And just like that, the Summer Story Challenge is in its last and final week. A huge round of applause if you’ve participated every week or even just one! There’s still one more challenge I think your kids will love and it’s the perfect way to wrap up the Summer Story Challenge.
Here’s the activity for Week 8 of the Summer Story Challenge: A Book Spree. Let’s get to it!
You’ve all survived the summer and to keep the reading momentum going, take your kid to a used bookshop, garage sale, or library book sale, and give them a $1 (or $2 if you want to be wild) and have them find and buy their own books.
Take your baby with you and see what appeals to them
Please come back and share what you and your kids bought!
✨GIVEAWAY✨
It’s time for an end-of-summer giveaway! In the comments, share your favorite memory of reading with the kids this past summer. The randomly selected winner will get a $25 gift card to Thrift Books! If you’d like to participate, be sure to enter by Sunday, Sep. 1st, 9 pm EST!
If you want to catch up or revisit the prior weeks’ story challenges, you can check them out here:
I have a toddler and a baby (who is almost a toddler himself 😭)
My toddler LOVES books. Since she was an infant, she would curl up in our laps for hours and hours, reading book after book.
Our baby on the other hand, wanted NOTHING to do with books. No books, ever. No thank you.
Combined with a burgeoning speech delay, I was feeling panicky. I didn’t know what to do with a baby who didn’t like books or being read to!
Until this summer. In the past month or so, our baby has found his own little love for books. It started with books about cars, books with pop ups, then Brown Bear and Dear Zoo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And now, I often find him next to the book shelf swimming in all the books he’s pulled down to look at.
And I finally find myself on the floor, kids crawling all over me, reading to my two loves. Of course the baby is tearing pages and the toddler is crying that she can’t see the pictures. But we’re reading together. And it’s beautiful and my book-loving Mama heart is so full!
Omg I have tears in my eyes; such a huge moment for you! So happy that this summer has been filled with sweet reading memories for you and your two loves. 💗
My favorite book moment of the summer with my 5 year old son was helping him discover the different sections of the library. We went every week to get new books and a few weeks ago, he asked me to show him where all the nonfiction weather books were ( his new favorite thing), and every week he goes to that area first before playing. It makes my heart so happy!
This is so fun! So, my husband and I have always instilled a strong sense of reading with our kids (currently ages 7 and 3). My 7 year has actually begun reading chapter books AND has started writing her own book. But the best memory this Summer wasn't related to any one book. Nope. It was actually those moments when, without being asked to, I caught my 7 year old reading toy 3 year old, who was completely engrossed in the story. And as equally heart warming, I also found her reading her own pet hermit crab that joined the family this Summer. I just love that she is using reading as her way to connect with others!! ❤️❤️
my 5 y/o daughter recently discovered taylor swift so we have been reading books about taylor swift! she doesn't understand everything that's in the books (ie album, what's that?) but she really enjoyed the time together on the sofa ;)
I love the find and buy your own book quest!! I’ve had so many great little moments of summer reading, but I think one of my favorite moments was coming downstairs at my moms house when we were visiting to find my 5 year old reading Spacebot by Mike Twohy to my 92-yr-old Grandma, hunched over with her magnifying glass and trying her best to follow along. Magic. 🪄
My son is still not reading for himself yet, but this summer he got very excited about legos and has spent hours looking through Lego ideas books. It’s the first time he’s shown an interest in books on his own (he likes being read to but hasn’t picked up even picture books just to look through before this) I can sense his own motivation to read starting to come through.
I have a toddler and a baby (who is almost a toddler himself 😭)
My toddler LOVES books. Since she was an infant, she would curl up in our laps for hours and hours, reading book after book.
Our baby on the other hand, wanted NOTHING to do with books. No books, ever. No thank you.
Combined with a burgeoning speech delay, I was feeling panicky. I didn’t know what to do with a baby who didn’t like books or being read to!
Until this summer. In the past month or so, our baby has found his own little love for books. It started with books about cars, books with pop ups, then Brown Bear and Dear Zoo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And now, I often find him next to the book shelf swimming in all the books he’s pulled down to look at.
And I finally find myself on the floor, kids crawling all over me, reading to my two loves. Of course the baby is tearing pages and the toddler is crying that she can’t see the pictures. But we’re reading together. And it’s beautiful and my book-loving Mama heart is so full!
Emily, you've won the giveaway! Could you please email me at: readablemomentsbookclub (at) gmail (dot) com?
Omg I have tears in my eyes; such a huge moment for you! So happy that this summer has been filled with sweet reading memories for you and your two loves. 💗
My favorite book moment of the summer with my 5 year old son was helping him discover the different sections of the library. We went every week to get new books and a few weeks ago, he asked me to show him where all the nonfiction weather books were ( his new favorite thing), and every week he goes to that area first before playing. It makes my heart so happy!
Hurray for the non-fiction section!!
Aww that's so sweet and heartwarming! Thank you for sharing!
This is so fun! So, my husband and I have always instilled a strong sense of reading with our kids (currently ages 7 and 3). My 7 year has actually begun reading chapter books AND has started writing her own book. But the best memory this Summer wasn't related to any one book. Nope. It was actually those moments when, without being asked to, I caught my 7 year old reading toy 3 year old, who was completely engrossed in the story. And as equally heart warming, I also found her reading her own pet hermit crab that joined the family this Summer. I just love that she is using reading as her way to connect with others!! ❤️❤️
Oh my heart, that is so lovely! What a great big sister--she's sharing her love through her love language!
my 5 y/o daughter recently discovered taylor swift so we have been reading books about taylor swift! she doesn't understand everything that's in the books (ie album, what's that?) but she really enjoyed the time together on the sofa ;)
Haha love it! And thus a new Swiftie is born 🥰
I love the find and buy your own book quest!! I’ve had so many great little moments of summer reading, but I think one of my favorite moments was coming downstairs at my moms house when we were visiting to find my 5 year old reading Spacebot by Mike Twohy to my 92-yr-old Grandma, hunched over with her magnifying glass and trying her best to follow along. Magic. 🪄
That is a moment that’s going to live in your heart forever. 🥹🩷
My son is still not reading for himself yet, but this summer he got very excited about legos and has spent hours looking through Lego ideas books. It’s the first time he’s shown an interest in books on his own (he likes being read to but hasn’t picked up even picture books just to look through before this) I can sense his own motivation to read starting to come through.