Since our history co-op will be disbanding in the fall (as three of the four families will be enrolling in co-ops that will use Story of the World, our history text, so no point in doubling up) we need to shift focus and use our history group time for some new activities. One of the moms proposed we do a book club with the kids once a month and on alternate weeks we do a handicraft, nature study, or field trip that’s somehow related to the book. We’re discussing logistics but I proposed we pick a book for September through May and we each pick two or three titles we would like to host for the book club discussion and related activity.

We were brainstorming titles today and here are some –

Katie
Little House on the Prairie
James & the Giant Peach

Heidi
The Chocolate Touch
poetry unit – Shel Silverstein
A Christmas Carol
Mary Poppins

Other ideas…
Pippi Longstockings
Pollyanna
Treasure Island
Stuart Little
Shakespeare for kids by Lambs

I’m excited because this lets me commit to a novel a month with the kids and we can use them for our Teaching the Classics program as well. We’ll do a story chart with the kids and hands on activities with friends… I think it will help the stories stick for them better, too. Right now after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory we learned our friends were also reading it and we scheduled a tour of the local candy factory. It’s fun to read these books, it’s more fun to plan great activities around them, and it’s always great to do it with friends – my friends and the kids’ friends.