Keeping in mind that Colin was in the First Grade (when I remember reading See Spot Run), he was recognized in February for reaching 100 AR Points, which was a tremendous accomplish. I would estimate that from September-February, 90% of his books were 1/2 point each, meaning he read close to 200 books.
It took Colin 6 months to get to the first 100 points, but he had begun reading much more difficult books. For example, I bought him the book "How to Train Your Dragon" after seeing the movie and it's a pretty significant book. He read it in less than 4 days. It has 240 pages and here's an example of one page:
He has completed the first 6 of those books in the series as well as some other challenging books. He is working on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe now, with my help (as C.S. Lewis was from Ireland and they were written back in the 50's, the grammar makes for a more difficult read). Within 3 months, Colin had read enough to reach 200 points and so in May he was awarded a 200 point shirt at a recognition in front of the school assembly. He also got to participate in a 100 Point Club Party at the end of the school year, which was very exciting for him.
It boggles my mind how he excels at reading. I always have loved reading and we've tried to instill that in our boys as well, but I know I wasn't anywhere near this level at his age. We just found out last week that he was accepted into the GT (Gifted & Talented) Program for next year. It's great, as it gives him an opportunity several times a week to be in an advanced class and get additional learning challenges.
He's already set his goal for Second Grade to get a 300 point shirt. Even though he will start over at 0 points at the beginning of the school year, I don't doubt that he will make that goal based on how he did this past school year.
