About a month ago, we shared that both of my granddaughters had signed up for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. My younger granddaughter has always been an avid reader, and her sister not so much. Something happened this summer that has transformed, Becca, and occasional reader into a full fledged book worm. We found a couple of book series that she really enjoys. Eeach time they read both girls are eager to log their reading minutes online to unlock new badges. I’m so glad we have partnered with Scholastic for this compensated campaign.
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge theme is “Reading Under the Stars” so we decided to do just that and had a little party over the weekend. Just beforeĀ sunset on Saturday, we got things ready for our party. As we were setting up, some nastyĀ clouds rolled in and gave us a little rain. Luckily, it passed over quickly. We weren’t going to let a little rain stop us, so I put aĀ plastic tablecloth over the wet picnic table and a blanket on the ground where the girls could read.
Becca and Maddie really wanted a tent for our party, and since we don’t have one we decided to make one. This hula hoop tent was very simple to make.
Do you want to know how we made it? You only need four things to make this tent. It’s so easy!
Here’s what you’ll need:
hula hoop
king size flat sheet
safety pins (about 20 large)
some kind of string or cord to hang the tent from a tree (we used fishing line)
Layout the sheet and at one end of the sheet begin to fold it over the hula hoop, about 2-3 inches over the hoop. Secure with safety pins. Work your way around the hoop, until one entire end is folded and pinned into place.
Attach several pieces of string or fishing line to the hula hoop. Join and tie them together at the top, and tie to a tree limb.
This hula hoop tent creates such a nice area for kids to read, day or night. The tent was big enough for both of my granddaughters to snuggle up inside and read. It was a ton of fun!
We planned ourĀ Reading Under the Stars partyĀ for the same night as the supermoon, but sadly never got to see it. While the rain left, the clouds never went away. Did you getĀ to see it? I heard it was spectacular. IĀ did get to seeĀ a few pictures of it that were shared on Facebook and Instagram.
Nighttime snacks were a must forĀ this party. Cookies and milk seemed appropriate. We made some star and planet sugar cookies to go with our theme of Reading Under the Stars. I used green and blue food coloring and a variety ofĀ colored sprinkles toĀ give the cookies a celestial look.
Like most kids, my granddaughters just loveĀ things that glow in the dark. Some inexpensive glow sticks, necklaces and glasses really added to the fun of our party. We all started to get a little silly after the sun went down. Both of my granddaughters are reading the Lorien Legacies Series right now, so a lot of our dinner conversations of late have been aboutĀ super powers, aliens and the possibility of life on other planets. I couldn’tĀ pass onĀ these glow in the darkĀ alien balloons.
We live in a very wooded area and needed more than glow sticks to read under the stars.Ā EVEREADYĀ® flashlights came in so handy for reading in the dark. You can’t go wrong with kids and flashlights, really.
Reading under the starsĀ felt like an adventure. It was so much fun!
I encourage you to have your own party.
There is so much fun stuff to check out on the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge website. The challenge, now in it’s 8th year, is dedicated to stopping the “Summer Slide” and getting kids to read throughout the summer months when school is out. They really know how to make reading fun for kids.
Did you see our first post about the Summer Reading Challenge? If your kids want to get in on the fun there is still time. The Summer Reading Challenge runs through September 5, 2014. Get more information at scholastic.com/summer and start logging your reading minutes to help Scholastic reach it’s goal of 176,438,473 minutes logged this summer.
Every Monday, you can check Scholastic on Twitter for the #MondayMinutes to see the total number of minutes kids have read to date! Every Friday, check out the Summer Reading Challenge Pinterest Board for a new collage of summer books. Also, be sure to tune in to Facebook on June 21 for the Summer Solstice Facebook Chat for Parents. Itās sure to be really great!
This yearās Summer Reading theme is Reading Under the Stars, and is powered by EVEREADYĀ®, the maker of batteries and flashlights, to encourage families to discover new and fun ways to explore reading outside this summer.
What a fun party! This is a great way to encourage kids to read and have fun doing it.
Is that a glow in the dark alien balloon I see?! How awesome, LOL! Love all the pictures and how it really shows the fun in reading!
We have a lantern that we could use. I’ll have to bring tons of bug spray, too – our state bird should be the mosquito!
