In celebration of my momentous birthday next week, I thought I would honor a few of the characteristics that mark it. Please share your own in comments. I can’t wait to read them!

You might be 40 if…

The boys and girls you had as students in high school are now sending their own children to Kindergarten.

You can count on one hand the number of years before both your kids will be terrorizing other drivers behind the wheel of a car.

You wonder why you wore baggy clothes back when you were skinny.

You wear a ponytail once in a while because pulling your hair back stretches your wrinkles and gives you a natural face-lift.

Your friends keep getting smarter.

You think a boring weekend at home is a gift.

You know you’re going to have to change your about page because you’ll no longer be able to refer to yourself as “30-something.”

You reminisce about photos like this and think, “I’m sure glad someone brought a camera that day!”

After almost a quarter of a century, you’ve reconnected with school classmates on Facebook, and you consider attending a reunion.

Regular hairdresser visits are no longer “optional” or a “luxury” — but rather a budgeted necessity if you don’t want to look 50.

You’re starting to think seriously about the number of years before retirement.

You borrow your sister’s reading glasses and discover there are printed words on maps. You buy your own reading glasses and place them on the tip of your nose while you read the paper, so you can read and have a conversation at the same time.

You more frequently see the big picture, and less often the everyday chaos.

You regularly use the “isms” your mother did – even thought they drove you crazy for the first forty years.

You make sure to include photos of pets and relatives in photo albums, when you used to just include your kids.

You give up on ever looking better than you do right now. And you get yourself into photos as well.

You wish you could give your 30-year-old Self a hug.

You’ve redefined “perfection,” though you still need to regularly remind yourself about your new definition. You’re quicker to forgive yourself.

And you discover, remarkably, that with age you smile more often.

Other “Turning 40″ wisdom from around the Web:

My high school classmate, Erika, on Facebook: “I just realized after I had kids and because I’m getting older – I didn’t need everyone’s approval anymore. Being a mother gave me more confidence and I just need to do things that are best for my family.”

Kim Knapp, Active Rain: “In our thirties we realize who our friends really are, start to really identify our values and come into our own.”

Mary Lou Roe, Thrive:
“I am grateful for every single line and wrinkle that has brought me to this age.”

@RainyDayDiamond via Twitter: “You are never too old for the Mouse. Figured if I had to turn 40, I was gonna have fun…at Disneyland!”

And to keep it all in perspective, here’s a great post from Change of Heart Stress Solutions.

What about you? Do you have more “Turning 40″ milestones to add?

***GUEST SERIES BY SIXTH-GRADE DARLA***

Begin the “Start a Book Club” series here.

Once your books are ready, you have to let people know about your book club! Think about how you’ll market the project. How will people know about it?

For me, it worked best to send out invitations to people in my neighborhood, and introduce myself to parents. Book clubs naturally work better when the parents are sending their kids to someone they consider “a friend’s house,” so if you have lived in the neighborhood your whole life, it will be much easier. When you hand out the fliers, I would use cool fonts on the computer and small clip art pictures.

Our book club lasts from 4:00 to 4:30 every Wednesday, and that time frame works well for us, leaving room for the crew members’ other after-school activities. You should be detailed on the flier, mentioning what time, where it’s at, why they should attend, and who is running it. It helps a lot if you mention you have cookies as a snack.

Ideally, you start out with something big, outside and fun. Call it a grand opening! Everyone in the neighborhood will come to an ice cream social with red light/green light. You can host special “everyone” events throughout the year as well. For instance, this week we’ll host an Easter egg hunt. We made a special flier to hand out to all the kids in the neighborhood, and we expect pretty much everyone will show up this week, even though only a handful will attend in the following weeks. We don’t worry about how many will return for the next week’s story. Some may be too young to become regulars this year, but next year it might be the perfect fit.

MARKETING
• Hand out fliers, using clip art and cool fonts.

• ALWAYS mention in the fliers that you have cookies or brownies.

• Be specific, including all important information in bullet points and bold letters.

• When you deliver the fliers, introduce yourself, following basic safety rules.

• Keep a short time frame at a time that works in your neighborhood. Although 4:00-4:30 is good for us, earlier, later or weekend times might work better for you.

• If you’re not a person already known by everyone in the community, recruit one as a helper! Familiar faces will help you to recruit participants. My mom says it also builds community.

• Host a grand opening event! Have ice cream and play outside games. A highly-visible, outside activity will draw in new participants.

• Don’t worry if some kids come for the big events, but not the regular book club dates. That’s okay! It might not be the right fit for them yet, but next year you might be surprised who starts to attend regularly.

How would you market a neighborhood book club?

How to Start a Kid’s Book Club series:
Read Across America – Youth Leader for Literacy Project
How to Start Your Own BookWorm Wednesday
Adult Mentor
Book Selection
Activities
Safety
Marketing
Management
Teamwork
Money

This series of articles is a part of Read Across America, sponsored by NEA and Youth Service America. Darla — named one of the 2009 Youth Leaders for Literacy — is sponsoring this campaign to help other youth start book clubs in their neighborhoods. Please come back next week for the continuation of this series, which will end the last week in April, in conjunction with Global Youth Service Day.

***GUEST SERIES BY SIXTH-GRADE DARLA***

Begin the “Start a Book Club” series here.

My mom insisted that I include “safety” in this book club series. I don’t know that it was something I would have considered otherwise. I guess that’s why having an adult mentor is pretty important.

I know there are lots of reasons that safety can be a concern, even in a relatively safe community and neighborhood. I guess we do many things to keep the BookWorm Wednesday crew safe, as well as the kids that attend. I hope these tips help you as well.

