DIY McElligot’s Pool: Summer Reading Spot

To keep my kids reading all summer I made McElligot's Pool for our reading spot.

I still remember my first grade teacher had a 6-foot, hard-plastic pool in her classroom. Children could earn the right to take their books into the pool for reading time. She always had some pillows and a variety of books scattered inside.  I’ve always wanted to make my own reading pool so I decided to make McElligot's Pool for my kids at home.



McElligot's Pool is another fantastic imaginative story from Dr. Seuss. I always think about it when I go fishing. Make sure you grab it from your library to try reading it in the pool. Or if you’d like to buy it to add to your Dr. Seuss collection click the book above.

MAKE YOUR OWN McELLIGOT’S POOL
Free Printable Sign. You can copy and save the image below or paste it into Microsoft Word to print at the size you want.  I printed the 4x6 size and cut it out and taped it on the pool. You could make it larger if you plan to put it on a post but I thought this small size was easier and safer for kids.

The kids love hopping into the pool to read.

This pool was just the right size for our small reading loft. It was $5 at Wal-mart. I saw a little bit bigger one, two rings high, for $8. I’ve also seen similar ones at the grocery store on their seasonal isle. Grab a pool right now while they are in season. These little ones go quick.  I liked the fish design for this project and we can deflate it to get it out of the way and put it up quickly when we want to.

Remember Dr. Seuss’ advice to, “Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.” Here is my sweet baby boy surrounded by our favorite books.

Keep your child reading all summer. Visit your local library as much as possible. We love the libraries in Salt Lake City. Click below to see my guest post about our Library's Summer Reading Program on I Heart Salt Lake.

Linking this project at these great blogs: