Last update: May 6, 2025
What is Read & Bead?
This is our version of a "prizeless" Summer Reading Program for age 3 to grade 6. Kids start the summer with a reading log and a necklace with a reading tag. Readers record their minutes (or have a grown-up help them track time) then they visit the library to turn those minutes into beads of varying colors, shapes, and designs to decorate and personalize their necklace throughout the summer. |
| This is one of our custom Brag Tag designs. |
Every child that signs up receives the following:
- 1 Brag Tag
- 1 necklace
- 1 reading record sheet
How do the kids track minutes?
We provide "bubble" tracking sheets (created on Canva, example below).
Our Reading Records have the following instructions:
Record your minutes read here! You can make each bubble represent a certain number of minutes (ex. 15 or 30 minutes) and color in a bubble each time you read that amount of time. OR, you can use a new bubble for each reading session and write down how many minutes you read in one sitting! Every minute that you read (aloud or by yourself) or that you’re being read to counts.
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| Each necklace pictured has 5 hours worth of beads. There are near limitless ways kids can decorate their necklaces! |
What beads do you use? Can kids exchange their beads?
There are 5 "levels" of beads kids could earn:
- 15 minutes = Solid color/rainbow beads
- 30 minutes = Sparkly/Glitter beads
- 1 hour = Pearlescent beads (previously "Shiny" beads)
- 2 hours = Glow-in-the-Dark Star beads
- 4 hours = Shaped beads (sports balls, animals, planes, and more!)
What do I need to buy? Where do I buy it?
Your exact supplies will depend on how you want to enact the project, but our basics were as follows:
- Bead organizer(s): You can use any case with compartments as long as it has a latch and the number of divided areas you need. The cases pictured (below) areSterilite Divided Cases.* Our Library started with one organizer but we now use two to offer more variety for beads.
- Tags and chains: We use SchoolLife* to purchase 30" chains and customized Brag Tags. Their site allows you to personalize brag tag designs with your own wording or Library name. The tags are very sturdy plastic.
- Beads: These can easily be purchased at a local craft store or online. Beadtin* has wonderful options for pony beads of all kinds is is what we've used for the past few years now.
- Logging Sheets: Whether they're blank bubbles, empty boxes, lines, or something else, just give kids a way to track their time reading.
- Books (optional): As you'll read below, our kids also get to select a free book to take home after the program, regardless of the amount they read. Libraries able to fund this option have recommended a Scholastic Literacy Partnership* for discounted books.
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| Organizer for Brag Tags, necklaces, and 4 hour beads. |
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| Organizer for 15 minute, 30 minute, 1 hour, and 2 hour beads. |
What are the most popular "shaped" beads?
The most popular beads in our community are turtles and bats (both of which we got from Beadtin*). Try different shapes and see what your community likes the most! Just be sure that whatever you purchase will fit your chain size (see below).
What size beads do I need? I want to make sure they fit the chain!
If you purchase standard ball chains, you should ensure that the beads are advertised with an opening size of at least 2.5mm or 1/8 inches.
Does this work?
Yes! Our participation went up 24 percent in the first summer of Read & Bead and either grown or stayed steady in following years. Other libraries that have tried it have loved the results too. The research and support behind intrinsic motivation is available in another blog entry here.
Can you use the beads for other activities?
Why not? Other libraries have reported using different kinds of beads to distribute for event attendance or completing activities/challenges.
How much does all this cost?
Our total for Summer 2025 will be approx. $0.76 per child. This includes the estimated expense of brag tags, chains, beads, and reading records printed in-house. This does not include the "start up" cost of the bead organizers that are re-used every summer as this is a one-time expense.
What if a child loses their necklace?
It is not worth the tears to do anything other than replace the necklace/key chain, beads, and tag. We give them a reminder to "take extra care with this one," but the kids are generally very careful as they are so proud of their collection.
What if a child forgets their necklace (and comes to collect beads)?
We keep a box of snack-size bag nearby for this very reason! One box of 50 lasted three summers for us.
Do the chains ever break?
Everything has its flaws, including these chains, and especially when
you have kids pulling on them to show them off all the live-long day. We
have about a dozen chains break every summer (out of 400) and we simply
replace the chain.
