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National Book Month – 2014 199 300 admin
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National Book Month – 2014

Reading Tips for October – Celebrating National Book Month! Summer reading is behind us and the school routine is up and running. Shifting from a summer of free time to a school year schedule can lead to less “free time” reading. Yet, while kids read at school, choosing to read just for fun is an important…

Stopping Summer Learning Loss is a Team Effort 300 200 admin
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Stopping Summer Learning Loss is a Team Effort

Parents want to learn with their children.  They want to be able to answer homework questions, help their child read a difficult sentence or book, or share a new discovery. Yet, for many parents, this is not an easy thing to do. They are not comfortable with the schoolwork or familiar with many of the…

2014 Summer Reading Challenge Winners 398 236 admin
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2014 Summer Reading Challenge Winners

Congratulations to our 2014 Summer Reading Challenge Winners!  Three young readers have been randomly selected to win an iPod Touch, Kindle and iPod nano. All summer long, these readers logged their minutes in the ThinkStretch Summer Reading Challenge.  For every 20 minutes of reading they logged, they earned a raffle ticket into a prize drawing for…

2014 Caldecott Winner 213 237 admin
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2014 Caldecott Winner

Locomotive by Brian Floca is this year’s Caldecott Winner!  Awarded annually to the to artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children, this year’s 2014 Caldecott Winner should be at the top of your summer reading list. Picture books are a marvel for adults and children alike, thrilling our imaginations like little else can.  Don’t…

adorable boy reading comic book
What counts as reading? 400 300 admin
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What counts as reading?

Does the Guiness book of World Records count as reading? About this time every summer, my boys and I start negotiating what counts as reading. As we haggle over what “counts” for their 20-30 minutes of daily reading time, I try to keep in mind all I have learned from other parents, teachers and researchers. So here is a list of what my family has decided “counts” as summer reading.

Great Sites for Free eBooks 300 200 admin
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Great Sites for Free eBooks

Finding great, free eBooks for your tablet, iPad or Kindle is a snap. I was especially excited to come across several websites that offer lists and links to eBooks for kids. While my kids and I have gone back and forth on the differences between digital and traditional books, it is the quality of the content – and your child’s interest in it – that is most important.

Listen to a Story Together – FREE! 300 243 admin
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Listen to a Story Together – FREE!

Listen to a story read by a trained story teller – it’s a wonderful way to spend time with your child.  In the car, while sorting socks, or simply sitting in the grass, let the story fill both of your imaginations.  Talk together about what you thought the characters looked like or how the reader…

National Summer Learning Day Challenge 226 200 admin
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National Summer Learning Day Challenge

Read for a chance to win a Kindle on National Summer Learning Day! Log 20 minutes of reading on June 20 at the ThinkStretch Summer Reading Challenge and earn a raffle ticket for a Kindle drawing celebrating National Summer Learning Day! The ThinkStretch Summer Reading Challenge is a FREE online, summer-long event. Kids log their reading minutes online and…

Read a Book, Give a Book! Free Digital Books from We Give Books 300 243 admin
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Read a Book, Give a Book! Free Digital Books from We Give Books

We Give Books is a terrific website with lots of high quality, FREE digital books. With a library of popular books, including favorites like Llama Llama Misses Mama, We Give Books is a terrific online reading resource for elementary school readers. Every book that your child reads at We Give Books, or that you read to your child,…

Free Books for Summer 2014! 300 254 admin
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Free Books for Summer 2014!

Free books are a summer bonus for keeping up your reading skills.  Log your reading minutes every week in your ThinkStretch workbook and you will also be eligible for a free book at Barnes and Noble, Pottery Barn and a Half Price Books gift card drawing!   Barnes and Noble Free Book Simply log your…

Why Are ThinkStretch Medals Free? 225 179 admin
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Why Are ThinkStretch Medals Free?

Our free shipments of medals are our commitment to being focused on the finish line, not the bottom line.  Because when a student finishes a ThinkStretch summer workbook, they return to school confident and prepared to learn, and that is our mission.  I will not compromise on the high quality of the medal. The loud…

Why Does ThinkStretch Have a Theme Song? 150 150 admin
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Why Does ThinkStretch Have a Theme Song?

http://youtu.be/hdz8XzLHpRU Kids like to understand why they are required to do something – especially “homework” over the summer. Rigor and relevance are the adult words to describe meaningful work done with a purpose. ThinkStretch explains the concept of maintaining school year learning over the summer using an animated cartoon in the best tradition of School…

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