Spokane Valley County Library

The climatic end to our year of reading went like this…

At #499 it was “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” Then, clinching the milestone at #500, was “The Best Seat in First Grade,” a book that was totally appropriate since a first grader herself was the one who read it.

Sloan holds book #499 and book #500 for 2023.

And with that (the 2023 season… 😂), Sloan Reser had reached the coveted 500-book mark for the second straight year. Thanks to another year of dutifully reading every night, her goal was once again achieved.

Call me a “soccer dad” but when she finished the last page of her 500th book, I made a production of clapping for her. I wanted to commend her for not only committing to something for an entire year but for sticking with an activity that is so beneficial and intellectually stimulating.

A lot of our books come from the Spokane County Libraries. This picture was taken earlier in the year at the old Spokane Valley County Library before it shut down and a new one opened down the street.

Reaching 500 books in 2023 was definitely different from 2022. This most recent time, her milestone was met with a healthy diet of non-fiction books, children chapter books, and more mature-themed picture books. And the biggest change of all? Sloan read many of them herself!

But reaching 500 books in 2023 was also similar to 2022 in some ways, too. We continued to do the bulk of our reading during our infamous Book and Prayers routine. This comes right before bed when we are all relaxed and dialed in. The supply of our books was also fed similarly to 2022—bi-weekly visits to our great Spokane County Libraries. During these trips to the library we continue to check out around 25 books and still occasionally bring home a book or two that we have already read before.

Sloan reads a book at the brand new Spokane Valley County Library during the summer.

Prioritizing reading for Sloan has resulted in her becoming quite proficient at the skill. She is a vivacious reader who has now made it impossible for Sid and I to secretly communicate via note or text. Does she still have a long way to go with her reading? You bet. Sometimes she will read words out of order or she will lose interest mid-book but she is definitely on the right track.

Although we have made reading a big deal for our kids, we definitely can’t take all the credit. Helping Sloan reach her goal this year was the Silverwood Read 2 Ride program (read for 10 hours and get a free theme park pass) and the Spokane County Library summer reading program. Also, Sloan’s first grade teacher, Ms. Lunsford, is a fierce advocate for reading and challenges the students to rate the books they read. Sloan loves that!

We read several of her 500 books in the libraries themselves. Sloan read these two books in the North Spokane County Library.

As we have entered 2024, Sloan now has her eyes set on an even bigger goal. She wants to read 600 books! Her class made New Year’s resolutions last week and when I opened her folder I saw her target written on a piece of lined paper. Will it be challenging? Well, we barely reached 500 books these past two years. But is it possible? She thinks so!

Okay, I don’t really get the “Ms. Reser” business either but her resolution in an ambitious one.

For any parent who is reading this post and aspires to a similar goal, go for it! Reading can fit right into your nightly routine and the benefits—both from an educational and family bonding perspective—are immense. Happy reading in 2024! Don’t Blink.

Alright everyone, it is time for the final Thursday Rundown of March 2021. Fair warning: Next week’s Rundown will fall on April 1 so just keep that in mind when you scan the five topics. But before we get to those five topics, we need to get to these five topics…

Magnet Kit – Your local library most likely offers so much more than just books. Last week we checked out a STEM kit from our Spokane Valley County Library. This particular STEM kit was all about magnets. It contained magnet wands, a magnetic horseshoe, alphabet magnets, several magnet books, and more. Sloan loved experimenting with the push and pull of the magnets and was even inspired to look around our house for other magnetic materials. We played a few different games with the kit and just enjoyed the cheap entertainment we got from it.

Sloan messing around with her magnet STEM kit we checked out from the Spokane County Library District.

That’s A Lot of Rubber Bands – I came across the below tweet a couple nights ago. Could you imagine spending a grand on rubber bands each week just to wrap your money stacks? Whoever the “rubber band man” was for this enterprise sure must have enjoyed the business.

Hard to imagine rolling in so much cash that you need to spend $1,000 in cash just to organize it.

National Waffle Day – Okay, let me frank…I am a pancake guy. With that said, I definitely don’t hate waffles. One thing I really miss about living in the South is Waffle House. However, there was another waffle-centric “restaurant” that I enjoyed going to. Back when I lived in Missoula a fro-yo place opened called Yo Waffle. It was just like any other fro-yo place except that it had…well…waffles. You would walk in, pour the batter to make your own waffle, and top it with all the frozen yogurt and candy that you wanted. Can you say heart attack? On second thought, let’s just say this—happy National Waffle Day!

This was my first ever meal at Waffle House. Smothered hash browns and a peanut butter waffle.

NCAA Tourney Reaction – The NCAA Tournament field has been cut to 16 teams and two out of the three universities I threw my support behind last week are still dancing. It might come as little surprise to many that tourney-favorite Gonzaga took care of business in its first two games. But the other team in the Sweet 16 who I am still cheering for fits the bill of a Cinderella. Oregon State will take on Loyola this weekend with an Elite 8 appearance on the line. Let’s go Beavers! It has been fun watching Wayne Tinkle, a great guy who I got to know when we both worked in the athletic department at the University of Montana, coach his team to some big wins. I hope by Tuesday night that the Bulldogs and Beavers are both in the Final Four.

At the University of Montana there was a big start of the year picnic called Welcomefeast. I was responsible for coordinating the athletics portion of the event. One of my responsibilities was to find a guest speaker and Coach Tinkle never hesitated to accept my invitation when I would ask him.

Doesn’t Make Cents – Another cliché news story that media always bite on is the tired tale of a debt being paid in pennies. Whether it is an angry citizen paying a fine at city hall or someone making good on a lost monetary bet, the ultimate way to stick it to the collector is to pay in copper coins. A story that made the rounds today centered on a disgruntled auto shop manager who paid a fired employee his final $915 paycheck in pennies. The manager dropped off a wheelbarrow with the payment at the guy’s house and fled. When the ex-employee found his payment, he noticed that the pennies were covered in motor oil. Okay, I must admit this is the first time I have never heard about someone actually adding a substance to the coins but I still think it is tired and juvenile. Let’s retire this unoriginal act of passive aggressiveness.