Backyard Book Club: Ivy + Bean Overview

We had a great time at our first Backyard Book Club meeting! I'm considering it a success, especially since one of the kids requested that we hold book club every day. :)

Here's an overview of everything we did, all in one place! (Click the links below for detailed instructions and more information.)

For this month's meeting, the kids read Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record. (Click here for the book spotlight with online resources and other ideas.)

After weeks of waiting, it was time to meet in person! We did our fossil-making activity first so the plaster could dry before the kids had to go home.

Then it was time for the Excavation Trivia Challenge! The kids loved digging up "artifacts" from the book and figuring out how each one was connected to the story. (Although they never found the M&M's...)

Next, it was time for physical challenges and relay races! We used some of the items we'd excavated to see who could stick the most spoons on their face, which team could carry an M&M in their spoon (and the spoon in their mouth) the fastest, and which kid could blow a berry across the patio with their straw the quickest.

Finally, it was time for refreshments. Just like Ivy and Bean, we enjoyed some banana bread (and some more M&M's) and played until it was time to go home.

Thanks so much, kids and parents, for making our first meeting such a success! And a special shout-out to one amazing mom, Sherie, for baking the banana bread and helping out! Couldn't have done it without you. :)

Have you held your own Backyard Book Club yet? Do you have questions or suggestions for ours? I'd love to hear them!

Check back next week to see what book we've picked for July!