The Secret Garden

Now that we are back in school, it's Book Group time again. This year, rather than just do historical books, we decided to try a little bit different approach by going with a geographical theme. We had to stretch our imaginations a little to find classic children's books that were age appropriate but still covered different world wide geographical areas. For example, our first book this year was Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic, The Secret Garden. We decided that this book would count for both England and India as the main character, Mary Lennox, was born in India and often has memories about her life in India. Most of the book is set in England at the home of her uncle, Mr. Archibald Craven. I had read this book to Jared and Clarissa two years ago and they loved it. As with any good classic, they loved it again the second time and I hope they will read it again and again as there are so many layers of understanding to be discovered in it's pages. The day of book club, we met at a local park on a chilly, misty day in September; with weather not unlike that of the English moor, as one of the Moms pointed out. The Mom who was leading the group had several activities and discussions points prepared. The kids each colored their own secret garden spaces and then described how it made them feel and why they liked it. They also had the chance to spread wildflower seed all over the nearby butterfly garden in hopes of coming back in the Spring to see their flowers growing. The favorite activity by far was making their own miniature garden out of potting soil, moss, plastic animals, and any other items from nature they could find at the park. Jared, Amber, and Clarissa show off their gardens above (Krystal was there and made one, but wasn't in the mood for a photo).