked on or before Monday, July 27th, 2015
Here’s what your kiddo gets:
- Gate entry pass to the 2015 Utah State Fair, this individual ticket can be used any one day of the Fair. The Fair runs September 10-20
- Ribbon Bookmark from the International Association of Fairs & Expositions
- Coupon for a free drink, redeemable at the State Fair Store
- Coupon from Thomas Carnival for one free ride redeemable at the Fair (limited number available, get your entry in early)
Salt Lake County Library Summer Program:
Children and pre-readers can participate in the “Every Hero Has a Story” program, the teen program is called “Unmask!” and the adult’s is “Escape the Ordinary.” Each age level features specially designed reading records to encourage everyone in the family to keep track of their reading progress throughout the summer. Book lovers of all reading levels can begin signing up on Monday, June 1 at any library location. Get started here.
Pre-School Pioneers:
The Library’s spokespuppet, Earl E. Literacy, wants to take you on a quest, a webquest. Utah Kids Ready to Read has a fun webquest full of games and information to help kids get ready to read. After you finish the webquest you could get a FREE BOOK! This site has especially good resources and free goodies for pre-schoolers. Get started here
