"Adopt a Reader" Idea

This last year there was a great idea that swept over the classrooms - having sponsors step up to "adopt" a reader.  For $9 a year, a child could receive a school year's worth of books from Scholastic. 

9 books from the dollar deals.  $9.  That's it.

Well I saw fellow teachers put it out there on Facebook, and they were getting so many of their personal friends to donate.  A person there and a person here.  I put it out on Facebook too, and then came the awkward silence that followed.  It was just a little embarrassing.  

Then I got a message from my dad that forever changed my classroom.  He said that he wanted to sponsor not just one or two kids, but the ENTIRE class of 30 kids.

It's he a great guy?!!

(Yes, it was a tax write off for him, but STILL! He is a great guy, and he knows how important reading is.).

The kids this year received a book a month from my dad.  

I picked up some handled gift bags from Michaels, labeled the bags with the kids names on one side, and added this note on the back of the bag.   I chose different genres they would enjoy, all of them were from the dollar deals.  I chose a mixture of classics and newer.  They each had a message to pass on.   The kids were able to fill their home libraries with the books, or they passed them onto others after they read them.

It was a nice treat every month.  It was a gift that continued to give.  AND Dad has already said he's going to do it again next year.  :)