Keep Kids Reading and Summertime Reading freebie!

I know some of you have already said goodbye to your school year.  We're in single digits now, with just over one week left!  I don't think it really hit me until we took our annual trip to a local camp, locating on 90 acres in the woods.  There the kids got to challenge themselves in a number of ways, and got to see that their teacher wasn't just an old lady, but a decent kickball and Gaga player, stream wader, slack-line walker, etc.  :)

Even the most squeamish kids get into lifting up rocks to find tadpoles, crawfish, and all kinds of bugs!

Working together to get everyone over the wall means listening to each other!

This annual trip always comes at the end of the year.  I love watching the kids work together, and seeing another side to them as their curiosity and hands-on thinking takes over.

Back in the classroom, we're starting our countdown of how many books we've read this year.  My students keep track of all the books they've tried and finished all year long.  We sort them by genre to see which genres are most popular (in 6th grade, it's always been Realistic Fiction and Fantasy, although some years Mysteries have been a close third.)

I give my students this Summer reading challenge.  They have fun collecting beach balls - each one's worth 30 minutes of reading time - and then coming back the following year to show me.  I usually get small gift cards to local stores as a prize.  Of course, you can set the time for each beach ball and whether or not you want to give prizes or not.

 I had to make the picture larger so you could see the beach balls.  Click here or on the picture below if you want to take advantage of this 48-hour freebie!

Feedback is always appreciated!

For those of you out of school already, I hope you're getting some much needed rest!  For those of you still going strong, hang in there!