How Many Pages???

by Amy

You may remember that Peter and Alex are working hard on their reading lessons and will get a prize when they complete every so many lessons. Those prizes are fun to give out and fun to work towards. So, I decided Savannah needed a goal as well. I wanted to choose something that would motivate her, and cause her to work hard. As a child, I remember Pizza Hut giving out giving out free pan pizzas to kids that read a certain number of books in a month, and the library giving out free stuff during their summer reading programs. But, since those programs don't stretch across the great Pacific Ocean, I decided to call on my fun, creative buddy to help me out -- once again!

I told Rachel that I wanted Savannah to reach the goal of reading 1000 pages, but didn't know how to track it and how to make it fun. Immediately Rachel began plotting and devising a plan. She came up with a path that leads towards an undisclosed location. And, when she offered to make the path for us, I was happy to let her do it!

Each rock represents 5 pages, so as Savannah reads, she gets to color the rocks on her path. For every 200 pages, she gets to uncover a picture that will give her a hint as to where the path is leading. (She's already uncovered her first hint - it's a picture of Cinderella.) She also will get an additional small prize for every 200 pages.

It has been amazing to see how motivated Savannah is to read! For homeschooling, she's required to read independently for 20-30 min. a day. Obviously the pages she reads then count towards her 1000 pages. But, I told her she's free to read other times too, and we can count those pages as well. I can't tell you how many times I've heard her say lately, "Peter, Alex would you like me to read you a story?" And, she's asked many times if she can stay up late reading in her bed. It's great! I hated reading as a child and didn't want Savannah to be like that.

This path is really working. I actually was hoping that Savannah would reach her goal about the same time Peter and Alex reach their 100 reading lessons goal. But, I think she's going to beat em!