Today is our library day. But unlike most parents of young children, we don’t go to the library with kids just for story time. In fact, we avoid story days altogether because the children’s section becomes a mad house, amok with toddling little ones and I have enough trouble keeping my kiddos focused as it is because we go to the library with kids simply to get books to bring home.
Going to the library is not a set thing in our schedule, more of a “oh crap, our books are due back on Monday, guess we’ll be going the only day we don’t have other things on our schedule!” But we do go fairly frequently, there is a constant rotation of library books at our house (except when we go out of town, then we return all the books and the kids cry when we don’t get more.)
We didn’t really start going to the library until we moved last year. The closest library to our old house was 20 minutes away and not really near anything else we regularly did in life so getting books back was always a hassle. But now we have three public libraries within that same distance and another right by Sugarplum’s gymnastics plus the one we frequent the most is on the way to work for hubby so he can drop books for us if necessary. So with the ease of library-going, we’ve made it a habit to go regularly.
And there’s a few things I’ve learned over the past year and rules I’ve implemented when going to the library with kids:
Avoid busy times.
For us it’s easy because we homeschool and can go any time of the day before the school kids are there. But I’ve also found that later in the evenings after dinner are a good time to go as well and we avoid weekends, school holidays and story time days whenever possible!
Know the lay of your library.
It took us some time to get to know our local libraries but now that we know where to easily find the things we want and now I’ve found we can walk into pretty much any county library and things will be arranged pretty much the same.
Know what you want to get.
I have too many kids with too many opinions and too many fiery personalities to wing it, we have to have a game plan! Usually I require my kids to pick at least a few non-fiction books and I have to pull Sugarplum away from the leveled readers and into the picture books so it helps to know what types of books we are looking for so I can direct my kiddos in the right direction.
Have a number in mind.
If I let them, my kids would bring home every book they could get their grubby little hands on so we set limits. Usually 2-4 books for Doodle and 6-8 for the girls with at least 2 being non-fiction and no more than 2 or 3 being pop-culture (princesses, Star Wars, Barbie, etc.) and no more than 2 in any one series (Honeybun loves the American Girls and Sugarplum has a pretty large Babar obsession right now). To me, variety is important.
Team Up.
Whenever possible, I bring extra adults along to help whenever I go to the library with kids (I aim for a one-on-one if at all doable!) This helps us not only expedite our book-gathering process but helps the kids stay focused on what they’re supposed to be looking for which cuts down on upset kids at checkout time when I tell them they can’t take all the books they’ve gathered and need to put some back.
Make it educational.
Of course just going to the library with kids and getting books is educational, but going to the library can be a lesson in itself. Help your kids learn how books are arranged and how to utilize all the library has to offer. My kids have learned that books are sorted in two ways: alphabetical by author’s last name for fiction and by call number for non-fiction. We haven’t memorized the Dewey decimal system yet, our libraries have pictures and labels for the areas but I do sometimes look up call number ahead of time for things we are working on and have the girls help me find the right numbers. I’ve also spent some time with Honeybun using the computers to look up the books she wants and writing down the information she needs to easily find them.
Bring a bag.
I’m a big fan of reusable bags and take them everywhere with me from the grocery store to the mall and especially the library. Those books get heavy and trying to manage 4 kids and 20+ books can get tricky quickly so being able to throw all the books into a big cloth bag as we gather and after checking out is a lifesaver!
Get a receipt.
If you library offers printed receipts, I recommend getting one! I use the receipt not only to keep track of what books we’ve borrowed and need to return but also the keep track of what books my kids have read for their homeschool log (one of the only homeschooling requirements in Florida).
