by Danielle Reid

Created on: November 06, 2008

My mother's family is completely made up of people who love to read....or maybe I should say "live" to read. Every one of them, from Grandma (and her sisters) and Grandpa to their four daughters shares in this passion, and it has been handed down from my mother to my brother and me. We have the ability to pick up a book and get so engrossed in it, we are sometimes completely oblivious to the world around us. In fact, if I'm in the midst of a stressful time in my life, I can easily escape from it by curling up with a good book and a pot of hot, soothing tea.

Reading provides not only a healthy escape in the fiction genre, but also a vast pool of knowledge in nonfiction. There are infinite possibilities in every category...people, places, science, the arts, mythology...the list is literally endless.

The joy of attaining such knowledge and escape should be passed on to our children at an early age. Thankfully, all of my children have inherited my love of books, although my son's interest is based upon his ever-changing current obsession is (i.e. Star Wars, military vehicles, construction, etc.).

Our school is further encouraging the children to read with what is called the Accelerated Readers' Program. This program starts in first grade and goes right up through eighth.

Among the many books in the library are those which are marked with the letters AR and a number indicating what reading level the book falls into. The children may check out any of these books, even those that are above their current reading level. When they have finished reading it (on their own), they take a test on the book, and earn points based on how well they did.

Over the last several years, I have watched this evolve into a wonderful rewards program. In the beginning, each time a student reached a new level, a ribbon with their name and that particular level would be placed on a board in the hallway for everyone to see.

This year, however, it was done differently, and was successful in getting the students so much more actively involved. At the start of the school year, pictures of the planets were placed in a line (with large spaces between) along the top of the wall in the main corridor. The students' names were written on rockets which moved ahead a short distance for every point increase. Each planet was a new goal to be attained with the prize being to make the principal do something silly...wear an animal costume and stand on the school roof waving at the busses, spend a day dressed in clothing representing the college sports team he did NOT like, and kiss a pig during a school assembly (my daughter informed me that this was no small pig, and it stuck its tongue out as he kissed it). Photographs were displayed around the planets showing the principal performing his various duties.

The ultimate goal was to reach the sun, which would win the school a trip to a Detroit Tigers game. The children blasted off, systematically reaching each and every planet, and, in no time, they had earned their final reward. In May, three busloads of students and family members headed to Comerica and had an amazing time.

It was a great experience provided by the enthusiasm for reading that was inspired by such an encouraging program.

The rewards do not have to be this extreme, of course. Plan small classroom parties, popcorn or pizza, for each level of achievement or begin a little competition by giving a prize to the highest-scoring person in each class. There are so many ways this program can be used to cultivate a greater interest in books and reading.

Check out www.renlearn.com/ar and www.arbookfind.com and get started.

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