Summer Reading part 1

As I mentioned the other day, summer is rapidly approaching here in the ATL (18 more days!) and I have been searching for some summer reading activities to suggest to my students and their parents. Here is what I have found so far, but I am sure that once May 1st hits, there will be even more things to report. Some of these are specific to my area, but you may want to check out their websites to get ideas for your own students/children.

Scholastic Summer Reading Buzz http://www.scholastic.com/summerreading/
They are tying in with the Today Show’s Al Roker to support Al’s Summer Reading program. They have some great suggested summer reading lists for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6 and up. The site really gets going on May 15th with some interactive activities and other fun things to do around reading.

Al’s Book Club for Kids - http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18179145/
As mentioned above, Al Roker is gearing up to host a summer reading club for kids. They announced the first book already, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik (which we just bought off our book fair last week). You will be able to e-mail questions to the author which he/she may answer on the air. If you will be in NYC this summer, kids are encouraged to come down to the studio on the days the authors are scheduled to be on air to have their book signed and participate in the book discussion.

Gwinnett County (GA) Public Library - http://www.gwinnettpl.org/
As of today, the GPL has not announced their summer reading schedule, but I do know they usually start sometime in May and end right as school starts. Have your students check their local public library branch for more details.

Little Shop of Stories http://www.littleshopofstories.com/
This is a children’s book store in downtown Decatur,GA and it is AWESOME – they have an ice cream shop also inside the store, so you can make a day of visiting this really cool place. Check out their website for some cool things going on there this summer, including camps, story hours, book clubs and of course, a Harry Potter book party to beat all Harry Potter book parties.

One thing that I am going to try and get going in my own neighborhood is a book/movie party. My kids wanted to read the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, so I thought I would see if any of my kids friends wanted to get in on it. We will read the book and then I will pick a day and we'll talk about the book (with food of course) and watch the movie outside in my yard (with the help of an LCD projector/laptop - haven't figured out the screen yet, but I think a sheet might work.