Trick or Treat for the Book Club students...

As of this afternoon, 45 students have signed up for The Magic Wand Book Club.  Five new students this week, five new last week, and with those ten new students, I would say that maybe three of them are book-lovers. The rest, in my opinion, have signed up because their friends are members.

Enough is enough, and 45 students is enough.  I spoke to the principal this afternoon after I dismissed the students, and asked her if she would mind making a formal announcement that membership in the Book Club is now closed. Everyone who has signed up until this afternoon has been accepted into the club, and gladly, but no new students will be allowed to join now. I think the majority of the boys have signed up because of the carved wood wands, but I will be holding those wands until they have proven to me that they are really interested in books and reading.

Four students volunteered to tell the rest of the group about the books they have been reading, and I was pleasantly surprised that they were so willing.  One of the girls talked about a novel she has been reading since last week's meeting... she couldn't tell us too much about the story, so I asked her what page she was up to in that book. Very proudly, she said "Page 2."  All of the kids had a good laugh, and I suggested to the student that she read a little more of the book and tell us all about it next Thursday.

I had trick-or-treat bags for each of the students today, filled with small gifts, most of them pertaining to Halloween. I had the bags separated into two groups, boys and girls, and with my "Ladies first!" rule, the girls got to pick their gifts before the boys (who weren't too happy about that rule, by the way).  Most of the boys have no idea about being "gentlemen," and I doubt they even know the meaning of that word yet. (The students are all in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.)

The students also got to take their pick of brownies in the shapes of bats and pumpkins, and Jack-O-Lantern shaped cookies filled with peach jam. (Baked by 'Little Debbie' -- the kids loved them.) Once again, I let the girls choose before the boys, followed by groans and moans from the boys.

More than a few of the girls gave me hugs today, thanking me for the books and the goodies, and those moments alone were worth all the extra work that went into this week's after-school Halloween Book Club party.