Book Club Day

This afternoon was the first meeting of The Magic Wand Book Club at a local elementary school.  I got there an hour before the last class ended and set up the tables in the school library... books and bookmarks, journals and pens, 'I Love Reading' buttons and bookplates.... and a box filled with little chocolate bars for the students.

As I was setting up the book tables, I had a moment of panic and started to wonder how many, if any, students from the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades would show up for my after-school program. I shouldn't have worried... the book-loving students came running into the library and their eyes lit up as if they had been invited to a party. They carefully selected their books, they loved all the bookmarks... they were surprised by the buttons and quickly pinned them on their shirts, and the carved wands just sent them over-the-edge. It felt like a Christmas morning as I watched all those young faces break out into such smiles.

Twenty-six students signed up today for the Book Club.... and that was before I announced that they could keep the books they chose, and before I showed them the carved wood 'magic' wands they would receive as they earned magic points with the books they were choosing to read.  The kids were thrilled with the book journals (colorful notebooks with lined pages) and the pens with different colors of ink to match the designs on their journals.  Most of the students are girls, but seven boys did join and they immediately picked out the books on sports, cars, animals, and Texas.

I could not have been happier with the enthusiasm of the students... everyone who joined the Book Club seemed very interested in reading, and at least half of the students asked if they could pick out two books instead of one.  I have started a notebook listing the students' names and their book choices, and the magic wands will be given out according to the subject matter of the books they choose, and how well they keep up with the book journals.

The principal popped in to see us and seemed pleased with the book selections and the wands. One of the teachers at that school is a neighbor here, and she helped the kids pick out their journals and pens and buttons while I wrote down the students' names and the titles of the books they chose. The hour went by so quickly... and the children seemed very happy with The Magic Wand Book Club.

As for me.... it was a Happy Happy Happy day... and I am looking forward to a good many terms as the Book Club Lady at that school.   I have long ago come to the conclusion that when a person is consciously aware of every moment in their day-to-day life, every day becomes a lesson. Today's lesson was that when you do something nice for someone else, disagreeable or bad moments become an insignificant and minuscule blip in the universe.