My son would love this. He’s already an avid reader (he’s almost 3) and loves all things glow in the dark!
What a fun way to get kids reading. I should try that.
An outside reading tent is a great idea! Looks like they had so much fun
this is wonderful. looks like so much fun.
this is a great idea and especially for this time of year when it is not that cold outside. i love all the lights that you used to read in the dark.
What a fun party and to get kids reading
love the glow in the dark. this is really a fun way to get kids reading books. reading is soo important when your a kid!
This is such an awesome idea! My kids love to read and I bet this would encourage them to do it even more.
All the glow sticks are such a fun idea! And the hula hoop tent is so smart!
Reading under the stars looks like so much fun. My granddaughter stays with me many nights during the summer and she takes her flashlight under the covers to read her books.
This is a great idea, so much fun for kids. My hubby used to do things like this with the older kids a long time ago. I’ll need to remind him so he can do it with our little two.
That looks like a great time! My little ones would love that!
What a fun party! We just had ours last weekend – my son had so much fun!
I love that DIY fabric tent! Too cute! I love that Scholastic has this great reading challenge.
What a fabulous idea! I need to get my oldest more into reading. It’s like pulling teeth š
OMG the hula hoop tent and the glow stick accessories made this whole entire experience fun! More idea for my future Glamping Party!!
What a fun activity to do with your kids and their friends! That canopy tent is a nice touch š
That is a fun way to get some reading in. Hope there were no bugs around
I think my kids would enjoy this.I love your tent idea,sounds really easy.
What an awesome way to get kids reading! How creative– I bet they love it!
Thanks for sharing these fantastic ideas for summer fun! I love the hula hoop tent. That is so creative!
How fun! I have loved Scholastic since I was a kid. I couldn’t wait for those flyers to come at school so I could take them home and beg my mom for every single book!
what a fun thing to do as a family. My girl would love the hula hoop idea!
What a great way to get the kids to read. I’ll have to try something like this.
That’s pretty genius, lady! Did you climb up in the tree to secure it? š Reading under the stars sounds like a blast!
What a fun idea! I will have to try this for my daughters.
Such FUN way to get kids to read. Sometimes all someone needs is the right seat and the right book and then they will realize how much fun reading really is!
I wish that reading under the stars is something that I could partake in. Unfortunately we live in mosquito nation and we get bit up the moment we go outside at night. It’s just horrible! š I need to find a way to get rid of these bugs!
I absolutely loved the tent! It is super cute. The girls with their glow in the dark stuff really sets it off!
This is such a neat idea! What a great way to get kids reading!
What a fantastic idea! I love the hula hoop tent idea! I would have never of thought of that. Thanks!!
What a fun night! We have a hammock in our back yard that my daughter and I love to read on.
That is soo awesome. I’ll be trying that with my kids. I know they’ll love it.
I love everything about this! We are big readers and I just love the tent!
I think it’s great that they are loving to read! My daughter is quite the bookworm herself! I also love the set up your girls have, it looks comfy and fun!
Oh I love this idea! Looks like everyone is having a blast and enjoying their books!
The Hula Hoop tent is such a neat idea!! What a fun evening!!
That’s happened to my 9 year-old sister too this summer, she’s all about reading now! š
I love this idea. It’s always great to make it unique and fun to have them enjoy reading their books.
Love the glow in the dark and cute tent
What a great idea to get kids excited about reading! I love the hula hoop idea!
That looks like a great idea for a motivator to read…or just about anything else. I’ll have to check out the reading program since we’ve already gone through one of the local ones.
Our children love reading and have been participating in our library’s reading program for the first time. They are sad it is coming to an end next week.
Looks like a lot of fun. My son would love reading under the stars with all your fun goodies!
What a great idea to help make reading even more enjoyable. Thankfully my kids seem to be alright with having scheduled summer reading time and I always indulge in a book of my own too.
Sounds like my kind of party! I think whatever ways you can encourage children (or adults) to read more are fantastic.
It looks like everyone had a great time. This would be so much fun for my grandchildren to do. This would be great to do when the weather gets a little cooler and we could have a bonfire and roast hot dogs too. It would also be a great way to have fun reading books too.