Bookworms: Teddy Bear Picnic

We had our very first Bookworms club meeting of the summer recently!
If you don't remember, Bookworms is the neighborhood mom-and-me book club a friend and I put together for the summer.
We're reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to discuss in August, but getting together in June and July to discuss picture books.
Our June activity was a teddy bear picnic!
All the neighborhood kids and their moms were invited to bring their special childhood bear (or moose, in Tempe's case) and favorite teddy bear story. I set up a little snack station in the backyard, spread some colorful blankets on the lawn, and provided a stack of teddy bear books, a plush picnic basket with plush food, and a teddy bear puzzle for entertainment.

My friend Lauren made scrumptious lemon-blueberry scones and I made sparkling blackberry lemonade (strawberry lemonade + blackberry Izzie + frozen mixed berries). I scoured the DI until I found three little chairs like the ones Goldilocks might have found in the home of the Three Bears.

I filled our picnic basket with a stack of teddy bear books from our own collection and from the library. We listened to a Teddy Bear Picnic song and I read my family's favorite teddy bear book--"Where's My Teddy?" by Jez Alborough. After I read my book, all the kids got a chance to stand up and tell us about their bear and the book they brought. After that, the kids had a great time looking at each other's books, playing with some of the toys I put out, and snacking while the moms visited.

The lemonade was an especially big hit!

Tempe, Helena, and I have been having a great time reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and choosing what books to take to our next Bookworms meeting in July.

Are you doing anything special to encourage summer reading? I'd love to hear about it!