Quite a prize...

The first graders at my kids school were challenged at the beginning of the year to read 100 books by the end of the year. This was a challenge Rachel took to with enthusiasm. Of course they were promised a prize if they did it, and Rachel finished her first hundred books quite some time ago. But we've continued to count her books and send in her book lists. Last week she hit 200 books! Nobody else has anywhere close to that many books, not in the entire first grade. The next closest is 110. And today she came home with her prize from her teacher for her hard work. It was quite a prize.

Included was a darling Hello Kitty pink book bag, two little notebooks (Rachel's favorite thing in the world), three little gel pens in pretty colors, Hello Kitty stickers, Strawberry Shortcake cards, and a $10 gift card to Target! She got all of that just for reading! I'm pretty amazed at how far her teacher goes to encourage her.

As we approached 200 books, with so much time left in the school year, I've been encouraging her to go for 300 books, but she's fought me on it. Then I talked to her teacher and told her I would appreciate it if she would encourage Rachel in this. Of course she's happy to do so. So I told Rachel her teacher wanted her to go for 300 books. She didn't miss a beat before she said, "Okay, I'll do it." Just like that, she was ready to do it. Do you think she likes her teacher? :)

Oh, and if she makes it to 300 by the end of the school year, she gets to order pizza to eat with her teacher.