How We Library

Jessica's Homeschooling Tip:

​I realize this may seem like a silly piece to some, but I know far too many people, homeschooling moms even, who simply go to the library and rummage through shelf after shelf of children’s literature trying to find a couple relevant age-appropriate books for a lesson. If you are one of these mom’s, frantically searching the rows while littles pull book after book off the shelves this post is for you. There is a better way!! As long as you are willing to plan at least a week in advance you can simply pinterest “childrens books about……(insert topic here)” and do a quick rundown to find highly rated, age appropriate, relevant material. Next, login to your member library and simply request “reserve” for these titles from any of the participating sister branches in your network. You select the location to pick up all material, and when you bring the littles to a storytime or whatever, everything is ready and waiting for you at the front desk. Easy Peasey. Add a few theme related kits, books on tape, dvds even to complete your prep. Most libraries will let you check out like a hundred titles at one time. I used to feel embarrassed, watching sheepishly as my librarian scanned 20 picture books on astronauts at one time, most of which had to be shipped in from other locations. After a few heart to hearts with these ladies who came to know me by name however, I changed my tune. The library is a state and federally funded program, which receives money and creates jobs based on the number of citizens checking out material and the staff required to manage things like shipping requests. There are more than enough books to go around if someone else just so happen to be doing the same theme at the same time, I LOVE reading new and exciting (on topic) stories to my daughter each day while watching her love of literature grow, and my system ensures I almost always return things on time (as I have to go back to pick up the next theme of books). We have amazon prime, curbside grocery pickup, why are we still perusing dust filled shelves or worse spending hundreds on a few basic titles kids may get bored of after only a short time?
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 It will take at least a few days for titles to ship from other branches for your “order” to be prepared, and occasionally I have to cancel a request bc something didn’t come in before I’ve completed that theme but overall this plan has saved me hours and hours of prep. Even on the weeks I don’t have the time or energy to create lots of art projects or science experiments I always have a ready supply of quality children’s books on hand to stimulate learning. And the best part, this investment in my child’s future doesn’t have to cost me a dime! If you still aren’t convinced check out this article on the importance of having a lot of books in the home ….or do your own research by googling the correlation between home literacy environment and a child’s reading skills, academic achievement, even lifetime success. It certainly made a believer out of me!! 

https://psmag.com/social-justice/books-home-strongly-linked-academic-achievement-82144