Charlotte’s Web Book Club ~ A Party School at the Fair

Charlotte’s Web Book Club

I’m not sure there is a more classic children’s book than Charlotte’s Web. It was one of the first books I remember reading as a child and one of the first I remember reading to my girls. It is such a sweet story of friendship that is outside the normal boundaries, and it actually makes me like spiders just a little ~ you know, as long as they are in a barn and not in my house!

Charlotte’s Web Book Club Activities

As we were discussing “Some Pig,” we made felt pigs. We traced a pig outline onto two pieces of pink felt. Then we sewed the two pieces together leaving a hole to stuff cotton balls in between the felt sheets. The kids rolled black pipe cleaners on their pencils to make pig tails that we then sewed on the pigs. For the littles, we had some “mom help,” but the older kids did a great job sewing their pigs. When they finished, we glued on plastic eyes.

Each of the children brought a shoe box and plastic farm animals to book club. We painted the shoe boxes with brown paint, shredded brown paper for hay and glued craft sticks together to make fences. We folded wax paper into quarters and cut designs into it to make spider webs. Then the kids drew spiders on their webs. Some of the kids had fun spelling words into their webs. Once the farm animals were added, the barns were complete.

Each book club needs an activity that provides a little energy release. This book club, we blew up pink balloons and used black markers to paint pig faces on them. Then, the kids chased their floating pigs around, tossing them in the air and playing dodgeball.

Charlotte’s Web Book Club Snacks

Mud pie (aka dirt cake) was the first snack that came to mind when we considered doing a book club about the story of a pig and his barnyard friends. One of the moms purchased a kid sized plastic wheelbarrow and the kids helped whip up some chocolate pudding and Oreo dirt cake with gummy worm decorations. They had a blast eating out of the wheelbarrow and pretending they were farm animals.

Charlotte’s Web Book Club Field Trips

Usually we don’t head out on field trips with the book club, but this was an exception. The fair arrived in our town while we were reading Charlotte’s Web. Since so much of the book is set at the county agricultural fair, we thought this opportunity was too good to miss. The kids enjoyed feeding farm animals as “ordinary” as pigs and as exotic as camels. They played in the corn crib playground and visited all the historical displays. They were truly fascinated with wall phones with rotary dials (talk about making Mom feel old!).

As if one great opportunity wasn’t enough, our local children’s theater also performed Charlotte’s Web. We grabbed some seats at the homeschool performance and enjoyed watching the book come to life.

Charlotte’s Web will always be a favorite book of mine and now it’s a favorite book of the kids. Its enduring quality lasts through the generations and reminds us that some friendships may not last long, but will be remembered forever.