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Putnam Valley Kids' Choice Book Club Celebrates its'
On May 22, 2007, the Kids' Choice Book Club celebrated their first anniversary - a year of reading for some of Putnam Valley's Elementary School age children. Each month these kids meet at the Putnam Valley Library, vote on a book of choice, and then spend the month reading the book and discussing the content. At the following month's meeting, the club Chair, Tamara O'Leary, coordinates a game related to the book.
This month's Third Grade book choice was Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parrish. Each child is given an opportunity to answer a question about the book. If they answer the question correctly, they get to fish for a key in a fish bowl full of keys. The winning key opens a large treasure chest full of cupcakes and juice for everyone to enjoy! Just one of the incentives for these growing readers!
They also maintain checkbook registers for each of the readers. They receive 100 points for reading their book and 100 points for coming to the meeting. They also earn points for winning games and answering questions. Then, every three to four months the readers have an opportunity to cash in their points for little toys or for used books and videos. This is all a great step in helping these kids achieve the New York State Education Department's recommended reading standard that each student in grades K- 12 read 25 books per year.
The Putnam Valley PTA English Language Arts Subcommittee of the Education Enhancement Committee implemented a new districtwide reading initiative called Putnam Valley Reads - The Standard is 25.
"I'm amazed at the progress these kids have made during the past year," states Tamara O'Leary. There are actually two reading groups - Third/Fourth Grade and First/Second Grade. "The club was formed as a result of my two daughters, Katie & Megan O'Leary, wanting to join my book club. The content of the books that I read wouldn't be appropriate for a First or Third grader. We tried to find a local book club for kids, but the only one that we could find was American Girl at Barnes & Noble. So we decided to start our own. Our first meeting had 6 children. Today, we have 23 members. Most months we have about 15 participants. I hoped to teach my kids… you have the ability to make things happen! As it turns out… It's the best spent hour of my month!"
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