Winter Challenge 2023

Stay active and engaged all winter long with the Washington Wizards!

Train Like a Washington Wizard | How to Participate | Winter Challenge Playbook | Educator Resources

This winter the DC Public Library and Washington Wizards invite your family to stay active and engaged with Winter Challenge! From Jan. 3 - Mar. 31, children and teens (Ages 5-19) can sign up and earn badges that encourage reading for fun, joining library events, sharing and connecting with the library community, and finding fun ways to be physically active. Winter Challenge is a great way to find healthy habits that your family will love and can add to your routine all year round.

Train Like a Washington Wizard

Train your brain and body like a Washington Wizards player. Players train nearly every day with their teammates to be ready for the big game, but they also work hard off the court to create healthy habits like taking time out of their day to read, move and make healthy choices. As a student, you also are working hard in school! Winter Challenge is here to help you think like a Washington Wizard by finding ways to read, move and connect each day.

Reading: While traveling for an away game, many players may find time to read a book or listen to an audiobook on a plane ride. Can you add 20 minutes of reading a day to your routine to build your reading skills?
Moving: To perform at high levels the Wizards players practice their skills on the court. But they also do what we call "crosstraining" where they find other ways to move their body with sports like cycling and yoga. Can you think of fun ways to stay active and move your body?
Connecting: Players connect with their teammates, their coaches, their friends, their families and even their fans each day, sharing what they are experiencing and learning. How can you share with others in your life about the things you are reading about or doing each day?

How to Participate

Register

Register Pick up your Winter Challenge gameboard at your Neighborhood Library or sign up online with Beanstack. If you have participated in past reading programs, you can log in to your account with your username and password. We encourage you to make sure your email is up to date as that is how the library and the Wizards will notify you about prizes.
Having trouble registering in Beanstack? Email us or contact your neighborhood library.

Earn Badges with the Library

Earn Badges Earn your very first badge by registering for Winter Challenge and then hit the court running by completing activities. You can mark them complete in Beanstack or color them in on your paper gameboard.
But don't worry, you're not alone, you're on the Winter Challenge team! We have everything you need to help you earn your Winter Challenge badges. Check out the Winter Challenge Playbook below to learn more.

Win Prizes

Win prizes

You did it, congrats! Completing Winter Challenge is a big success in and of itself! If you have earned all your badges in Beanstack there is nothing more you need to do. You are in the running for a Winter Challenge Prize. If you participated with a paper gameboard, drop off your completed board at your neighborhood library or take a picture of both sides of your gameboard and email it to readingprograms@dc.gov by Mar. 31.
All participants who complete Winter Challenge will be put in the running for a Washington Wizards Family Prize Pack or tickets to a special Winter Challenge Washington Wizards Game! You will be notified of your win by email so please ensure that your gameboard and/or Beanstack account are up to date.

Winter Challenge Playbook

When you sign up for Winter Challenge, you become part of the Winter Challenge Team and every great team needs a great playbook. The DC Public Library has put together resources that will help you earn all of your Winter Challenge Badges!

Read

During Winter Challenge you will track your reading in Beanstack or mark off every time you read 20 minutes on your paper gameboard. Your neighborhood library has amazing books you can check out with your DC Public Library Card. Don't have a library card? Don't worry! Learn how to sign up for a card today.

Washington Wizards Book of the Month
The library has teamed up with the Wizards to select some great books with the Wizards Book of the Month.

Books About Basketball
We have also shared some of our favorite basketball reads.

Ages 5-8	Ages 9-12	Ages 13 - 19

Move

Throughout Winter Challenge you are encouraged to move and fuel your body in ways that makes you feel at your best! There are lots of ways to find new ways of being active and delicious snacks to prepare and share with the ones you love.

Learn About Different Ways to Move Your Body

Check out basketball drills with Wizards Basketball Academy Training Videos
Learn about different kinds of sports with Just for Kids Access Video.

Create Healthy Recipes with Cookbooks

Ages 5-8	Ages 9-12	Ages 13 - 19

Connect

Winter Challenge encourages you to connect with your neighborhood library and your Winter Challenge teammates about what you are reading, learning and experiencing.

Visit your neighborhood library.
Find fun events for all ages and interests near you on the library's calendar.
Follow the library on social media and join in the conversation online!

More Resources

Looking for more family resources? Whether you are looking for homework help for kids or teens, want to learn how to incorporate healthy screentime into your routine or you'd just like to chat with one of our expert staff, we are here for you! Stop by your closest neighborhood library or visit us anytime online to learn more.

Educator Resources

Are you an educator in the District? Access the Library's Winter Challenge Educator Toolkit to access great book recommendations with related discussion questions, electronic resources and more.

Participate in Winter Challenge in

Back to the top of the page.