As a home educating mom, one of my primary goals is to introduce my children to rich, quality literature and watch the world come alive as we read together. Living books transport children to other times in history, help them see the world from different perspectives, and inspire them to be the hero of the story.
In my homeschool, we dedicate a lot of our time to reading books together. In the Charlotte Mason philosophy, she encourages the idea of “living books” – stories where the author is passionate about the subject and tells the story in a way that inspires the imagination, and opens eyes to new ways of thinking and living.
Related: Best Sources for Preschool and Elementary Living Book Lists
When my oldest children were young, we were spending so much time reading I thought it would be fun to explore books alongside our community. Over the years I have hosted book clubs with other homeschool moms and their children. We would choose the best of the best books, read them together in our own respective families, then celebrate finishing the books by gathering together for snacks and activities that coordinated with themes in the book.
Participating in book clubs over the years has brought us so much joy and has been a highlight of my children's education. I love watching children fall in love with good stories and make real-life connections from them. I especially love seeing a group of children really excited about good literature and bonding over the characters, settings, and themes presented in the storyline. Book clubs have also helped me use literature as a connecting point to make friendships with other homeschooling moms.
Over the years I have learned that spending time enjoying living books can really become a full language arts experience. Through a good story, you can open doors for narration, notebooking, copywork, spelling, grammar, and creative writing.
Beyond language arts, with a little bit of planning, literature can be a bridge to organic learning about science, nature, geography, and history. When a child is fully immersed in a good storyline, they want to know more about the time period, people group, location, and ecosystems presented in the story. These lessons are the ones that have really stuck with my children over the years because their hearts and minds were really connected and invested.
After many years of making these connection in our own homeschool and hosting book clubs in our own circle of friends, l just knew I needed to create a guide to help others do the same. Enter, Treehouse Book Club. In this blog post I share everything you need to know about Treehouse Book Club.
In this blog post:
- What is Treehouse Book Club?
- Treehouse Book Club book picks
- Book Report, Illustrated Dictionary, and meet-up ideas
- Starting or joining a community for Treehouse Book Club
- Membership details
- Frequently asked questions
What is Treehouse Book Club?
Treehouse Book Club is a monthly book club membership designed for families with children ages 6-12. Dive deep into living literature in your homeschool connecting themes to science, nature, geography, history, and language arts. Then, join with online or in-person community to celebrate finishing the book together.
The heart of Treehouse Book Club is to bring literature to life with family and community, and let literature be the launching point of discovery, wonder, friendship, inspiration, and a rich education.
Each book offers a four-week study for in-home use and a Book Club Meet-Up Guide. Each week children will compile unfamiliar words in an Illustrated Dictionary, complete a robust Book Report to record their favorite characters, write a book review, copy favorite quotes, and more. There are opportunities for copywork, author study, exploring writing styles, and completing individual creative writing. They will explore themes in history, geography, science, and nature as they read the stories and awaken curiosity and wonder. Children will have opportunities to research various themes throughout the story, notebook, bake, and do projects to bring the story to life. The lesson plans are intended to be used as a menu. Pick and choose which lessons and activities to complete each day and fill them in on the provided blank grid or in your homeschool planner.
Join our online book club community or start an in-person book club to celebrate finishing the book. Meet-ups allow children to complete activities and share presentations in a group setting. The Book Club Meet-Up Guide will give you ideas for food, activities, and presentations to use at your meetup.
The content in each month's Book Club Guide includes reading, writing, and narration. There are opportunities for copywork, author study, exploring writing styles, and completing individual creative writing resulting in a robust, year-long literature curriculum.
Related: Copywork in Your Homeschool: Why and How?
Treehouse Book Club picks
In July we will read Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls. Here are the other titles we plan to read together:
- The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
- The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
- My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
- Rascal by Sterling North
- The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
- The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
- The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
Book Report and Illustrated Dictionary
Each month, children will complete a book report using that month's Book Report Booklet. They'll illustrate their own covers, journal about their favorite characters, write summaries, and more. These are used as a springboard for presenting to your family or in-person book club.
As children come across unfamiliar words in the story, they will create an entry in the Illustrated Dictionary. They will write the unfamiliar word, look it up in a dictionary, write the definition, write it in a complete sentence, and draw a picture. As the weeks go by, they will compile their own Illustrated Dictionary which can be saved and bound.
Starting or joining a community for Treehouse Book Club
We encourage you to dive into Treehouse Book Club with members of your own community. Invite friends you already have who homeschool and love great literature. Encourage them to join Treehouse Book Club and start planning your first meet up! If you don't have a group of friends to form a group, we can help you find others in your city and state who are using Treehouse Book Club.
Related: How to Start a Children’s Book Club
Treehouse Book Club Members will get access bonus content in their account dashboard such as extension book lists to further the study and connect with other members of the Treehouse Book Club community in our exclusive Community Group. This group will be used to share ideas and inspiration and find local members to plan meet-ups.
Membership details
Join Treehouse Book Club here. Join monthly or join quarterly to save. Learn more below.
Frequently asked questions
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN A MEMBERSHIP?
A membership includes a monthly Book Guide, Book Report Booklet, Illustrated Dictionary, Book Club Meet-Up Guide, and exclusive access to the Treehouse Book Club Community.
WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE AN IN-PERSON COMMUNITY?
The Treehouse Book Club online community can be your community! Connect with other families reading the book online or find local meet-ups in your area. You can also call your family a "Book Club" and celebrate the finishing of the book each month together by using the activity guide. If you're not interested in the club aspect, simply use the lesson plans as a full literature curriculum.
CAN THE BOOK CLUB GUIDES BE PURCHASED WITHOUT A MEMBERSHIP?
Yes! Each month after Book Club ends, the Book Club Guides will be sold individually in our shop.
CAN I CHANGE OR CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION?
Yes! Book Club Members can cancel their membership at any time. Visit your Treehouse Customer Account Portal and click 'Manage Memberships' or email support@treehouseschoolhouse.com.
CAN THIS COUNT AS A LITERATURE CURRICULUM?
Yes! The content in each month's Book Club Guide includes reading, writing, and narration. There are opportunities for copywork, author study, exploring writing styles, and completing individual creative writing resulting in a robust, year-long literature curriculum.
WHAT AGES IS TREEHOUSE BOOK CLUB DESIGNED FOR?
Treehouse Book Club is designed for ages 6-12. The books can be read aloud by a parent or independently read by older students. Like all Treehouse Schoolhouse resources, it is designed for family-style learning, so there are suggestions for including younger children.
DOES EACH MEMBER OF A BOOK CLUB NEED A MEMBERSHIP OR ONLY THE HOST?
Each book club family should have an active Treehouse Book Club Membership.
I hope you are as excited as Treehouse Book Club as I am! Join us as Treehouse Book Club begins on July 1. We are currently taking a limited number of members, so check it out and see if it is a good fit for your family.
