Book Club? We say “Yes”!

Eva and her friends of the Epic Stapleton Book Club in 2012 (Eva is in hot pink on the right)

Several years ago (almost four to be exact), one of our dear friends approached us about joining a Mother/Daughter Book Club. Eva and I conferred and thought, “why not?”  I had never been in a book club before but I love to read, and Eva had inherited that particular gene from me.

Fast forward to now, and our little book club is still going strong.  It has been such a rich experience for all of the Mothers and Daughters and we highly recommend starting a book club with your fellow Glitter Girls.  There are many resources out there to assist you in getting started.  We recommend:

http://tweenparenting.about.com/od/afterschoolactivities/a/TweenBookClub.htm

http://www.amightygirl.com/book-club

Here are just a few ideas from our book club to help you out:

Which friends should I invite and how many?

Many of the articles state that you should limit to 5 or 6 members as it is easier to manage.  Our book club has had nine members and it has worked out just fine.  Often there are 1 or 2 members who aren’t able to attend.  We chose friends that were all the same age so that we could choose books that were appropriate for everyone’s reading level.

Getting things off the ground

Ground Rules – the girls helped develop them so that we would have their buy-in.  Some examples: being respectful of others, giving everyone a turn to answer, what the consequence was if someone did not follow the rules, etc.  As the girls have matured, the rules have become less necessary as they take it upon themselves to make certain that our book club remains healthy and positive.

How we handle book selection

Every month, we rotate hosts; the host Mother/Daughter pair pick the book and develop the conversation starter questions.  They also typically serve as the month’s facilitators of the discussion.

What a typical book club meeting look like

We usually gather around 6 p.m. for appetizers and drinks.  The girls typically disappear for about 30 minutes to catch up and burn some energy (sometimes the Mamas are having such a great time however, that this time extends to 60 minutes).  We all sit down to eat dinner, and then have dessert with our book discussion.  Typically the discussion wraps up around 8-8:30 p.m.

Favorite activity

One of our favorite activities from Book Club was reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever starring The Herdmans, and then watching the movie right before Christmas complete with movie snacks and some book-related stocking stuffers like these fun handmade bookmarks.

Favorite book

We have read some really fabulous books, but we think the ones that have risen to the top are those from the Wonder series: both Wonder and Auggie and Me.  They taught a lot of life lessons as well as food for thought on inclusiveness, acceptance, compassion, diversity and much more!

Here are the things that make it special for us:

Hilary

• We live in the Stapleton area of Denver where we have 17,000 people living in a 6.4 square mile radius.  That includes 5 elementary schools and 5 middle schools!  Book Club has been fabulous for keeping these young ladies together as friends while they pursue different school choices for their education.
• The added bonus is that I get to see all of their lovely Mamas each month as well!  It is a time of catching up, sharing, and celebrating the growth and maturing of our young ladies.
• I love to hear the perspectives of Eva and her friends; it really provides a glimpse into their young minds and I learn something new about them every month.
• Of course, the adult beverages are always a nice perk for the hip Mama Glitter Girls (wink, wink)!

Eva

• “I love to see my friends and hang out before things get started.”
• “I really enjoy discussing the book and seeing what the other girls thought, then sharing my answer.”
• The creative desserts that the mama-daughter pairs come up with are a highlight!
• And of course, I love reading about all of the characters, and enjoy all of the twists and turns of the books.”

We would love to hear your experiences with Mother/Daughter Book Clubs.  Please leave a comment below.  Also, please spread the word about loveglittergirl.com – once we get to 250 subscribers/followers, we will hold a drawing for a Love Glitter Girl special gift.

xo,

Hilary and Eva