SAFETY

• When distributing fliers, go in pairs and/or with your adult supervisor close-by.

• Establish clear rules about who attends.

• Cancel the book club on days that you don’t have adequate supervision.

• Decide on age group that works in your neighborhood – what works for 1st-graders is different than what works for your peers.

• Have an adult supervisor, and ask him or her for help with students when necessary.

• Don’t be afraid to send naughty kids home.

Do you have other ideas for creating a safe environment for your book club?
How to Start a Kid’s Book Club series:
Read Across America – Youth Leader for Literacy Project
How to Start Your Own BookWorm Wednesday
Adult Mentor
Book Selection
Activities
Safety
Marketing
Management
Teamwork
Money

This series of articles is a part of Read Across America, sponsored by NEA and Youth Service America. Darla — named one of the 2009 Youth Leaders for Literacy — is sponsoring this campaign to help other youth start book clubs in their neighborhoods. Please come back next week for the continuation of this series, which will end the last week in April, in conjunction with Global Youth Service Day.

***GUEST SERIES BY SIXTH-GRADE DARLA***

Begin the “Start a Book Club” series here.

You also need to plan your activity. My bookworm Wednesday schedule goes like this: kids come, check out books, sit down and eat a snack while listening to a story, and then we all do a craft.

The book you choose should be based on your craft. If your theme is cowboys/cowgirls, I suggest a cowboy/cowgirl book. If the theme is fish, I suggest a fish book. The book, Playful Reading: Positive, Fun Ways to Build the Bond Between Preschoolers, Books, and You
is an excellent guide for choosing fun and positive books for your curriculum.

As for crafts, I like to plan them months in advance. Since BWW doesn’t run in the summer, that is when I decide “the second week in January, we will make puppets” even though it is August. If for some reason the craft you planned doesn’t work out, back up plans work, as well as the craft you were going to do next week. It is a smart idea to print pictures off the internet for them to color, too.

Physical activity is great for the boys, typically. On a warm day, definitely go outside and have two groups: Red light-Green light, and coloring.

Make sure the craft is realistic, like on Columbus day I wanted to make ships out of gallon buckets, but honestly. I would need at least 11 gallon buckets, and it would have taken too long anyway.

ACTIVITIES

• Try to have parties near holidays.

• Plan for your activities.

• Buy candy for your incentives at the grocery store. You can also find inexpenxive toy prizes at http://www.orientaltrading.com.

• Try to base your book on your theme. if the theme is Cowboys/cowgirls, and you are making paper bag vests, base the story on cowboys/cowgirls.

• Keeping attendance is a good idea. I have it that every three times you come, you get a ticket. You can spend your ticket on a sucker, or save it for something bigger.

• Memorize what order you do things, eventually the kids will just know what to do. I have it check out books, eat and listen to story, then do craft.

• On a day you’ve planned a complicated craft, be sure to have all materials prepared beforehand, and make sure all your helpers will attend that day!

How to Start a Kid’s Book Club series:
Read Across America – Youth Leader for Literacy Project
How to Start Your Own BookWorm Wednesday
Adult Mentor
Book Selection
Activities
Safety
Marketing
Management
Teamwork
Money

This series of articles is a part of Read Across America, sponsored by NEA and Youth Service America. Darla — named one of the 2009 Youth Leaders for Literacy — is sponsoring this campaign to help other youth start book clubs in their neighborhoods. Please come back next week for the continuation of this series, which will end the last week in April, in conjunction with Global Youth Service Day.

***GUEST SERIES BY SIXTH-GRADE DARLA***

Begin the “Start a Book Club” series here.

My large library of books was one of the major reasons I thought I could start a book club, so you might want to start organizing a library, even if it’s small. It helps to talk to adults about your project. I have received many quality book donations from neighbors and family. Just inventory what you need, based on the ages of your participants, and get the word out!

The stories you choose are very important. I go to the public library instead of my own because if you read your own, that narrows down the books that the kids haven’t read, and it is nice to have a variety. The book, Playful Reading: Positive, Fun Ways to Build the Bond Between Preschoolers, Books, and You, is a great resource for picking out quality books that build Developmental Assets at the same time. This book also explains preschool activities that go along with the books, which can be very helpful if you have younger participants.

Just like a library, you should vertically arrange the books (alphabetically, if you want) on a shelf where kids can reach them. I highly suggest you don’t alphabetize the picture books, because little kids shove the book back anywhere and then the whole alphabetizing process is useless.

TIPS ABOUT BOOK CLUB BOOKS

• First of all you have to love reading. You can’t run a bookclub if you don’t read books.

• It is rather important to have books that the kids can check out as well.

• It’s best to have then eat their treats while listening to the story.

• Read aloud books you’ve checked out from the local library, that way you aren’t reading books that the kids were going to check out

• Funny books are a kids’ favorite, and ones with a repeated “saying” are cool because you can have them say it on that part.

• When you are choosing a story, make sure it’s not too long. If it is too short, pick two to read.

How to Start a Kid’s Book Club series:
Read Across America – Youth Leader for Literacy Project
How to Start Your Own BookWorm Wednesday
Adult Mentor
Book Selection
Activities
Safety
Marketing
Management
Teamwork
Money

This series of articles is a part of Read Across America, sponsored by NEA and Youth Service America. Darla — named one of the 2009 Youth Leaders for Literacy — is sponsoring this campaign to help other youth start book clubs in their neighborhoods. Please come back next week for the continuation of this series, which will end the last week in April, in conjunction with Global Youth Service Day.