I had the pleasure of watching a small miracle unfold this summer. Jack and Elliot became book lovers. Both boys came home with some suggestions for summer reading, and I bought them each several promising titles. But, neither boy had any interest in reading when school let out in June. Frustrated, I decided to try something completely new. I offered the boys $1 for each chapter book they finished. I don't believe in paying kids to do something they should just do in the normal course of life, but I wanted a way to encourage them to read, that wouldn't require any involvement, nags or threats on my part. I was also interested in giving them a way to earn small amounts of money, to start teaching some spending lessons as well. So, I threw caution to the wind, and announced my payout promise to the boys. In my mind, I estimated that they were likely to read between 5 and 10 chapter books each during the summer.
Upon explaining the rules to the boys, they ran downstairs immediately, demanding their pile of books. And, amazingly, their enthusiasm never waned. Jack discovered a new favorite author. He read only Dan Gutman books all summer. Elliot continued with some familiar series, and got through the entire Magic Tree House collection. In total, Elliot read 37 books. Jack read 21. (On average, his books were slightly longer.) I am so incredibly proud of them. Not only did they exceed my loftiest hopes, but they discovered a joy that no amount of bribery could buy. All summer long I found them curled up with their books, nestled in corners and on the couch. They read in the car, and complained when the trips were too short. They read in bed, before and after lights out. I was so amazed, that I made them each type up a list of the books they read. I wanted them to be able to look back, years from now, and remember the stories they so enjoyed. Here they are:
Jack's List:
My Weird School #4 Miss Hannah is Bananas
MWS #5 Miss Small Is Off the Wall
MWS #6 Mr Hynde Is Out of His Mind
MWS #7 Mrs Cooney Is Looney
MWS #8 Miss Lagrange Is Strange
MWS #9 Miss Lazarre Is Bazarre
MWS 310Mr Docker Is Off His Rocker
MWS#11 Mirs Kormel Is Not Normal
MWS #12 Miss Todd Is Odd
MWS #13 Mrs Patty Is Batty
MWS #14 Miss Holly Is Too Jolly
MWS #15 Mr Macky Is Wacky
MWS #16 Miss Coco Is Loco
MWS #17 Miss Suki Is Kooky
Honus and Me
MWS #18 Mrs Yonkers Is Bonkers
MWS #19 Dr Carbles Is Losing His Marbles
MWS #20 Mr Louie Is Screwy
MWS #21 Miss Krup Cracks Me Up
My Weird School Daze #1 Mrs Dole Is Out of Control
MWSD #2 Mr Sunny Is Funny
Elliot's List:
Nate the Great | |||||
Nate the Great and the Sticky Case | |||||
Invisible Stanley | |||||
Stanley Flat Again | |||||
Nate the Great and the Missing Valentine | |||||
Nate the Great and the Missing Key | |||||
Flat Stanley | |||||
Nate the Graet and the missing pillowcase | |||||
Nate the Graet and the hallaween hunt | |||||
Flat Stanley | |||||
Magic Tree House #18 Buffalo before Breakfast | |||||
Magic Tree House #19 Tigers at Twilight | |||||
Hardy Boys Trouble at the Arcade | |||||
Mr. Docker is off his Rocker | |||||
Mrs. Kormel is Not Normal | |||||
Miss Lazar Bizarre | |||||
Magic Tree House # 20 Dingoes at Dinnertime | |||||
Magic Tree House #21 Civil War on Sunday | |||||
Magic Tree House #22 Revolution War on Wednesday | |||||
Magic Tree House # 23 Twister on Tuesday | |||||
Magic Tree House #24 Earthquake in the Early Morning | |||||
MTH #25 Stage Fright on a Summer Night | |||||
MTH #26 Good Morning, Gorillas | |||||
MTH #27 Thanksgiving on Thursday | |||||
MTH #28 High Tide in Hawaii | |||||
MWS 6 Mr Hynde is out of His Mind | |||||
MTH #29 christmis in camelot | |||||
MTH #30 hanted castle on hallaween eve | |||||
MTH #31 summer of the sea serpent | |||||
MTH #32 winter of the ice wizard | |||||
MTH #33 carnival at candlelight | |||||
MTH #34 seasens of the sandstorms | |||||
MTH #35 night of the new magicians | |||||
MTH #36 blizzard on a blue moon | |||||
MTH #37 dragon of the red dawn | |||||
MTH #38 Monday with a mad genius | |||||
MTH Dark day in the deep sea |
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