We read so many school books during the year that it is a fun change for the kids to be able to do more pleasure reading over the summer. I like to encourage reading as much as I can and one way is to keep good books around. I’m a sucker for a book. I scour sale racks and garage sales and thrift stores, anywhere I might find a hidden treasure. We have shelves full of them!
So I told 2 of my boys, the 10 & 12 year old, to go find 5 books each from our shelves that they would like to read over the summer. Then I will go buy them one more making six books that they will have a goal to read by the end of August. They can read other books too, of course! But these 6 will be something they set as a goal.
They gathered their books while I prepared a little project for them. I used a stack of vinyl I got from Expressions Vinyl. I love their vinyl and I have tried a lot of different brands. It is my favorite!
We cut brown book covers using the big roll from the hardware store that is for protecting your floors while you paint. It’s inexpensive and a roll lasts us forever.
Then we got to work decorating their book covers. They used scissors to cut vinyl shapes while my older daughter Faith cut out some die cut shapes the boys chose our on die cut machine.
Several of their books were about mice, so they wanted to use the little mouse on their book covers.
We used the transfer paper from Expressions Vinyl to make a star bookmark. We used the non sticky side of the transfer paper and peeled off the back of the stars (their red glitter vinyl makes perfect stars) and stuck them to the paper. Now, when the boys finish a book they can peel off the star and stick it to the book cover to mark it as “read.”
The boys are excited about reading these books and I am hoping it will lead to more reading later in the summer. If they finish these early I am always glad to get out the vinyl again and make some more covers together.
And guess what! Expressions Vinyl is giving one of you a $25 gift certificate. You can use it to make summer reading book covers or try something new! They have so many gorgeous products you will have a hard time choosing.
AND that’s not all! This Thursday night I will be hosting a Twitter party for Tommy Nelson. We’ll be giving away books and talking about ideas for getting your kids to read over the summer! It’s going to be great! Come on and party with us at 8:00 PM CMT following the hashtag #TNSummerReading
Linking to: Teachers of Good Things
” is full of missionary stories, everyday people stepping out in faith, and their tales of adventure. I read the book to my kids and we were all moved by the dedication and strength of these people. The book is written in a way that a young child can easily understand but it’s still inspirational and exciting to the older children (and ME!). To put it simply, we loved it!
