A few months ago, I wrote a post sharing our ideas on how to start your own book club. You can read it here, if you missed it.
Recently, we had found ourselves in a reading rut. I think this is a dilemma with which many parents out there can relate. We want to encourage our children’s love of books, but reading for the 500th time about a bowl of mush and the old lady whispering hush can be mind numbing! We need a better plan than reading the same books every night.
I started panning the “reading at bedtime” job off to one of the older kids. Then even the older kids started to get sick of these books (and I couldn’t really blame them).
My solution is called the Family Book Club. We read a fun, but challenging novel together, and we discuss the characters and plot. It is just like my adult book club, but less glasses of wine.
The first book that we started with is James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I already own the book, so that part was easy. But I also downloaded a digital version to the family IPads. This lets the twins follow along when I read or they read on their own.
Even the older kids love to hear the story told from my voice. I know this helps them all with their own reading comprehension too.
I read a couple of chapters to all of the kids whenever we get a chance. Sometimes they can’t wait to find out the next part, so they will read it to each other, each twin taking turns reading to the 4 year old.
I knew I was on the right track with this plan when one of the kids said, “Can we stop here and each predict what we think will happen next?” I couldn’t have been more proud! Also, I love to read these great children’s classics to my children. Even if I have read them before, it has been so long that I barely remember them. And hearing it through their ears is amazing!
Here are some other books we will read as part of our Family Book Club.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Yay! I love this idea SO much! The girls might like the Little House books, or as they get older Little Women, or Anne of Green Gables. Of course Roald Dahl has many more wonderful books. When they are ready for some mystery The Westing Game or Holes are great. Have fun and thanks for the great idea!
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