I signed up for the Adult Summer Reading program at my local library a few weeks back. I did it last year too.
I love to read. But you know what makes me love reading even more?
Prizes! Yep, I am like an 8 year old living in a 25 year olds body. Monkey is signed up for the kids’ summer reading program too. I figure we do so much reading everyday anyways. Not only does she get prizes for completing portions of the program but because I am helping her out so much I get entered into drawings for adult type prizes too.
Hurry up and finish that book Monkey, Mommy wants to win!
Don’t look at me like that…I would never use reading to my daughter as a ruse to get more chances to win things. Her literacy development is far too important to me. But I wouldn’t say no if they library called to tell me I won a gift certificate to a spa just because Monkey did so well in the summer reading program.
Isn’t it funny that the library uses prizes to motivate parents to help their children accomplish the different reading tasks? The drawings for the prizes are like carrots dangling in front of the parents to encourage their children to finish. It is the same thing for the adult reading program…”read your books and you might win a gift certificate” says the librarian swinging the carrot back and forth right in front of my nose.
I don’t need the carrot, but I sure don’t mind it being there.
