Tonight we had a meeting of a summer book club at a local church. The kids and I had already gone to the library and chosen some books to go along with the circus theme for tonight. It turns out the favorites for my children were as follows:
Anna - "The Ringmaster's Secret", a Nancy Drew mystery
Grant - "Morris and Borris at the Circus" by B. Wiseman
Having book club at 7 p.m. on a summer night can be a little tough, especially if you have had swimming lessons and played hard all day. I wasn't sure my five year old was going to make it. Here he is on the way to the church:
Thankfully, he can catnap for ten minutes and be just fine when he wakes up, so he was energized and ready to go when we got there!
My friend and her daughter who led the bookclub are very creative and decorated the room with streamers to give the big top effect. They started off by having everyone share a little about their book, and then they served juice, popcorn, and cotton candy. They invited the boys and girls to walk on the tightrope (2x4s) and talk about other circus acts. Then, they brought out the clown costumes! What a way to make a room full of children light up!
Who can resist a red, curly wig and a squeaky nose?
Look at this cutie!
And, how about a pair of clown shoes?
Personally, the jester was the cutest to me (although iPhoto is playing tricks with my red eye reduction tonight!)
Then, the parents were asked to leave the room for a while, while the children concocted their own circus show. My reserved daughter was the ringmaster and did a great job of announcing the acts.
We had a fun time, and are looking forward to the next bookclub meeting!