Every parent wants to better at taking their kids to the library, but when you have many small children, the task can become difficult. Taking my kids to the library is hard, and sometimes it is easy. The reason why both are true, at least for me, is because I have seen myself be unplanned and planned when going to the library. When I am planned and organized, then our library trips go very well. When I am not planned, they are unpleasant. Here’s what I do to make taking kids to the library an enjoyable experience.
Request Books
A few days before I plan to go to the library, I request books that we need for school. I am eclectic when it comes to homeschooling, but I mostly use curriculum that is based on Charlotte Mason’s methods of teaching. I borrow lots of books for school. Requesting them is the most efficient way to get everything I need. I also request chapter books for my oldest son for his independent reading time, and books to read aloud to my boys after lunch. My three-year old daughter wants me to read the same books to her every day. Currently, she has no need for new library books.
Booklists have been very helpful for finding good books. Something I noticed early on when my oldest was younger was that he always picked out terrible or mediocre books! I wanted to read great books to my children. I started finding reading lists from readaloudrevival.com and everydayreading.com. It made a huge difference! Finding good books takes work.
I like requesting books because 1) no library has every book that I am looking for, and 2) it feels good to know that I have a big stack of high-quality books waiting for me. I leave the library feeling like our trip was worth all the work of getting everyone ready.
Pack Up Books the Day Before
The day before we go to the library, we find all our books we need to return and place them in a bag. Then the bag is either set near the door or put in the van. This makes getting out the door so much easier.
Snacks and Water
I pack my kids’ snacks and water bottles for the car ride. We usually go mid-morning and get home around lunch time.
Curbside Book Drop
My library has a drive thru book drop. I drive up and dump all my books in it. I do this because I always have an embarrassing amount to return. In the past, I have been that person who hogs the electronic book check-in. I would smile and tell the line behind me, “I really am almost done…one more bag to go!” To avoid that annoying situation, I dump my books and then park the car. Plus, I don’t have to deal with small children crying when a book they love is returned.
Stroller
I bring an old sit-n-stand stroller inside the library. My daughter sits in the back, the library bags go in the front, and the baby sits in the carrier. When my daughter was one and two, I used to keep her strapped in the stroller almost the whole time. I would let her get out to play once we were done picking out books. She’s too big for that now. She picks out the most random and strange books and insists that she really wants them. I try to put some back when she’s not looking.
Picking Out Books
Once we are in the library, we pick up our requested books and look for other books. We look at nonfiction books, chapter books, and fiction books. I look at each book to make sure it seems like a good book. In some cases, we have found books that contained content that I didn’t approve of. In that case, I tell my children that such-and-such a book is not good, and we will leave it here. If they ask why, I usually tell them, “You’ll understand when you’re older.” Then we move on.
Check out
My boys have a post-it note wrapped around their library cards with their password. This helps in case they ever forget their password. My two boys go ahead and check out their books. They know to put their checked-out books in a separate pile. I also use my card to check out books. Then we place our books in the bags and go home.
Tantrums
Tantrums happen, and they can happen nice quiet libraries. What do you do? I have had children crying and screaming in the library. What worked was to take them out to the lobby away from the actual library setting, and wait till the tantrum ended. I think this has only happened twice, but each time calmly removing the child and waiting till it was over has been effective. I chose waiting in the lobby as opposed to going home right away because I know my other kids would be disappointed if we left without getting any books. I think it’s best to take everyone into account.
Conclusion
This might sound like a lot of work, but having good books in our house is worth it. Also, planning to go to the library gets easier the more I do it. I have book baskets that show the books we read for school, and the kids love seeing a new stack every week or every other week. It makes learning fun and enjoyable.
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