Book Clubs: Tips to Start One This Summer

For people who love to read and be social, a book club can be the perfect outlet. Book clubs are a chance to kick back and unwind with friends over a shared interest. If you’re just starting a book club, pick one evening a month to sit back with a group of friends and discuss a book the group previously decided to read. Dissect the characters, the plot and the writing while enjoying food, drinks and good company. Need to occupy the kids for the night? Have them form a kids book club! Can’t commit to a regular monthly meeting? Start or join an online book club forum.

Take a look at these 21 blog posts for plenty of helpful information on starting a book club for adults, kids or online.

Adults
Before you start a book club, you need to consider how many people you want to include and if it’s an open club or one that’s by invite only. You’ll also want to decide if you’re going to focus on one particular genre or if you’re going to read books from all walks of life. These seven blog entries will help you work through the details and figure out where to begin.  

• Why I Love Book Clubs & Tips on How to Start One You can find a list of things you should consider when creating a book club on this blog post.
• Quick Guide: Start Your Summer Book Club Find a list of things to consider from Oprah when starting a book club, such as whether you pick new or old titles.
• Young Professional Problems: (Not Your Mom’s) Book Club Read this clever and funny post about a book club for young professionals.
• Book Clubs Made Easy! A simple solution to starting a book club is offered in this blog article.
• Starting a Foodie Book Club The main point to consider in this article is to make sure that you have like-minded readers when forming your book club.
• How to Start a Book Club You’ll find a thorough list of things to consider when starting a book club and some sound advice on this post.
• Want to Start a Book Club?  Get Organized by Answering these 7 Questions Find questions and a sample set of answers to help you get started on your own book club.

Kids
Starting a book club for kids can help kids improve their reading comprehension, as well as expose them to the idea that people can have different viewpoints on the same thing. While the focus of a book club for children should be about having fun, kids will still learn a lot from taking part in a book club.  These seven blog articles will help you get started.

• Starting a Book Club for Grades K-4 This post suggests including a craft with your book club meeting, among other suggestions.
• Anatomy of a Book Club This blog post describes how to start a book club with a group of teen girls.
• Start a Summer Book Club for Kids—Fun Stuff to Do Anywhere Read various suggestions on how to start a successful kids book club in this post.
• Starting a Kids’ Book Club There are a lot of helpful suggestions in this blog post for starting a book club for kids.
• 5 Ways to Avoid the “Summer Slide” and Keep Kids Reading Fun ideas, like creating a chart and posting it on the wall, are detailed in this blog post.
• How to Host a Children’s Book Club You can read many quality tips about what to do to start a kids’ book club and what the kids can learn by being in one.
• How to Start Your Own Little Book Club The questions posed on this blog article will  help you work through some of the details about forming a book club.

Virtual
Sometimes life is too hectic for regular book club gatherings, and the only way you can engage in a book club is if it’s online. With the integration of social media and the internet, starting a virtual book club is easier than ever. Read through these seven blog posts to learn how others have done it and what they considered before getting started.

• Book Lovers Unite Online Book Club Read how this online book club is going to work and how you could start one just like it.
• Olson Field Book Club Read about this long distance book club to see if it’s something you may want to start with your long distance friends.
• Virtual Book Club for Kids—Extraordinary Egg Check out the book and activities that this virtual book club is doing for their group.
• Get Back into Reading with the Blogger Book Club If you are a blogger or would like to start a blog, you can also join this book club and learn how the club will be handled.
• How to Start a Book Club Inside a Book Learn about a site where you can start a virtual book club or join others.
• Virtual Book Club This blogger decided to start a book club about books that interest her, and you could do the same thing.
• 10 Tips for Starting a Virtual Social Change Book Club Follow these step-by-step directions to start your own virtual book club.

Source:  Nanny Websites

Summer Camp: FREE Service to Help Parents find the Best Camp for their Child

Believe it or not, NOW is the time to start your summer camp search.

Especially if you are interested in teen travel camps, they can fill up very fast.

Not sure where to start, or what is available?  South Florida is home to Camp Finders!  Though they have assisted families thoughout the country, they are located here and know our community firsthand.

Since 1994, Camp Finders® has personally visited approximately 175 overnight camps and various teen programs. During this time period, Camp Finders™ has been placing children in sleep away camps and in the following teen programs: teen tours; wilderness camps & outdoor adventure; college enrichment; community service; sailing, SCUBA, & marine biology programs; foreign language programs and more.