How do you handle distributing and trading in beads?
Staff will either log reading time in our tracking system when kids visit to "trade in" minutes for beads OR kids/caregivers will log at home and tell us how much they've read since their last visit. Just as with all Summer Reading, it's on the honor system!
Kids can select beads at the time of logging but can trade in beads at any time!
If a reader has "leftover" minutes (i.e. anything under a 15 minute increment), we ask if they can promise to read the difference today so they can pick up one more bead OR if they want save those minutes for later. If they save their minutes, we do not log them.
For psychical bead distribution, we do everything at our youth desk with regular staff though some Libraries have implemented a "Bead Bank" staffed by volunteers during busy hours. This is often a table near the circulation desk or in another central part of the youth area. Regardless of how you handle the beads, it's important to always have the box on hand during all library hours as each family has their own schedule.
Have you ever tried Alphabet Beads?
Yes,
but we don't recommend them. Common letters are snatched up quickly and
we're left with an assortment of XYZs by the end of summer and lots of
kids who never get to finish spelling out their name on their chain.
Do the kids get any other prizes?
Yes! Each child who participates in the Summer Reading Challenge will
get to select a book to take home and keep "forever and ever" (we call
them "Forever" books and the kids love this!). Reading is still its own
reward in this way and kids still don't feel pressure to reach a
certain goal.
Have you tried key chains?
We started with both a necklace and key chain option but we retired
the key chains completely in 2022 as so few participants chose them.
Pictured below is a key chain with 12 hours worth of beads (three 4-hour
beads in varying shapes available in our Bead Bank).
What about babies and toddlers?
We use the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program year round and simply promote it more heavily in summer. For details about how we run 1BBK, click here to visit our library's page.
What about teens?
Unfortunately, we're still working on this. We've yet to find something that reels in teens of all interests, doesn't cost a fortune, and still focuses on intrinsic motivation (like the Read & Bead Club).
In 2025 we're trying Reading Dragons and Friends, pioneered by Dover Public Library in Dover, OH as a teen-exclusive program.
What if I still have questions?
Please comment below and I will respond ASAP.
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| Me, pictured wearing an every day outfit for the library. |
*I am not affiliated with these companies. Please always use the products and sites that best suit your library!
I so appreciate your sharing all this information with us. I am excited to try Read & Bead this year!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you find it helpful! Good luck with your program & have fun!
DeleteWhere did you get the additional 6-part divider for the Sterilite case?
ReplyDeleteWe originally purchased ours from Amazon, but I see the price has gone way up on the one from my above link (which I will be changing to the link in this reply). Below is a link for a less expensive one...
DeleteTarget also usually sells divided storage units as well as craft shops. Any divided case will work well as long as it provides the number of compartments you need.
Reasonably-priced case link
Thank you for sharing the link for the case! But it looks like your Bead Bank picture has two of the 6 space containers instead of the two long trays. Did you just buy two containers and combine them to have the 12 bins? Or is there an "extra" tray that you can buy? My system may be interested in trying this this year.
DeleteYou're correct in that we bought two cases and switched the 6-part dividers to live in one case (sorry for the confusion!). The other case, using the 4 one-part divders has had a few odd jobs over the years.
DeleteI am excited to try this program year round to get more children into the library.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear it! Good luck with your program!
DeleteThank you so much for this awesomely thorough post Melissa! I have one question. The key chains look really tiny for the amount of beads. Do you give them another one if they fill it up? Seems like a no-brainer, but I thought I would ask.
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
An excellent question! Oftentimes, kids will want to trade in their key chain for a necklace when they see how quickly their minutes add up. If there is a reader who likes the key chain, we do give them another length to either use as a separate key chain or to turn their chain into a bracelet/anklet by putting their pieces together! We still only distribute one tag per child, though, but this can be up to you.
DeleteI think is such a great idea! I chickened out this past summer reading program but I'm really wanting to try Read & Bead for 2019. I had previously bough elastic to use but I see you're using the metal ball chain which are also featured in the CSLP catalog. This is a silly question but the pony beads really do fit over the balls? I can't picture this at all! And my other question is what amounts of beads and ball chains did you purchase to get started? I'm at a small library and maybe register 125 kids a summer and not all of them follow through. Thanks very much for this post!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you're going to give it a try!
