Are you part of a book club, or know someone who is?
Book clubs are often thought of as being for adults, but it is an amazing activity for kids too! Book clubs are a great way to bring up and discuss important issues and life lessons in an enjoyable way; for the kids, it’s like learning without feeling like you are learning. Other benefits include:
1. Developing literacy and language skills
2. Improving reading fluency and expression
3. Improving vocabulary
4. Introducing new ideas and concepts
5. Providing exposure to others’ perspectives and opinions
6. Learning about making predictions and analyzing meaning
This past summer our kids read The Present in our book club. We chose it because of its lessons on living in the present, learning from the past and preparing for the future. Given our children’s experiences in their young lives, we felt it would be an extremely valuable lesson, and it turned out to be exactly that!
Our kids were really engaged in the book club and were impacted by the message. That seems to be the case each summer, which include books like The 5 People You Meet in Heaven, Freedom Writers Diary and last years Who Moved My Cheese, a fan favorite!
Caren Sollod heads up the book club each year and says, “Book Club is one of my favorite programs at BFF.
We started it 5 years ago and just when you think it can’t possibly get any better, it does! Our kids are willing to open their minds to new ideas and concepts. We watched some of our students step out of their comfort zones as they read aloud and shared their thoughts. I love when they tell us that they never liked reading before but now they do!”
Here are some of what the kids had to say:
“I would share the book with my brother because he would be able to enjoy life a lot more than he does and then he could think about his purpose.” T.L.
“I take away that I have to set aside time to sit and focus to make the day better.” B.S.
“Attitude of Gratitude was the most important take away from this week’s book club. I should have a good attitude if I want to have a good day.” S.T.
One of the projects the kids could do as part of the book club was to draw an image of one of the characters or a scene. We are sharing some of our favorites! We can’t wait until next year’s book club, and if you have any ideas for a good book for us to use, please feel free to contact Debbie at dellman@bestfoot.org with your ideas!