Camp Finders encourages parents to think about the following questions when considering their child's summer experience:

*What type of community does the camp try to create? (this is an important question)
*What is the size of the camp?
*Is the camp more on the competitive or non-competitive bent?
*Is there a religious focus with the camp?
*How does the camp handle new campers, cliques and bullying?
*What is the communication policy for parents and their children?
*Connected with the communication policy, how do camps handle homesickness?
*What is the level of instruction in most of the activities (experienced staff/teachers)?

 Camp Finders® is a free service which matches children ages 6-17 with appropriate sleepaway camps and teen programs.Click here for your free information request.

Fresh Air Fund Summer 2011

If you or someone you know is able to host, please sign up now. In 2010, The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.

Thanks to host families who open up their homes for a few weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air experiences.

Although you are giving a so much to a child, what you give to yourself and your family is priceless.  Giving is about feeling good and when you pay it forward, it does come back to you.

Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children.

There are no financial requirements for hosting a child. Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host.

Stories about real Fresh Air host families and their New York City visitors are just a click away!

Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!

Fresh Air Children

Follow on Twitter at @FreshAirFund and join them on Facebook.

Sue Scheff: Summer Activities Challenge 2010

Some parents fear that when summer arrives their child's brain is going to turn to mush. All that pool water is making anything she happened to learn last year dissolve quicker than you think, but think again. You can still have a fun and exciting summer (including swimming) and keep your education flowing in.

Summer Activities Challenge, presented by Education.com, is an opportunity for families to have fun learning together while kids avoid the summer slide academically. 

Here's what's new this year with Summer Activities Challenge:

• A super-cool grand prize! This year the winning family will win a Funjet Vacations family getaway to Cancun with all-inclusive accommodations at the RIU Cancun for four nights. In addition to the Grand Prize and the Weekly Prizes, 100 families who finish the Challenge will continue their summer fun with a set of Schylling Rocket Balloons
• A prize a week for 12 weeks! Each week during the challenge we'll send a LEGO prize pack (worth at least $50) to a family that has completed at least one activity that week. Participants can win weekly prizes even if they never finish the Challenge.
• A shorter trip to the finish line! This year participants only need to complete 10 activities to be eligible for the Grand Prize and the Rocket Balloons (last year the bar was set at 20 activities).
• Even more activities to choose from. We now have thousands of activities on Education.com for participating families to choose from. The activities are sorted by grade level and academic subject. Each activity takes anywhere from ten minutes to several hours to complete and the activities typically require basic materials that families will either have on hand, or can easily and inexpensively acquire.

Education.com is one of the most comprehensive websites full of valuable resources and educational articles regarding your kids today.

Sign up today! 


Want a sneak peek at the thousands of activities your family can choose from? Click here.

Get moving, get motivated, get learning and most of all enjoy your family this summer!

Sue Scheff: Summer Camps! Time is Ticking!

Can you even believe that summer is just about here? May 1st is only days away - so are you still looking for a summer camp or program for your teen or tween?

Summer camps can be a great self esteem building opportunity for many kids. If you are still considering summer programs for your child - here are some ideas for your consideration.

Camp Finders® is a free service which matches children ages 6-18 with appropriate overnight summer camps and teen programs.

Since 1994, Camp Finders® has personally visited approximately 175 sleepaway camps and various teen programs. During this time period, Camp Finders™ has been placing children in overnight camps and in the following teen programs: teen tours; wilderness camps & outdoor adventure; college enrichment; community service; sailing, SCUBA, & marine biology programs; foreign language programs and more… Visit www.campfinders.com.

Sue Scheff: Summer Camps - it is almost that time again!

Camp Finders® is a free service which matches children ages 6-18 with appropriate overnight summer camps and teen programs.

Since 1994, Camp Finders® has personally visited approximately 175 sleepaway camps and various teen programs. During this time period, Camp Finders™ has been placing children in overnight camps and in the following teen programs: teen tours; wilderness camps & outdoor adventure; college enrichment; community service; sailing, SCUBA, & marine biology programs; foreign language programs and more…

Overnight camps (all visited by Camp Finders) - these are generally on the East Coast of the USA, in states such as Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina & Florida.
Camp Finders® has also visited sleepaway camps in other areas - N. Wisconsin & Colorado.

Teen programs - these are located all over the USA, as well as in Canada, Europe, Australia, Central America, the Caribbean & Virgin Islands, Israel & more…

For years CampFinders helped me find the most exciting, fun and educational camps for my son. Summer is just around the corner - find the camp that best fits your child’s interests! It can be a great learning experience - meeting kids from all over the country!

Like my organization, Rick Maddes, owner and founder of CampFinders, takes the time to visit camps and give parents firsthand information. Call today at 561-865-000031.