Our library summer reading program

Our library holds a summer reading program every year. The kids sign up and get calendars to track how much they read. Then they can bring the calendars into the library where their reading minutes earn them "library dollars" which they can use at the "library store." They can also enter their names for grand prize draws. There's a different theme every year with a poster they add stickers to each week.

And I don't like it.

I know! Crazy, right? It's the awesome free program and I don't like it.

Keeping track of minutes read drives me nuts. My kids read a lot and really don't need a program like this to encourage them to do so. They do it anyway. And then there's all the "stuff" that gets left around... the posters, stickers, colouring pages, flimsy little toys that get broken-- all cluttering up my house. And then there's the sadness and disappointment when my kids don't win a prize (or worse, when one of them wins and the other two don't!) Yes, Austin was a grand prize winner one year, and that was great, but yeah, it isn't likely to happen again. (And really, we didn't need a two man tent anyway!)

So, this past summer, when Jonah saw that one of the prizes was a Lego Star Wars Brickmaster, I told him that I would buy him a Lego Star Wars Brickmaster if he didn't sign up for the program. Sure, we'd still make our weekly trips to the library, but no reading program. He agreed.

Sage, on the other hand, still wanted to sign up. I couldn't believe it! But she still wanted to do it. I told her she could, but I wouldn't help her write down minutes and she had to keep track herself. (I know, I'm so mean!) And I told her there could be no tears if she didn't win anything. And she was very good about it.

Last night, as I was going through my photo box, I came across a photo of the two of them at the Reading Program Wind-up at the park. I decided to scrapbook it using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Die Cutting Partial Images.

I used My Mind's Eye and Crate Paper patterned paper and MME decorative brads. I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (rustic white), stamps (tag it's #4, Turning a New Leaf) and dies (alphabet block, Turning a New Leaf, double ended banner).

For the MIM technique, I positioned my die on my cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot half-way, and then backed it out. I trimmed off the excess cardstock with my trimmer and rounded the corner.

Here's a close-up, with my journaling:

Thanks for looking!