On March 3rd, with fresh weather, we held our first spring outdoor book club in Olympic Forest Park. It lasted about 45 minutes, and everyone was still eager to leave, especially those who arrived late because they couldn’t find a place. I heard one mother later pulled out a book and read to her children, much to their delight. I also saw on Weibo that some friends, after finally failing to find a place, took their children to the amusement park instead, and they had a blast.
The weather was beautiful that day, with no smog and a clear blue sky. While not as blue as Greece, the sun was gentle and the breeze was pleasant, perfect for a relaxing day out and reading. We didn’t specifically discuss what books we’d read (since we weren’t sure how old the children would be), but we each memorized a few books. I brought eight or nine to prepare for different situations.
The first story I chose was “Spring Has Arrived,” from “Frog and Toad: Good Friends.” Firstly, spring has arrived, and secondly, it’s a perfect story for children to yell out. I once led over a thousand children in a school to do so. The inspector and I were to tell the story together, and we needed to assign roles: who would be the frog, and who would be the toad? The children seemed unanimous in their decision to play the toad, so we had to accept the majority decision. Democracy is what it is!
For the second story, Liu Zheng will tell you about “Dot Dot Dot.” This book can be thought of as a picture book version of an iPad interactive game. It’s quite nonsensical yet incredibly creative, perhaps a declaration of our departure from the electronic world into the outside world. We can also talk about “This is a Book” next time. “Dot Dot Dot” is incredibly powerful as long as you dare to use it interactively, suitable for all ages and occasions.
The third story, “Who Hmmmed on My Head?” from Inspector Carrot’s repertoire, is also suitable for all ages. When it’s difficult to predict the audience’s needs, we might want to prepare a relatively accessible story, preferably under 10 minutes.
For the fourth story, I decided to talk about an English book I brought with me, The
Happy
Day, mainly because I felt the book was so appropriate for that particular day. English wasn’t a priority, so I mostly skimmed over it, just letting the kids enjoy the story. I wanted them to maintain a simple sense of wonder in spring nature, simply by keeping their eyes open, running and jumping, and sniffing endlessly.
The last game is “A Garden of Vegetables Became a Spirit”. First read the story and recite this Beijing nursery rhyme, then divide into two groups, occupy two positions, and attack and defend each other… In fact, it is just running and chasing together, but it requires a certain amount of group cooperation.
Before I knew it, the number of people, adults and children, had snowballed to 40 or 50, making it hard to tell who was participating and who was just spectating. The fun part was, just as the group was about to end, another group of old friends arrived. A little kid yelled, “Pangolin!”—Hi, even though I was late, I still had fun. That’s the benefit of an outdoor book club: being late doesn’t dampen the fun. Reading is just part of the game.
In previous years, Red Mud Bookstore’s parent-child book clubs were typically held on the second floor, accommodating only a dozen adults and children. The space was always limited, and weekends often required staff to work overtime, denying them time off. While I truly hope more friends will come to Red Mud Bookstore to buy books, weekends are still a good time to rest, especially since we also need to take our children outdoors for more exercise and play.
Olympic Forest Park is a great place for weekend outdoor activities. The scenery changes throughout the year, and the vegetation is clearly visible. Even within the city, it offers a sense of wildness. We often wander there on weekends, sometimes going for a run or even a 10-kilometer walk, which is quite enjoyable. However, it’s a bit disappointing to see so few people reading there, especially children. So, I think friends who love children and books might want to take their children and books there often. While enjoying the wildness, reading together would be wonderful!
At least we’ll know that in the same city, under the same sky, there are people who share our love for children, reading, and nature. Next time we visit the forest park, there will be many friends, both young and old, to greet each other, exchanging greetings about the seasons. We’ll no longer be strangers.
About every two or three weeks, when the weather is good, we will take the children to read and play together.
Next time, I hope to have more storytelling enthusiasts, both adults and children, share their stories. If there are a large group, we can split them into smaller groups, with children of different interests or ages. Each story should ideally be between 5 and 10 minutes long. Storytelling outdoors in front of a group of children can be challenging, even for experienced storytellers, so practice is recommended. If you have any fun outdoor game ideas, please share them.
We also need to remind you that this outdoor reading club is purely voluntary and for your own enjoyment. Everyone must abide by the park’s regulations. Adults must fulfill their responsibilities as guardians of their own children and act as watchdogs for other children. Those of us with institutional backgrounds, including ourselves, will not be displaying banners or handing out flyers. We simply bring the children together for a pure relaxation and playful activity.
Maybe one day we’ll find that a forest park is also suitable for a large open-air study, O(∩_∩)O haha~
Ajia …
Written in Beijing on March 7, 2013
