Summer Reading Log + Punch Card Printable

Reading is so important in your child’s lives and this Summer Reading Log + Punch Card Printable is the perfect way to keep your kids motivated with reading this summer. Reward them once they’ve completed a punch card, and have them record which books they’ve read and which ones have been their favorite to read.

Reading Log and Reading Punch Card Printables

During the summer, all my kids want to do is play video games and go on their iPad. They were definitely encouraged to do other things before they could use their electronics last year, but they always needed help coming up with things to do, it kind of drove me nuts. This summer, I’m going to help motivate them to read in a fun way with this Summer Reading Log + Punch Card Printable.

If your kids do not enjoy reading, or need something else to do instead of playing video games, this will be a huge help! Use the reading log to help your child remember their favorite books by coloring in stars in the rating column. Depending on your child’s age, you can either have them read for a certain amount of time during the day, like 20 mins, before they get a hole in their punch card, or base it on the number of books they’ve read.

Summer Reading Log Printable

The punch cards can also be used as a bookmark for those older readers.

Before you begin, you should each agree on a prize together. Some ideas could include:

  • King sized candy bar
  • New toy
  • A special outing to a museum, Chuck E. Cheese, etc.
  • Going to the movies
  • New book
  • New game
  • Root Beer Float Night
  • S’mores Night

Whatever inspires you’re kids and something you don’t do very often.

Summer Reading Log and Punch Card

For those young readers who don’t enjoy reading, we’ve found that letting our kids pick their books, even if they are silly ones like Captain Underpants and Dog Man, have helped encourage our kids to read more. My kids also like reading books that have been made into movies and like comparing the two together. It might even be fun to create a fort (if you don’t already have one) where the kids have a designated space to read where it is comfy and cozy.

There are 2 different punch cards, one has 14 dots and the other has 10 dots to hopefully accommodate everyone’s needs.

Reading is great and I hope that you’re able to motivate your kids to read this summer!

Reading-Log-and-Reading-Punch-Card

Download the files below:

Reading Log Printable  | Punch Card Printable

 

Need more ideas to stay busy this summer? Try the Summer Bingo Challenge

Summer-Activity-Bingo

 

 

Ice Cream Birthday Party

Ice-Cream-Birthday-Party

Last weekend we celebrated out little girl’s 1st birthday! She is our 3rd kiddo and each time I am amazed at how quickly that first year goes by. She has definitely been my hardest since she is a lot more clingy to me, but for the most part she has generally been a pretty good baby.

First Birthday Party

My boys and I are all winter birthdays, so I was pretty excited that I was going to be able to celebrate a summer birthday! I kept racking my brain on what we should do, and I remembered making an invitation for my niece last year for an Ice Cream birthday party. I loved how it turned out and thought it would be awesome to use the same invitation and theme for her 1st birthday! Since we just got back from vacation, I kept it pretty mellow (for me that is) and kind of threw it all together. So, if you’re looking for a really simple and easy birthday party for your little one hopefully some of these ideas will help with your own party planning.

Ice Cream Bar Birthday Party

For Riley’s Ice Cream party, I created a simple Ice Cream Bar with different types of toppings and used “candy bowls” that I found from Michaels to hold the toppings in:

-Mini M&Ms

-Chocolate Chips

-Sprinkles

-Toffee Bits

-Crushed Oreos

-Gummy Bears

-Strawberries

-Cherries

-Hot Fudge

-Marshmallow Fluff

-Magic Shell Chocolate

-Whipped Cream

Toppings Ice Cream Party

You may see that blueberries are pictured above. Nobody used them, but if you were looking for a healthier alternative, you could make a little fruit salad with the strawberries and blueberries and top it with some whipped cream.

Ice Cream Party Bar

I used waffle bowls that I found at Walmart for guests to use for their bowls, and found these super cute napkins in the party section at Walmart. They fit the color scheme so perfectly, and I loved the gold in the napkins! Here’s a closer look (because I loved them so much). 🙂

Ice Cream Party Decorations

And for anyone that wasn’t feeling an ice cream sundae, you could make your own root beer float or in addition to your sundae.

Ice Cream Birthday Party 1st

Riley’s smash cake was the centerpiece of the Sundae Bar, and if you look closely you can see that the cake was starting to melt because it was so stinkin’ hot in our house (and sadly lots of homes in Washington do not have A/C… we are those unlikely individuals).

Ice Cream Cupcakes

And to tie it all together, I made some cupcakes that looked like ice cream sundaes. I frosted them with a super delicious buttercream frosting, topped it off with chocolate sauce (I used the magic shell chocolate) added sprinkles, a chocolate Hershey’s kiss and stuck the cupcakes in the refrigerator after they were decorated so the shell would harden.

Ice Cream Cupcake Party

It was so much fun putting this party together, and we all had a great time! So happy to have this little girl in my life and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.

Girl Cake Smash

1st Birthday Party for girls

1st Birthday Party Girl

Cake Smash Cake1st Cake SmashIce Cream Party

We were happy to have Auntie Connie to celebrate the special occasion too!

Printable Ice Cream Banner

Ice Cream Banner Printable

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Ice Cream Invitation

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Summer Activity Bingo

Summer-Activity-BingoIf your kids are active like mine, we are always out and about during the summer. I have at least 1-2 big activities planned during the week, and at least one outing a day, whether that be at the going to the playground, library, playing baseball, etc. My son’s school recently had a “Bingo for Books” night for all the families where they did 5 rounds of Bingo and won a book or a prize for each round and since then my kids have loved playing Bingo.

With that being said, I thought my kids would have some fun staying busy and playing Bingo at the same time with this Summer Activity Bingo. I’ve made one with a whole bunch of activities you can follow along with, and one that you can type in and make up your own activities!

Here’s how to edit your blank Bingo Card:

  • Open the file in Adobe Reader
  • Click “Sign” in the top right corner of the window
  • Begin typing in the boxes.
  • When you are done, click “Done Signing” to save a copy or “Signed. Proceed to Send” on the right tool bar. Save a copy and/or send to a friend.

I’d love to see how your Summer Activity Bingo is going, so feel free to tag me in your posts on Instagram! Have a fun and safe Summer!

Summer Activity Bingo Download

Editable Summer Activity Bingo Download