First, here is the picture I took the day we started back to our homeschool coop - our "first day of school" pic.

I've needed to be creative with motivating E to read - he has such a drive to learn, but this reading thing is hard work for him.  I will say that it is much better than before, but once he's completed school work for the day the idea of free reading does not come close to making the list of things to do! So we started with a baseball chart - he earns a baseball for every non school reading he does.  If it is an easy book - he gets 1 ball - if it is a chapter book (with lengthy chapters), one chapter equals 1 ball.  It takes 10 balls to get to first base.  To make it home 40 balls!!  At each base he can pick something to do, so for 1st-3rd bases he chose extra time with each one of us - me at 1st, T at 2nd, Daddy at 3rd and home plate he chose going to Gattitown (pizza/game place) - well worth a trip there if he gets all 40 balls!  It is working well - he takes it in spurts - one day he may try to get 2-3 balls and then he takes a few days off - that's OK, the big thing is he's doing it!  Here's what our chart looks like:

We've also created a little reading area under E's bunkbed.  His reading books are under there and some comfy animals to lay on.  The boys like to make this a fort and use a flashlight to read - whatever works!  I also made T a chart - he gets baseballs for listening to books - Everything is the same except he wants to go bowling at home plate!  Better save my money!