Tuesday, August 6, 2013

A new game for your little readers

BINGO!!!! 

Who doesn't love to play Bingo?  I remember going to kids Bingo as a kid, in my church basement with my Grandmother.  Everyone trying to win the little Troll dolls or My Pretty Pony or Game of Life that was up for grabs when you finally filled your row and yelled out that beloved word.  BINGO!!!  I remember my Grandmother leaving every Wednesday night with her little bingo bag, her dobbers (That I thought were the most fun are project item ever!) and her little Saint that she just knew would help her win the big money prize. 

Now times have changed, but I still love playing the game.  I took my kids to a Jr Bingo game over school break last April and they loved it.  They won things like bags of playdoh and keychains that lit up and a little toy piggie that poops (ugh).  The magic of the game was still there, that twinkle in their eye when they had an almost full row or only one or two numbers left for a full card.  I saw the excitement when they were able to finally yell out that word...... BINGO!!!!  It was as much fun for me to watch them play as it was for them to win. 

This summer my family is playing Bingo.  But a different kind of Bingo.  My son is in a heated competition with his classmates.  The school is trying to break their record of minutes read over the summer.  They have over 60,000 minutes so far, and they shattered last years record!  The top three readers win gift certificates to the school book fair in the fall...... an important prize to win!!  My son started out strong, reaching 5th place, but now is sort of losing steam with his reading.  So I grabbed a bingo game that his third grade reading teacher used in her class.  Its a reading Bingo.  Each square, just like a regular bingo, has something to cover, but in this case it is a specific book or type of book, instead of a number.  And in the center is a free choice.... a book of your choosing.  You can fill the other squares however you want, using your child's reading level. 5 squares across, 5 squares down.  Our squares are filled with things such as "Read a book about science" or "Read a Geronimo Stilton book" or "Read a book receommended by a friend".  You can use some of our ideas, or come up with your own. 


 
 
Some other good ones would be "Read a book about your state", "Read a book that was your parents favorite when they were your age" or "read a book suggested by the librarian".  We are using prizes. For each row they fill, my kids win a trip to the library.  When they fill the whole Bingo card, they get a trip to the bookstore to buy a book of their choice. 

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