Our Park Day kids happen to be fantastic thinkers. Over Christmas break I asked the families we meet with weekly if they would be interested in participating in a Literature Club Circle. The goal of the meetings would be to read through a Roald Dahl story together a few chapters at a time and discuss the story in a group to enjoy a more enriching reading experience. I couldn’t wait to discover what these younger thinkers would have to say.
We decided to start off by reading James and the Giant Peach together. All of the kids are either reading the book to themselves, or having it read aloud to them 4 chapters at a time. I created a curriculum to use with the kids which asks them to think about a specific literary device in prep for each meeting. Our kids range from 3 years old to 6th grade, so I worried if we were asking too much of the kids, but I decided to default to my optimism and believe that the kids would be excited to learn from one another no matter what age.
I have been blown away.
Not only are the kids sitting down for 20 to 30 minutes to thoughtfully discuss literary devices at the park, with play equipment just a few steps away mind you, but they politely argue their points and ask amazing questions. I set up the expectation at the beginning of the meeting and make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak, but otherwise the whole event is kid led. Our most intriguing question yet has been from an 11 year old boy, “Is the Peach a character?” We’ve met three times now, and we keep coming back to it. The group is divided, but we have spent a good deal of time discussing the merit of each position. Our kids are going to be experts at reader response criticism by the time we finish this book.
Our next book to work through is going to be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, complete with visit to the local jelly bean factory as a field trip.
Homeschooling is kind of the best, and I’m blessed to be able to use the skills I learned in college and my love of children’s literature to engage these students. If you are looking for a similar styled lesson for your group of homeschoolers or your classroom, feel free to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store and download the curriculum for yourself. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about the group in the comments or by email.