Summer Reading Program 2013

One thing that JAM looks forward to every summer is signing up for the summer reading program at our local library. It's free to sign up and you can earn book bucks, which you trade in for actual books! At our local library they call it "Club Read". This program runs from June 1st - August 3rd and when you sign up, they give you an official Club Read member card and a book log that the kids fill in to keep track of what books they read for the program. For every 5 books the child reads, they earn a book buck and are able to exchange it for a book. This year our local library was really awesome by offering almost all of the books in BRAND NEW condition! In the past years it was a mixture of retired library books and new books. Regardless, the books they offer are usually fun classics or a variety of popular books to keep the kids interested.

JAM completed the summer reading program yesterday, which means he read 20 books and completed his reading log. Upon turning his reading log in, he was awarded with a shiny gold medal and 4 book bucks! You can collect your book bucks every time you complete reading 5 books, but JAM wanted to do it all at one time this year. He headed to the area where he can exchange his book bucks for books and chose some awesome books to add to his home collection.

The local librarian asked him what kind of books he was into and after some digging of his interests, she mentioned that he was ready for chapter books! EEK! My baby boy's ready for the big boy books?! *tear* She took us in the opposite section of our former beginner's book section we've been picking from and introduced JAM to early chapter books. She pointed out a few popular series and away JAM went with his picking.

With that said, introducing JAM and his first Vlog! He read his first chapter book and loved it so much that he wanted to share his thoughts. He's naturally very shy so I thought a video would help loosen him up a little and help him practice his recollection skills for 2nd grade. Show him some love on YouTube and don't forget to subscribe! He's super excited about his first video and can't wait to hear from fellow readers who've read "Captain Awesome to the Rescue!"

Do you enroll your kids in any summer reading programs?

What are some great chapter book recommendations for JAM?

Movie Screening: Despicable Me 2

Last week JAM and I attended an advanced Press Screening for Despicable Me 2! We loved the first movie so I was so excited to tell JAM that we get to attend the movie screening for the second one! Here's a little synopsis of the movie if you've never seen it before:

Copyright: © 2013 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

Synopsis:

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me entertained audiences around the globe in 2010, grossing more than $540 million and becoming the 10^th-biggest animated motion picture in U.S. history.  In summer 2013, get ready for more Minion madness in Despicable Me 2.  

Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy adventure featuring the return of (former?) super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), his adorable girls, the unpredictably hilarious Minions...and a host of new and outrageously funny characters. 

Copyright: © 2013 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

As you know, JAM absolutely loves 3D movies so you can imagine his excitement when he found out this screening was in 3D. We watched the screening at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, NV; a nice switch from our usual locations at the Palms Hotel or Town Square. We grabbed our 3D glasses and got comfy in our Press section seats. Right from the opening credits we were both laughing. The minions always add a fun touch to the movie. There were moments where JAM was laughing so hard that he tapped me on the shoulder to tell me he was crying ha ha. I always get disappointed when I watch movie trailers and the clips from the trailers are the only funny parts of the movie. Not with Despicable Me 2. There were TONS of hilarious scenes to tickle your fancy. There was even a couple "adult humor" lines to keep us grown ups intrigued. Both JAM and I agreed that our favorites scenes were definitely any scene that featured the minions. Their gestures and interaction with each other are always super funny so we couldn't choose just one favorite scene. JAM said he definitely loved their disguises in the mall scene if he did have to choose specific scene. I'd give Despicable Me 2 an overall 8 out of 10 rating (with 10 being the highest of course). Absolutely family friendly and I might go ahead to say that I actually liked it more than the first one (*gasp*)!

DESPICABLE ME 2 opened nationwide on Wednesday, July 3, 2013.

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WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART FROM THE FIRST DESPICABLE ME?