DeleteFirst, the beads really fit! Just be sure that any special beads you purchase have an opening size of at least 2.5mm or 1/8 inches (for reference, average pony beads are about 6-8mm).
I recommend taking your usual SRP participation number and adding at least 25%. For your population, I would even recommend rounding up to about 200. Even if kids don't follow through, they would still get a chain upon signing up. And, chains can break or get lost so extras are always handy (and buying in bulk is cheaper!).
For beads, it's hard to really say how many we use each year as it's incredibly difficult to track with kids exchanging beads each day. It's always good to just buy in bulk and stow any extras for next year or use them for cool crafts throughout the year. The more minutes a bead is worth, the smaller amount you will need, so you would need to buy the biggest bags for the beads you set as your "15 minute" increment bead and the smallest bags for your largest increment. Does that make sense?
I hope this helps! Please feel free to post again is you have any follow-up questions.
Thank you for answering my questions and, yes, your answers make sense. :)
ReplyDeleteFollow up question about this summer reading format: Did kids come in at all times to select their beads or did you have certain times set up when kids could come in or did they check in only during program events? Or a little bit of everything? I'm a one woman show and I'm wondering how much I might have to involve staff. Thank you so much!
Laura
Readers are able to visit any time during opening hours. Afternoons are busiest, but we still have plenty throughout the day and various days where opening or closing time has a surge of readers collecting beads.
DeleteLibraries with a smaller staff have implemented a "Bead Bank" staffed by teen volunteers; the Bead Bank is usually staffed during peak hours for visiting patrons and library staff will become the "Bank" during other hours. While we have not yet done this, we really want to!
For all of our volunteer positions, we often allow teens to volunteer in pairs (or we pair them up) so they have a little company and so one would not become overwhelmed with a busy day. We would do the same for our own Bead Bank!
Overall, having your own "Bead Bank" available during all opening hours, whether staffed by volunteers or library staff, is absolutely key as each family has their own schedule.
Thank you, Melissa! You have given me lots to think about. :)
DeleteHi Melissa! Have you heard of anyone doing an alternative to time read (like books read or pages read)?
ReplyDeleteHi there! No one has reported if they've done an alternative recording method for reading, but another library did have different beads kids could earn for attending programs. They seemed to like it!
DeleteYou would be welcome to try having kids log pages or books if you think it will work at your library. Certainly let us know the results if you give it a go!
Can you post a picture of what the key chains with bead looks like?
ReplyDeleteSure thing! I've posted a photo at the bottom of this FAQ. Let me know if you have other questions. Thank you for asking!
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of the great information! I have been thinking about doing this program for the last couple of summers & I think I'm going to try it in 2020. Which company do you order the brag tags from?
ReplyDeleteWe order our tags from SchoolLife (https://www.schoollife.com/). I hope you have great success in your library. Good luck!
DeleteHello! I see that you use software to register and track each individual's reading. We made a decision to step away from this because it was too time-consuming and complicated for our teen volunteers. Our volunteers have just never been good at record-keeping whether it's digital or unplugged. How could we do Read Beads without having to do record keeping on our end?
ReplyDeleteHi there! If you're stepping away from all record-keeping, you can just cut out that step. Encourage kids/caregivers to keep their time (either via sheets you distribute, with an online timer, on a black piece of paper, etc.). The library will basically be the Bead Bank only so you'll be able to distribute beads based on their info/records and you won't have additional paperwork for your volunteers.
DeleteWould it be alright if I used your ducky club pdf as a basis for my own? I love the idea so much and I think it would be a great fit for my community. But I don't want to do use it unless you're okay with it. I'm from South Eastern PA.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome to use the PDF as a template! I'm happy to send over the original Word Doc if you would prefer to use that as your base (the images are all copyright/royalty free). If you're interested, feel free to send me an email at mmccleary@sailsinc.org and I'll reply with the attachment.
DeleteThank you so much! I think I'm okay with just using the PDF as an example, but I will keep your email in mind if it turns out I'm wrong. Thanks again! I'm excited to see how my community responds to it!
Delete