Starting a Family Book Club
It�s July and summer is in full swing. Yet, with all the great indoor and outdoor activities going on this time of year, parents will often hear their children say, �I�m bored!� So what can parents and their kids do to add some excitement to their summer? Start a Family Book Club!
Benefits of a Family Book Club
Parents know that reading is crucial to their children�s success in school and beyond. During the summer, television, video games, and day camps are just some of the forces that pull kids away from reading. Still, parents are the best role models for their children�s reading success and starting a Family Book Club is a creative and fun way for them to incorporate reading into their children�s summer routine. So what are the benefits of a Family Book Club?
- A book club affords families a chance to socialize and spend quality time together
- Book discussions help families to open up and talk about issues and controversial topics that otherwise would be difficult to approach in everyday conversations
- Book discussions allows parents and kids to express their true feelings and opinions, as well as have an opportunity to be listened to
- Book discussions gives parents a chance to monitor their child�s reading and comprehension skills
- Book discussions can help with a child�s communication skills by having them expand their comments beyond those � �yes,� �no,� �it was a good book� � answers. As a result, kids become more comfortable with public speaking when they are allowed to share their opinions about the books they�ve read.
Planning, Preparing, and Presenting
To start a Family Book Club, parents need to:
- Consider their child�s age, reading level, and gender.
- Set a goal for the club. The goals can be social, educational, or both. Social goals consist of planned activities, crafts, or outings inspired by the selected book. Educational goals may include introducing the child to genres he or she has not read before.
- Select a day of the week and time for the book discussion. Consider meeting monthly if one or two books are chosen and discussed. Meeting consistently is important to the club�s success. With regards to time, consider two hour meetings to allow for in-depth discussions and snacks. Clubs with young readers should limit their meetings to no more than one hour.
- Select a book (or books) for the club. Remember that the book chosen should reflect the goals set for the club. Some excellent books to refer to for titles are:
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Black Books Galore!: |
Black Books Galore!: |
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Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children’s Books about Girlsby Donna Rand and Toni Trent Parker |
Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children’s Books about Boys by Donna Rand and Toni Trent Parker |
The Internet is an excellent resource for locating book titles. Some top sites to visit are:
Consider using an online database to look for topics that will excite your children all summer long. One database that is searchable by topics, concepts, and skills is:The Database of Award Winning Children�s Literature
Present the selected book or books. Begin each book discussion with some background information about the author and/or the book�s topic. Then work through a list of prepared discussion questions allowing family members to share their responses and ask questions as well. Always start with the positive aspects of the book first before accentuating the negatives; this will keep the mood of your book discussion enjoyable for all.
For kids, summer is a time to relax and not worry about schoolwork. For parents, summer means finding the right activities to keep their kids� minds stimulated while they�re on their school vacation. A Family Book Club is the ideal compromise for all involved for kids and their parents will enjoy coming together to socialize and share their love of reading.
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