Nim’s Island Book Club ~ A Tropical Salt Dough Island Party School

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.

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Salt Dough Island Recipe

Salt Dough Island

Course

Crafts

Prep Time

5-60 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Servings

small islands

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1/2-1 cup water

Course Crafts Prep Time 5-60 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Servings small islands Ingredients 2 cups flour 1 cup salt 1/2-1 cup water

Instructions

1. Slowly combine all ingredients. Mixing by hand is lots of fun!

   
2. 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.

   
3. Place in oven heated to 225 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. 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.
5. Once dry, the island is ready to paint.

   

Recipe Notes

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.

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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.