A few months ago, I was at the end of my rope when it came to reading with my oldest. He loves his friends and is constantly requesting get togethers with boys in the neighborhood. I put two and two together and started to ponder the idea of a book club for boys! I had developed friendships with several other boy moms in the neighborhood and started to put some feelers out. Everyone was in!
This group takes the effort of all the moms. We guide the kids together and it works wonderfully! If you are looking to start a book club, I recommend having at least three of you willing to take it on.
Now, I should also include that I am not a big reader. (We know where my oldest gets it now.) So, when it came to getting the ball rolling with this book club, I started to browse some resources that were done for us! Two resources that I have been helpful when looking for materials are:
When we started to look at books, we thought that picking a series to start with would be best. Especially, since we were just getting our feet wet. Our younger group picked, The Bad Guys. For the older group, we selected the Fudge Series by Judy Blume. Teachers Pay Teachers had several resources for both series when it came to discussion and activities. If you are stumped on books, a simple search for book recommendations for a certain age group is very helpful!
The day of….
We wanted to keep things fun for the boys! The actual “book club” portion of book club is about 30 minutes. The age groups separate. One set of moms take one group, another takes the other. Pencils, dice, worksheets, and whatever other supplies that are needed are laid on the table.
After the groups wrap up, it is one big play date! We have done everything from sweet treats, pizza, water balloons, water guns, and most recently cookie decorating (thanks to the weather). The kids love the extra play and moms can always go for an afternoon of chatting with friends.
The more meetups you have, the easier it gets. You may also find yourself getting more creative with your activities!
Here are some other ideas for fun activities:
- Decorate a cookie based on a thing or person in the book. Have your table guess what it is.
- Have everyone pick their own book. Bring a pumpkin you have decorated based on the book you read. Place the titles in a word bank and have the kids try to match the titles to the correct pumpkin.
- Holiday Exchange: Have the kids bring a book club related ornament and do a fun exchange.
- Have everyone pick their own book to read. Write a sales pitch for the group, explaining why they should or should not read your book.
- Book Club Pictionary! Grab a dry erase board and marker. Pick several characters/items from the book and write them on small pieces of paper. Place them in a bowl. Divide the group into two teams. Play a game of Pictionary using the item/character papers! First team with ______ correct guesses, wins!
Have fun with it! That is the point of the book club. To make a reading a fun experience and something to look forward to.
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