One of the most precious gifts you can give your child is the encouragement to develop a love of reading. Reading helps children perform better in school and books can open up worlds of learning.
One way to promote reading is to get your child to start a book club with her friends. A book club enables your child to share the books she reads with friends in a fun environment.
A book club is appropriate for any age group. You can even start one for babies, with parent involvement, of course.
The first step to starting a book club is to work with your child on deciding who to invite to join. A smaller group is usually easier to manage. Give your child a number to work, such as, ten kids at the most.
If the children are young, speak to the parents to see if they have time to attend monthly book club parties. If the children are older you simply need to send an invitation home with them.
With your child’s help, plan the first book club meeting. At this initial meeting you can discuss how the club will work. Who will pick the books, what dates and times, where to get the books, etc. Let the children decide as many of these options as you feel comfortable with. Either take a vote on the first book to read or announce a pre-chosen book at this time.
Getting the books is a matter of placing an order on Amazon.com or having each child borrow the book from the local library.
Monthly, have the children over to discuss the book. You can find online questions to lead the discussions. Give the children a quiet space to enjoy their discussion. Of course, the entire time won’t be spent on the book but that’s okay.
Have refreshments for the children. If you want to be elaborate, take the theme of the book and create your menu around it. Or easy foods work just as well.
A children’s book club can be a welcome time for your child to build on good reading habits while building friendships at the same time.
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