It's time for the 14th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge!
My theme for the Challenge is CELEBRATE.
I've written about my girls' book club for many years now, but just in case you don't know the background, I will catch you up! When I began teaching gifted ELA in 2012, I started with 4th grade. The next year, I moved to the 5/6 buidling, so I looped with that first group of kids. Because of that unique situation, I was fortunate enough to teach them for 3 years. Needless to say, I grew very close to those kids. When they moved on to junior high, I had to think of something to keep us connected! That's when our girls' book club began.
When we first started, we consistently had around 10-12 girls meet together every month. We read stacks of books, and we had a great time. I loved staying a part of their lives. As they entered high school, our numbers dwindled a bit. Part-time jobs, more school activities, more homework, etc. competed with their time, but there was a small core who consistently got together. Once Covid hit, we stopped meeting at the Barnes and Noble Starbucks and met via Zoom. This photo was our first Zoom meeting on March 29th last year. Zoom was still fairly new to us all. We talked books part of the time, but we mostly talked about our new reality.
Today, we were down to 3 of us, but I love that we still meet! One of the girls is at Ohio University, so I love hearing all about her activities, classes, and dorm life. The other girl is in her senior year and made her college decision, so we talked about that and the fact that she's returning to in-person school tomorrow. And we did talk about books!
I'm grateful that these former students are part of my life. Most of them are seniors in high school this year, so I sure hope I will be able to attend their graduation!
Today I celebrate book clubs and former students who are still part of my life!
That is so cool that you STILL do this! I am sure you have been such a positve influence in their lives. This just makes me smile!
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