Saraanndipity

Leif went bowling today for the first time as a reward for reaching his advanced reading (AR) goal. He said he was surprised at how heavy bowling balls are and that he had fun in the slippery shoes. The gutters were blocked off and he came in 2nd in his group of 5 kids. He also said one time he had just one pin left, so he rolled the ball really gently and it stopped in the middle of the lane. A teacher had to go get it for him. Fun times! :) The following is a long explanation of the AR program at Leif's school.
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Each book in the library at school is worth a certain number of points, depending on the word count, it seems to me. "A to Z Mysteries" and "Boxcar Children" are usually about 1 point each. Every child is assessed and then assigned a reading level range and an AR goal for the trimester. Each child that reaches their AR goal and has good behavior gets to go on a reward outing. This time, the reward outing was bowling.
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At the end of the year, the students are awarded medals for earning certain numbers of points. For 3rd graders, 50 points is a bronze, 100 points is a silver, and 125 points is a gold medal. Leif's goal for the 1st trimester (ending Nov. 14) was 10 points. By the the time Nov. 14th rolled around, Leif had nearly 150 points. Yes, I'm bragging, but not exaggerating. It was like 149.5 or something.
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On the wall of the cafeteria is a section for the names of students who have earned medals. I haven't seen it, but Leif says it's divided by grade level and then medal level. So, Leif got this crazy idea that he had to be the first 3rd grader to earn a gold medal this year and he was. I thought his reading obsession would slow down a little bit after he reached a gold medal, but it hasn't. Now he says he wants to be the 3rd grader with the most points at the end of the year.
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He's read lots of good books including the Charlie Bone series and the Sister Grimm series. He is so excited that is reading level was bumped up for the 2nd trimester because now he can read "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and get points for it! He read all 13 books in 8 weeks during the summer, but couldn't check them out at the school and re-read them because they were above his reading level.
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The creepy thing is, and my mother can testify to this, he doesn't sit around all day or afternoon and read like you'd think a kid would have to do to get so many books read in such a short amount of time. He does homework, plays, uses the computer, and watches TV just like any other kid. His favorite time to read is before bed. Usually he'll read for an hour, but on occasion I'll find him with a flashlight under the blanket when he ought to be asleep. Once I found him reading like that in the morning when I went to wake him up. He smiled, like he'd been caught doing something mischievous. That's Leif for you!