Jack's Summer Reading Tree

I love to read. I love books, bookstores, words, word puzzles, blogs...you name it, I love it!
So it's really no surprise that I've been obsessed focused on instilling a love of reading in my boys.
After trying charts and timers, stickers and lollipops.....
I've found that they really enjoy a visual, tangible way  to see how much they've read over the summer.

This year Jack and I came up with a Reading Tree!

Our tree has been growing for about three weeks! (school gets out for us in late June)
What do you think!?

It started out as an idea after reading one of our favorite books,
Rocket Writes a Story


Rocket is a little dog who learns to read from his teacher, the little yellow bird.  When ever they find a new word....they write it on a little sticky note and put it on their tree!
Jack said, "I wish we had a tree like that!  I would cover the whole thing up!"
I wasn't about to let an opportunity like that pass us by!



I found the branches in the clearance aisle at Jo-Ann's.

They're a little rubbery so I was able to bend and stretch them out. At first I had them in the vase by themselves, but that bothered Jack.
"Mom, that's NOT a tree!  Trees don't just grow in a vase full of air.   They need to be planted in something or they'll flop over!" (silly mommy, what was I thinking!)
The rocks are from our backyard and I had a little bag of moss.
Tree planted....problem solved (whew!).

I used green card stock and cut a bunch of leaf shapes (just freehand, nothing fancy), punched holes in them and precut some green ribbon.
These are all in a little bowl with a pencil by the base of the tree.

When Jack finishes a book, he grabs a leaf, writes the book's name on it (this also gets him some much needed printing practice before 1st grade)...

...puts the little ribbon stem through the hole...

...and its ready for the tree!
Sometimes he ties it on, sometimes he leaves it for me.

I can't wait to see how full it gets by the end of summer!