• Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Shop

Real Life at Home

  • Learn
    • Printables and Worksheets by Age and Subject
    • Homeschooling
    • Book Lists for Kids
    • Play
    • Teaching Life Skills
  • Create
    • Crafts and Projects for Kids
    • Easy DIY and Projects
    • Homemade Gifts
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Lent
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Independence Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Printables
    • Printables and Worksheets By Age and Subject
    • Exclusive Printables for Subscribers
    • Terms of Use
    • Coloring Pages
    • Word Search Printables
    • Crossword Puzzle Printables
  • Recipes
    • Easy Recipes Index
  • Catholic
    • Catholic Printables
    • Catholic Activities
    • First Communion
    • Catholic Monthly Activities
    • Catholic Word Search Printables
    • Saints and Heroes Printable Packets
You are here: Home / Homeschool / Starting a Kids’ Book Club

Starting a Kids’ Book Club

February 4, 2013 By MichelleH · Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. {I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.}

168 shares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

advertisement

The following is a post by contributing writer Michelle of Raising Cajuns.

advertisement

photo by MyTudut

Recently, I began a book club for some of the children in our homeschooling co-op.  At first, I felt a little nervous about how the kids would respond.  Would they like the books I selected?  Would they participate in the discussions?  Would they actually enjoy it?

To my surprise, it quickly became one of their favorite activities.  Each week, at least one of the children asks me when we’re meeting next, what book we’re reading next, or if we can all read their favorite book for book club.

I didn’t have to worry about them participating either.  The children (ages 7-10) all have plenty to say, and in our small group of five children, they feel very comfortable sharing their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the plot, characters, and even themes.

As an added bonus, my daughter and I have bonded over the experience.  She reads the books much faster than I do, since I’m usually juggling multiple books at a time (it’s a bad habit of mine).  She asks me every day what chapter I’m on or if I read a particular part yet and would I hurry up and read it already so we can talk about it.  She tells me, with no prompting, which sections make her laugh and which ones make her cry.  I get a glimpse into what touches her.

Starting our book club was easy, because I already had a specific group of kids and meeting place in mind, but it can be an easy task even if you are starting from scratch.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when you begin planning and organizing:

  • Selecting Children – What age group do you want to gear your book club for?  Do you want just kids or would you like a parent-child book club?  Will you advertise at the library or homeschool groups for interested members?  If you’re really struggling to find members, you can always have a family book club or your own parent-child book club with just you and your children.
  • Selecting Books – Will you read fiction, nonfiction, genre, classics, new books, a mix?  The ages of the children in the club will help guide you in this selection, but I also like using the Scholastic Book Wizard to aid my search.  Some libraries also have book club kits available, but typically these are for older children and teens.
  • Selecting a Location – You can meet at someone’s house, the library, the park, or a coffee shop.  You should also consider how often you want to meet.  Once a month?  Every six weeks? Every other month?
  • Setting Guidelines – A parent should moderate and guide the group, but the children should be allowed to lead most of the discussion.  Still, you will need to instill rules for speaking in turn.  You’ll also need to decide whether or not you will serve snacks.  Also, you might want to discuss with the children if additional parents and siblings will be welcome during the discussions or if this would be a distraction for them.
  • Preparing – As the moderator, you will need to select the books (maybe with the help of the group) and let the group know in advance when you will have meetings.  I like to select three or four books and have a schedule for the whole semester that I can hand out at the first meeting.  You will need to prepare a few discussion questions (you can often find some online) to guide the group, but you could also have each child bring in a discussion question.  You might also want to occasionally plan an activity related to the story you have read.

 

Michelle is a wife, mother, writer, and Cajun who prefers everything extra spicy. She writes about their homeschool adventures at Raising Cajuns.

Join 35,000+ Other Awesome People

Subscribe to the Real Life at Home weekly newsletter to get our latest content, exclusive free printables, learning activities, and ideas for celebrating with your kids all year

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription. P.S. It's important that you confirm or you won't receive any more emails with free printables, fun tips, and other helps to make your life just a tiny bit easier.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit
168 shares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

Filed Under: Homeschool, Reading Tagged With: co-ops

About MichelleH

Michelle is a wife, mother, writer, and Cajun who prefers everything extra spicy. Follow along at Raising Cajuns, for more real world Waldorf inspiration mixed in with the rest of their eclectic homeschooling.

Previous Post: « The Night My Teaching Career Ended: a Road Trip, a Sick Kid, and an Angry Principal
Next Post: Free Printable First Communion, Baptism, and Confirmation Invitations and Announcements »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lori says

    February 4, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    love this post! great ideas. it would be cool to do a shared blog with all the kids so they could post their own personal book reviews and maybe recommend other books they’re reading, too.

    Reply
  2. Carolyn @ Pleasantest Thing says

    February 4, 2013 at 2:42 pm

    We’ve been working on getting a kids book club together, also. These are great tips!

    Reply
  3. LaToya says

    February 4, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    This is great! Our local library did a book club in the fall for K-2 to fill the gap between story time and the older kid’s book club. My son had a blast talking about the books and doing activities and crafts.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Meet Angie

Angie, mom to three very fun kids, is the founder of Real Life at Home.  With degrees in elementary education (B.A.) and special education (M.S.Ed.), as well as being a former homeschooler, she is passionate about supporting both parents and teachers by providing printables, crafts, and activities to help children learn and grow. Read More…

Search

Connect with Real Life at Home

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use and Conditions
  • Disclaimers

Amazon Affiliate Statement

Real Life at Home is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Categories

© 2006 - 2022 Real Life at Home / Tiny Owl LLC. All Rights Reserved. | Built using the Genesis Framework and hosted on WPEngine.