This summer I am trying something new. I honestly can’t say where I got the idea – was it a podcast maybe? A blog post? I know it wasn’t my original idea so apologies that I can’t remember who inspired me. :-)

I am doing a “Backyard Book Club” with the kids of our neighborhood! We’re meeting every week for 5 weeks where I read aloud the book “My Father’s Dragon” by Ruth Stiles Gannett while the kids enjoy Popsicles. The Popsicles have two purposes – a fun treat, and also to keep them quiet and distracted while we read. ;-)

I chose this book because it’s fairly short (two chapters a week means we’ll finish it in 5 weeks), and it’s simple enough for younger kids to understand but interesting enough to capture the attention of the older kids. It’s also a fun story that is a bit timeless, encourages imagination and problem solving, and holds the attention of both boys and girls. Also, the chapters a little bit stand alone so if the kids have to miss a week it’s not a big deal.

I’m really hoping this will be a community building experience and will become an annual neighborhood tradition! Tonight was the first one and it went well. We had 13 kids, including mine! We did have to move indoors due to rain, but hopefully next week the weather will cooperate and we’ll be able to sit on the back deck.

I also think I might add in a time of “show and tell” for books, like old-school Reading Rainbow style. I forgot to mention that today, but I’ll see if we can add that next time!

I’ll try to remember to update in about 5 weeks with some overall thoughts and feelings about how it went!