Have you ever heard of the "summer slide"? No, it's not a ride your kids can go on, but they might do it without realizing! That term is given to learning loss over the summer that kids experience transitioning between school years. Thankfully, there's a solution, a fun way to prevent it from happening with a game.
Maricopa County Reads is the award-winning, summer reading program provided by the Maricopa County Library District to all 62 public libraries in the county. The gist: the more you read, the more you get! The goal is 20 minutes per day, and the rewards vary depending on the city library you choose.
At city of Phoenix libraries, just for signing up, you get a free used book, and a reusable tote bag. Then, kids up to 14 will get a coupon for a free, personal pan pizza from Peter Piper Pizza. Teens 12 to 17 will get a free water bottle.
Now it's time to read:
- One minute of reading equals one point.
- Reach 500 points, and get a Chipotle coupon
- 1,000 points gets you a medal, a free, new book, and you'll be entered in the grand prize drawing to win a family membership to The Children's Museum, The Phoenix Zoo or The Arizona Science Center
They have a physical or online game board to help you keep track of your reading, and you'll also earn badges along the way that give you extra points as well. Smart Shoppers get a badge! Enter secret code: ABC15SMARTSHOPPER to earn a special badge and more points!
Each city library has different prizes, but the biggest prize is that the kids will be having fun and avoiding summer learning loss all at the same time. So, visit the closest library near you, and read on!
Click here for information on Maricopa County Reads.
Click here for the Phoenix Public Library's Summer Reading.
Click here for the Chandler Public library.
Click here for the Scottsdale Public library.
