At our most Nim’s Island book club, the kids imagined what life would be like on their own secret island. Then they designed it and built it out of salt dough.
All while eating crab legs and mangos.
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Nim’s Island Book Club Discussion
Our most recent book club was over the middle school adventure, Nim’s Island
. Nim is a young girl who lives with her father on a secret island. She is left alone while her father leaves on a trip and then eventually gets stuck at sea. The book is the first of the Nim books and was produced as a major motion picture.
The idea of living on a secret island was fascinating to the book club. We talked about what our “dream island” would be like. Then the girls took “pencil in hand” and sketched out all the details.
Nim’s Island Book Club Activity
Inspired by Nim’s tropical home, I started out the activity by having the girls sketch out their secret island. They each had their own ideas of what they would need on their islands, but they all agreed that a volcano was a must.
Once the designs were finished, we began the messy (but fun) process of making salt dough. Salt dough is pretty easy. You can follow this simple recipe.
- Slowly combine all ingredients. Mixing by hand is lots of fun!
- Once combined, place in a pie pan and mold into the shape of your island. We spray painted our pie pans before so they would give the impression of water.
- Place in oven heated to 225 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Check at the end of 10 minutes. If the island is not dry enough to paint (some bulky spots will take longer to dry), bake for another 10 minutes. Keep adding 10 minute increments until dry. Be careful to not cook too long, as the dough will start browning.
- Once dry, the island is ready to paint.
We added rocks and moss to our islands and a few shallows. The kids had a lot of fun creating their salt dough islands as a part of their Nim's Island Book Club.
The kids painted their islands and decorated them with rocks and moss. Here are the results of the girls’ secret island designs.
Nim’s Island Book Club Snacks
No book club is complete without snacks. They are a crucial part of the “fun aspect” of book clubs. Snacks always make literature discussion better.
I started by decorating our school room table with a tropical tablecloth, luau masks, and tropical flowers. We snacked on grapes, strawberries, kiwi, mangoes, pineapple, raspberries, cantaloupe, crab legs, and sushi. The crab legs were a HUGE hit, as was the sushi.
We enjoyed this book about a homeschooler who was an adventurer. And, since we read it, we get to watch it (Mom’s crazy rules!) I’m off to rent Nim’s Island.
Hi, I’m Dachelle. I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. I love chocolate and have been known to hide it from my children. I can often be found reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. I blog, here, at HideTheChocolate.com when I’m not creating book clubs and making lists…lots and lots of lists (it’s an addiction). Learn more…
Wow! You never fail to amaze me with all of your creative book club ideas. Thank you so much for sharing & inspiring:)
Thanks, Amy! I really enjoy the book clubs. They are a creative outlet.
What a cute themed idea. I love easy salt dough projects!
Thanks, Aileen. We’ve just started working with salt dough. Wow, I didn’t know what I was missing!
What a fun book club party. I’m a bit jealous that I couldn’t be there! Thanks for sharing at the #ThisIsHowWeRoll Link Party.
Thanks, Susan. Book clubs are one of my favorite parts of homeschooling.
wow! what a great time! Nothing like some good hands-on activities to make a book come alive. Thank you for sharing the ideas with us.
Stopping by from Encouraging Hearts and Home blog hop this week.
Thanks, Linda. Hands on activities are great for that.