Homeschool book club is something I started in my home in order to connect with other homeschool families near me. It’s a homeschool group that focuses on literature by reading a novel at home and then meeting together to discuss it. On the day our book club meets we play, eat, read, chat, and do enriching activities to celebrate the novel.

Homeschool book club is not a new concept. I’ve seen some near me and have heard about some from others, but in this post I wanted to share about what it is and how ours came to be. I also want to provide you with ideas for activities in hopes that it might encourage or help others meet up together for the sake of good books! 🙂

And if you’re not into leading in a group setting, stick around! The activities can be done with your family alone, as well. Book activities are so much fun, and I’ve kept it very simple and low key.

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It starts small.

I mentioned the idea to one friend that was interested and she knew one more. That’s it! This group of families contains 11 kids, which was a great number to get us going.

We picked a SHORT novel that would be easy to finish. I didn’t want anyone to feel the pressure of reading a book in time. It also allowed us to finish reading quickly. I’ve read some pretty long chapter books with my kids and after a while it’s easy to forget things. Our first short and sweet book gave me as the planner a little wiggle room to play with ideas without feeling rushed.

The last “small” tip is don’t commit. Isn’t that so weird to say? It makes me laugh thinking about it, but it’s true. Sometimes the thought of a monthly/weekly commitment is overwhelming. We all agreed to one meet-up and than we would decide what to do next.

This worked out fantastic. We had so much fun and knew we wanted to continue. Instead of committing to once a month, we all picked a time in the near future that we were comfortable with…and that’s the only day we have planned for now. This laid back approach really takes a weight off.

Enrichment Activities

One of my passions is taking a book that I’m reading with my family and expanding upon it with games, crafts, food, or more books! We’ve done this many times in the past as a family. (Check out my Read Aloud Experience for The Secret Garden, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, the Boxcar Children, or the Courage of Sarah Noble) So, I was so excited to share our love for literature with our friends.

Different enrichment activities might include themed snacks, crafts, scavenger hunts, drawing, reading, writing, dancing, videos…and more! I pick a couple of these to go along with our chapter book and it brings it to life!

Schedule

The schedule will change each time, depending on the activity, but I do have a goal for each time we meet. We plan for a two hour window and I hope to do the following

• Welcome and Free Play
• Book Discussions
• Activity
• Snack + Read Aloud (usually a picture book)
• Activity

Every book will be different, but I can add or take away activities as I need to.

Planning

Planning can sometimes be the hardest part for some. There’s so many options and a ton of resources out there!

Don’t give up yet…I’m hoping to do the majority of the planning for you! It is my hope that each time we do a new book, I will write a blog post containing all of the activities we did. I’ll keep a running list on this page of the different books.

Make the Book Club work for you.

There’s no rules to this, but do have fun with it! Go as big or stay as small as you’d like. One thing you could always do is just try out the activities in your home with your family. There’s no rule saying you have to put together a group. Maybe you could read the book and meet with just one other friend. Instead of making a schedule of things, just choose one activity and voila! Simple, fun, and educational.

Whatever you decide, I’d love to hear how it’s going and if you enjoy the activities for the books. Leave a comment here, send me an email, or tag me on social media (@simply.learning.together)

Book List

This is a growing list. So, save this page for future reference!

• The Adventures of Reddy Fox by Thornton W. Burgess
• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
• Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo (coming soon…)
• The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe by Roland Smith (coming soon…)