My First Book Club: Mercy Watson

Course Summary

In this fun 3-week book club, students will listen to two chapters of Mercy Watson to the Rescue each week while building a hands-on STEM project inspired by the story. We'll pause for discussion, explore early reading skills, and enjoy Mercy’s silly adventures together. Families complete the remaining chapters at home through read-aloud or audiobook so students are ready for the next class.

Course Description

Join us for a joyful, hands-on book club full of silliness, stories, and STEM! During this 3-week class, students will listen to two chapters of Mercy Watson to the Rescue together in class while they complete a themed building challenge. We pause throughout the chapters to talk about characters, predictions, problems, and big events—building early comprehension skills in a fun, low-pressure way. Each week includes a creative engineering project that matches the chapters we read: 🐷 Week 1: Toast Tower Challenge – Build a tall, stable tower of “toast” for Mercy. 🐷 Week 2: Porcine-Proof House – Design a mini house that can withstand Mercy’s wiggles and snuffles. 🐷 Week 3: Mercy Parade Float – Create a moving or decorated float to celebrate the porcine wonder! To keep the story flowing, families read the remaining chapters at home through a parent read-aloud, independent reading, or the audiobook before the next class. This creates a perfect rhythm: we read together, we build together, and we come back ready to dive deeper into Mercy’s hilarious adventures. This club is ideal for young readers who love creativity, storytelling, and hands-on fun. It combines literacy, listening, discussion, engineering, and imagination—all in one playful, engaging experience!

Content Considerations

This class includes listening to short chapters from Mercy Watson to the Rescue and completing simple STEM builds using common household materials (paper, tape, craft sticks, etc.). Parent supervision may be helpful for younger learners using scissors or tape.

Syllabus

Each week, we will listen to two chapters of Mercy Watson to the Rescue together in class while students build a fun hands-on STEM project inspired by the story. We’ll pause for simple discussion, practice early reading skills, and enjoy Mercy’s silly adventures. Families complete the remaining chapters at home through read-aloud or audiobook so students are ready for the next class. 🐷 WEEK 1 In-Class Reading: Chapters 1–2 Skills Covered: Character traits, predictions, listening comprehension STEM Build: Toast Tower Challenge – Students engineer a tall, stable tower of “toast” for Mercy At-Home Reading: Chapters 3–4 🐷 WEEK 2 In-Class Reading: Chapters 5–6 Skills Covered: Cause & effect, problem/solution, story sequencing STEM Build: Porcine-Proof House – Design a mini house strong enough to withstand Mercy’s wiggles and snuffles At-Home Reading: Chapters 7–10 🐷 WEEK 3 In-Class Reading: Chapters 11–12 Skills Covered: Retelling, theme (helping others), connecting ideas STEM Build: Mercy Parade Float – Create a moving or decorated float celebrating “the porcine wonder” At-Home Reading: Optional rereading or finishing the full story together for fun

Supplies

⭐ WEEK 1 – Toast Tower Challenge Mini marshmallows Toothpicks Small cardboard base (piece from a cereal box) ⭐ WEEK 2 – Porcine-Proof Building Block House A small assortment of building blocks (Any style works—plastic bricks, wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, etc.) A flat surface or baseplate to build on Optional: small paper pig or Mercy cutout for testing ⭐ WEEK 3 – Mercy Parade Float Small box (shoebox lid, snack box, pasta box, etc.) Construction paper Glue or tape Scissors Paper wheels (cut-out circles) or bottle caps Pipe cleaners Markers, stickers, ribbon, or other decorations Optional: string to pull the float, Mercy paper cutout