Joust Read

Joust Read is the elementary school library reading incentive program.  Because they're the Knights.  And Joust sounds like Just.  Get it?

The program works like this: Read 3 books on a specified topic/category, complete an accompanying project that student selects from a list, receive a tag and sometimes an additional prize.  Continue collecting tags throughout the school year.  The more tags you collect, the better the prize.  

Its a bit hush hush, this reading program.  I don't know why, for sure, that its not better advertised to new families, but my guess is that the librarian is not dying to take 100 kindergartners with her for the last prize.  I didn't know anything about the program until mid way through October, other kinder moms weren't clued in until second semester.

I liked it from the moment I heard about it.  I knew it could provide structure to my effort to help Sam learn to read, and motivation for him to pick out and finish books, and the projects kept him busy before he started receiving official homework.

In the beginning he was pumped to bring home a pencil.  Excited when he was allowed to check out two library books instead of one.  Thrilled to be a library helper for the day.

And of course there was the COLLECTING of the tags.  If you know Sam, you know that this was incentive enough.  But add PRIZES to that?!  I didn't even tell him about the field trip until second semester, at which point he was already so committed to his collection that the trip was just icing on the cake.

Friends, not all tag projects are created equal.  A newbie my select her tag sheets (which you really need to request from the librarian via email or just go take yourself, they are not readily handed out.  Again, this confuses me) based on book theme, genre, etc.  But once you've attempted one of two projects with your kindergartner, you quickly learn to skim the project options for each tag sheet and encourage your student to select books that can work for the ones with the easiest projects.

Was that really me who just said that?  I fear I wouldn't be a goody-two-shoes student if I was forced to go back and do it all over again.

But we did the work.  Over the course of 15 tags collected, we/he read over 70 books, learned some basic computer skills, how to focus on a project rather than a quick assignment, and that with extra work comes extra reward.  Oh, and he might have accidentally learned to read in that process, too.

That's right, he/we got his 15 tags.  That means he earned the following prizes:
-NCE carabineer
-extra library book
-library helper
-Picture on the "Star Reader Wall" in the library
-Prize from front office
-Show one of your projects on the morning announcements
-ate lunch with the staff member of his choice, Coach Lee (who has been very busy with lunch dates in the past few weeks, as all tag sheets are due on Monday.  And he learned what "staff" means.)
-had his name appear in lights on the school marquee.
-Destination Unknown Field Trip, scheduled for 2 weeks from now.

See all those references to "he/we" doing the work?  Yeah, I don't love that either.  Of course I was heavily involved in the early tags, as he was only reading sight words at the beginning of the year.  The reading and project execution was transitioned a bit over the course of the year, but I was still the reminder and instigator of many of the tag sheets.  Now that he is hooked and "a reader," I will be able to transition that responsibility to him over the next year.  After all, its not my field trip in question here!

Except that, it will be my field trip in question next year.  Because I was asked to be the PTA rep responsible for the Joust Read Program.  And like the goody-two-shoes student that I am, I said yes.