Question about Space Hop Reading Challenge

[moosemama]

My boys were desperate to sign up for this challenge at the local library, so we took them this morning and they filled out their registration cards, but were only given a bookmark and a sticker.

The boys were adamant that they were told at school they would get a membership card and a poster to track their progress on.

I did wonder whether they will get the poster when they go back with the first lot of books they have read, but they are both adamant that they should have got a poster when they registered and are worried that they won't get a certificate if they don't have a poster to track their progress on.

I have been on both the space-hop and summer reading challenge websites and downloaded their promo leaflet and sure enough, it says that to sign up is free and each child will receive a membership card and poster on which to track their reading progress.

Are my library just being hopeless, or have we somehow misunderstood what would happen when they signed up?

Have anyone else's dcs signed up for this and if so, what did they get when they signed up?

Mine came back today with a sheet to put their stickers on, no idea about membership card as dh took them.

we got the poster and membership card yesterday.
your boys are quite right and the library crap!

DD got the poster and membership card today. She was told she would get the stickers and pencils etc once she returned the books.

Thank you folks, that's all I needed to know. I shall be ringing the library first thing on Monday to complain. I even went to the main library rather than the local branch because I thought they would be more likely to be properly set up for this.

Both boys were told about the challenge at school and had seen all the posters and leaflets that said they would get a poster and membership card. They were so disappointed when all they got was a bookmark and a sticker each.

Surely if they had run out, they should have said so. At least the boys would have known why they didn't have them and looked forward to picking them up on our next visit to the library.

This is such a pain as well, as I can't get them to the library again to sort it out until next weekend, as I currently have my leg in a cast.

At ours, you get the poster and stickers after you've read the first two books.

How annoying that the library seem so lazy about it. they may be keeping it back though because they may have a high 'drop-out rate' though?

our local one did a massive event with activity stations including telescopes etc. I've signed up to hopefully volunteer to help out with it.

my mum's a librarian in another county and I just remembered I'm supposed to be doing alien templates for a craft activity she'll be running! must do that tomorrow

I asked at our local library when DS and DD signed up and the librarian said they had been told to give the poster and stickers when you've read the first two books.

She said she thought it would be better to get them at the beginning but didn't want to rock the boat so to speak. So I think saying the library is crap is a little unfair. Ask them about it on Monday but it
may be that is what the library has been told to do.

Ah, that's interesting merrymonsters and NoahAndTheWhale.

MMM I wondered about that. I thought if they'd had lots of people sign up and never return in previous years, maybe they hold them back until they've actually started the challenge. They should have told us that though, if that was what they are doing.

I shall have to call them tomorrow to clarify I think. Ds1 has already finished one paperback since yesterday afternoon, so we should be able to take them back next Saturday to get their posters if that's how it works.

It all seemed very low key at our library and the lady manning the station was rather less than enthusiastic.

DD got the membership card on signing up, then the stickers & poster on the next visit, then a bookmark yesterday.
I don't see that they'd need the poster to get a certificate.

we got poster and shiney membership card

then after 2 books - stickers and glow in dark wrist band

Last year we did it and they had the poster when they signed up, then stickers every time they brought a book back having read it.

This year I stood at the desk in my library with the DC with a leaflet in my hand and asked the man who was checking the DC's books out about the scheme... and he looked completely blankly at me

So no poster and we haven't signed up, but they'll still read just as many books over the holidays so its not the end of the world.

ds got the card, bookmark, one sticker, a poster (on which you write the names of the books on as you go), printed sheets for writing book reviews.

He'll get the gifts as he takes the poster in to show hes read two books at a time.

I think it's a really good scheme. We've signed up at a big city library, so the activities they have planned over the summer as part of hte scheme are really good too.

Domesticsluttery, I wouldn't be worried about it myself normally, as I know they will read lots in the holidays anyway. I'm just a bit annoyed that the boys had it promoted lots to them at school and then didn't get what they were promised, so were disappointed.

Lolapoppings, that's what I thought. I took their leaflet and website to mean that the children were supposed to write the book titles on their poster and review the books, then take the poster in to collect their gifts. It seems to be different from library to library though.

They didn't tell us about any planned activities during the holidays and aren't listed in the local council's 'things to do for free in the holidays' leaflet either.

There's information about activities etc on our County Council website.

We got flippin scratch and sniff stickers today - one frankly smells like a pigs arse.

I'll look forward to receiving those then.

Didn't get round to ringing them today after all, might just leave it until we take their books back on Saturday. Got eight each out last Saturday to take on holiday and ds1 has gone and read four of his already, despite my making him choose nice thick paperbacks.

The DC got a pack with the poster, membership card, colour-in rocket (which they display at the library, last year they were keys), bookmark, book review sheets and a feedback form (which they use to get quotes from the children about the scheme). Also some BOGOF type vouchers for Legoland and Chessington. At each book change they give out the scratch and sniff stickers and at the end (last year) they got those magic pen type things which you write secret messages with. And of course a presentation ceremony where they got certificates and medals.

Blimey megapixels, your library sounds really on the ball.

Oh I do love a bit of chaos

dd got poster and card straight away, and gets stickers after filling in first two titles. I think. She's read 3 but not had time to get back to library yet!

We went to sign DS1 up this morning, I took time off from work especially (our library never start it on a Saturday and if you wait until the next Saturday you've lost a week of reading time and they've potentially run out of stuff to issue to the chidren, it bugs me lots !)

There was an older lady (about 60 I'd say) on the children's library area desk who was doing something with books spread out in front of her on the counter and the exasperated face she pulled (when I asked about it) was just dreadful.

It was obvious we were inconveniencing her by asking and she called another colleague over to deal with it. The other lady then got flustered because she hadn't "done one yet" but she did pull herself together enough to issue a poster, membership card and a sticker that ds1 was told to write his name on to put on the wall chart up on the library wall.

When she went to put the sticker on the chart she realised she needed a rocketship with his name on instead and ds1 is now miffed that his first set of stickers have been written on by him instead of being pristine to put on the poster (if only all my worries were so trivial). The rocketships have not been coloured in but as soon as I saw them I realised that they were intended for customising with colour but this seems to have been missed by the library staff.

No-one knew whether the children are supposed to read space themed books or not but I personally think any books would be fine.

All in all I'd give them 6/10 for their running of the scheme. (but 0/10 for the first librarian's response, which I felt was very rude and unprofessional, fortunately ds1 was looking the other way at the wall chart).

I live in a city but the number of children who actually get to the end of the challenge each year, according to the chart on the library wall is pitiful, not perhaps helped by staff who'd prefer to sort books than get children started and enthusiastic about reading in their summer holiday.

Sitdownpleasegeorge. According to the website and leaflet they can read any book from the library. There are some space-related book packages that the libraries can buy, but I doubt many have bothered.

Its all a bit sad really isn't it - for a scheme that's supposed encourage children to enjoy reading and get them interested in borrowing from the library - makes you wonder why some of the libraries even bother.

Our very efficient Mobile Library bus gives out everything on the one visit!!!

Saves lots of faff and bother. And at least it gets the kids into the library.

True meltedmarsbar, but does it keep them coming back for more?

Just had great fun reading one of my youngest ds's library books with him, it was one of those coloured play/script books where everyone reads a part - even dd (18 months) joined in.

They do a similar scheme every year tough don't though so not sure why they are having so many problems with it. LOL

we went to get our second lot of books today and the glow in the night wrist band when down very well here.

DS1 has been shutting himself in the cloakroom, with the light off, on and off all afternoon!