October Book Club, Meeting #2

Supplies and prep:

• pretzels
• container for each attendee (something 3-4 inches deep and 10-12 inches wide.  I found seasonal plastic serving bowls for $.98/each)
• potting soil
• small plants (flowers, succulents, decorative grass, ivy)
• Decoration for the fairy garden- be creative and thrifty!
• river rocks, glass stones, seashells
• color craft sticks
• small seasonal decor
• mini birds, frogs, animal figurines
• small trinket houses, garden figurines, containers
• rice krispy treats
• discussion questions printable
• matching game printable
• 3 book choices with a blurb from each

Our theme was about fairies, from our book Ella Enchanted. The gathering activity was a matching game about fairies from books and movies. Some kids were stumped!

Book discussion: This was fantastic! The questions sparked a lot of conversation and the girls were very thoughtful in their answers. Luckily everyone had finished the book, so we had ideas from everybody. Taking turns asking the questions worked really well.
The next 3 book choices were all funny ones: Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Almost Super, and Frindle. After reading a bit about each one, they voted and chose Almost Super.

Fairy gardens were the main event and I wanted to have plenty of time. The prep for this activity involved trips to thrift stores and dollar stores to find little interesting pieces. I had enough large figurines (either houses or garden figurines) and enough small animals (frog or turtle) that every girl could have one of each. Then plenty smaller stones and rocks and colored sticks that it was a free for all.

In the garage (outside was rainy) I had the containers pre-filled with soil and set out with the flowers ready to plant. I taught the girls how to dig a hole, release the plant from it's container, and replant it firmly in their garden. After they were all planted and watered, we washed hands and brought them inside to decorate.

I put several small containers of each decoration, rather than one big one, to minimize the need to pass back and forth. We drew straws if 2 girls wanted the same thing, and (I think!) there were no hard feelings. Everyone was very creative and purposeful in how they used the supplies.

We cleaned everything up and washed hands again. Our treat was star shaped rice krispy treats, half dipped in chocolate. YUM!

As they were eating I queued up the beginning of the movie, Ella Enchanted, for the girls to watch a short clip as our closing activity. Success!

September Book Club, Meeting #1

Supplies and prep:

• small notebook for each attendee (like these)
• permanent markers (metallic sharpie!)
• washi tape variety (look for clearance)
• stickers
• pre-made "Books I've Read" labels
• pretzels
• muddy buddies
• plastic cups
• 3 book choices with blurb from each
• icebreaker printable

For a gathering activity as the girls came in, we had a Get-to-know-you ice-breaker with a bowl of pretzels to munch on. We allowed about 15 minutes for kids to arrive and get comfortable. 

Book discussion: this is why we're here! First order of business was to brainstorm ideas for our book club name, then narrow it down and vote on the top 3. The winner was "The Beautiful Bookmarks." 

Next I introduced 3 different book choices and read a blurb about each one. I had Ella Enchanted, The Boxcar Children, and Tuck Everlasting. The girls talked about them for a few minutes and we voted (anonymously😉) for the book we would read in the coming month. Their choice: Ella Enchanted. 

Our main activity for the night was making little book journals for the girls to keep track of books they read, or books they want to read. This was so much fun! I had all the supplies laid out and the girls did the rest on their own. Washi tape and metallic sharpies were the stars of the show. 

As the girls were finishing up their notebooks, I dished out the Muddy Buddies in little cups and wrote names on water cups. Once they had cleaned up we had our refreshments. 

With our last bit of time before parents arrived, we played the Secret Name Game, using only characters from books. We barely finished one round before time was up. Ta da!