Book-It

It's that time of year ... Book-it!

If you're not familiar with Book-It, I'll explain a little what it is but first let me tell you the reasoning of why we participate in it.

Each night we require that the students read 20 minutes outside of school.  We don't do this to take up their time and make your life miserable (as we know it can be a battle for some kids to read at home!).  It's those 20 minutes that make the different in your child's reading ability.  Trust me, we can tell if your child reads at home or not.

Here are some interesting statistics regarding reading ....

1.  80% of U.S. Families did not BUY or READ a book last year (source:  www.Jenkinsgroupinc.com)

2.  Each year a child spends 900 hours in school and 7,800 hours outside of school!  Wow ... that number amazes me!  We will do all we can here at school but it's crucial that they also do some work at home.  (source Jim Trelease Read-Aloud Handbook)

We're both passionate about reading and want to encourage you and your child to develop this life-long habit of reading.

Now, how does Book-it work.  Your child will be coming home with a calendar.  Each day that they read 20 minutes, they color in one of the pictures.  At the end of the month, they'll turn the calendar (with your signature) in to their classroom teacher and we'll write them a slip for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.  We understand that there are some days when the 20 minutes just doesn't get done ... if that's the case, they can read extra on another day.  Our goal is to have 100% class participation for this but also that the students will start doing their reading because they WANT to, and not because they have to.

Happy Reading!!!!!