Ready, Set, Read!

Every summer the library launches a summer reading campaign. They have special shows and activities to encourage kids to check out and read books. They even have an incentive chart school age kids can fill out to earn prizes! The kick off event this time was an awesome science demonstration complete with liquid nitrogen, fire and rockets!

It was a great show. It was sponsored by the science museum I had just taken the kids to over Memorial Day weekend. Those are my little scientists front and center in the pink and green. They really enjoyed themselves! After the show they had a raffle and gave 10 lucky kids a brand new chapter book! Guess whose number was the first one picked!

Isaac got a new Geronimo Stilton book called Curse of the Cheese Pyramid. He was over the moon! That's the second time he's been the first winner called at a library raffle, lucky boy. Riley didn't get called, but I had just given her my last free book from the Kellogg's rewards free book program. It's a Ready Freddy series book about Sharks. She had been looking at it on the way to the library so she was ok not getting called. Oddly enough they called the number right before and right after hers.

After the raffle Riley made a rocket ship with shiny star stickers while Isaac read his new book. I've said it before and I say it a thousand more times, I love the library! Where else can you have this much fun for free? Aside from the fun summer programs and shows the kids and I agreed we'd visit the library once a week this summer (at least).

Our First Tunes & Tomes!

Reading while she waited to leave for the library! Ok kids say "library!"

The Mother Goose Story Time at the library has been replaced by Toddler Tunes & Preschool Jams. Which is great news since Riley's dance class is done until fall. I took her to dance and left Isaac at one of the nearby tables with a crossword puzzle to do and a stack of books. It was fun! Riley was a star for sure. We picked out and checked out a dozen or so books. Isaac got 3 more battle books and Matilda! Riley got two Dora books, a Clifford, an Arthur book and a dinosaur book. Everyone left happy.

Happily reading on the way home to build our reading fort.

Kids reading in reading fort!

After they had an hour to read/goof off in the tent I gave them lunch. After lunch Riley took a nap and Isaac and I took apart the fort. After lunch we started our all about me books. They both colored the covers, drew themselves, their house and family. At which point Riley had a monster meltdown. She sat in time out wailing for almost 15min before she calmed down enough to come out.

At that point we decided to clean-up our crafts supplies and go play outside. I definitely feel like the days with both kids will be the challenge. Granted, Riley has just recovered from illness and we had one heck of a busy weekend so she'll probably do better Thursday.

Riley Reads

Over the weekend I took some video of Riley reading me one of her favorite books The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. If you click it you can read the summary or flip through the "look inside" and see what we're talking about.

Of course, she was doing a phenomenal job reading each page and making all the sounds for the articles of clothing and then I got out the camera. She must have sensed it even with her back turned because she wasn't as good the second time. She loves to read us her favorite books now. The ones we've read her hundreds of times.

Yeah, early literacy skills.