Kids Can Still Earn Free Pizza by Reading
If you were a kid in the 1980s or 90s, you may remember reading mainly in order to earn free personal Pizza Hut pizza. Founded in 1984, Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! The curriculum is built on the premise that the promise of a cheesy, deep meal will be an effective enough motivator for children to read more consistently. They were right then, and they are right today – perhaps especially in the summer when library reading programs might be a less appropriate option.
The legendary Summer Reading Program went digital this year: Parents can enroll their kids (entering grades K-6) online and track their reading goals. Each child has the opportunity to earn one free personal pizza with one topping for each month in June, July and August.
Children no longer need to keep track of the titles of every book they read. Reading goals now tend to be more based on the amount of time spent reading, with a suggested goal of 20 minutes a day, five days a week, for a total of 400 minutes a month. But honestly, you can create your own reading goals based on your child’s specific needs, be it the amount of time spent reading or the number of books read. You (and your kids) can track your progress at home using your own schedule or calendar – here’s a simple minute counter and reading journal provided by Pizza Hut to get you started.
Once you have decided on their goals, create an online BOOKING! account and register each child in the program. When they reach their monthly goal, simply move the tracking circle next to their name all the way to the right to indicate that they have achieved their goal. Pizza Hut will then email you a free pizza certificate with a unique code that you can use when ordering online or in person.
If you order at a restaurant, you can either print the certificate at home or show the code to the server on your mobile phone. All reading certificates for June, July and August expire on September 15th, so read and use as early as possible.