Does your child love playing with their friends? Here is one way to make play dates fun and educational.

Book clubs are a great social activity, particularly for upper-primary children to interact with their peers and adults and discuss books in depth.

To start a book club, contact your child’s friends’ parents or carers and invite them to join. Set a venue and a time, and decide on a book.

Picking a book

Choose a book that is age-appropriate for your child and their friends. Try to pick one that has a storyline that can be discussed. Make sure everyone is able to borrow or purchase a copy of the book and that they have enough time to read it before the book club gathering.

The discussion

Hold your book club in a comfortable and quiet place, such as a lounge room or library. Encourage everyone to sit in a circle and explain there is only to be one person speaking at a time.

The questions

As facilitator, ask open-ended questions that prompt discussion such as, ‘Why did you like this book?’ and ‘Tell me about your favourite character’. Ensure everyone has an opportunity to speak if they want, and try to discourage the adults from taking over.

Further comprehension

After the discussion, complete some further exercises on the book. Perhaps the children might like to draw pictures of their favourite characters and scenes, or if they’re old enough, they could re-enact the story or a scene.