Creating Bookworms: Building a Home Library

As a new school year begins for most students, I believe it’s a good time to renew our commitment to our children.  This includes ways to include daily literacy activities for our youngest children.  This month on Literacy Toolbox, I will share ways parents and educators can work to create their own little bookworms.

One very important way to create a bookworm is access!  If we want to create bookworms, we must provide our children with plenty of reading materials.  One way to do this is to provide them with their own “library” at home.  Here are a few tips for setting up a home library (previously posted in March):

1. Make books accessible for your child.  Keep them low and easy to reach.
2. Consider placing books in easy to move baskets, instead of standing them up on a bookshelf.  Placing them in baskets makes it easier for your child to find a book he/she may be looking for.  It’s much easier for a child to choose a book by looking at its cover, rather than the spine.  If you need the space, consider placing some books upright and others laying flat, as seen below.
3. Consider organizing books by genre or topic.  This is also made easier by baskets.  Each basket can hold its own genre of books! If your children are old enough, consider having them help you sort books and determine genre.
4. Include periodicals in your home library.  Children love receiving mail and periodicals provide additional opportunities for children to read for different purposes.
5. Don’t feel confined to one area!  Place “mini-libraries” on every floor of your house.  We have small book holders in our basement playroom, bookshelves in our first floor family room, and each child has bookshelves (overflowing with books!) in their bedrooms.

Over the summer, my children and I rearranged the books in their rooms (again!).  This time, my four year old could help me organize the baskets by topic or theme.  She now has a princess basket, an animal basket, and plenty of miscellaneous books standing upright or laying flat on her bookshelves.  My seven-year old has baskets of Easy Readers, chapter books, graphic novels, and still plenty of picture books scattered throughout his bookshelf.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) provides Message in a Backpack for families.  For the Love of Books provides families with great tips on how to build a home library.

Do you have any innovative ways you organize your home library?  I would love to hear how others use their space for books!

©2010 by Dawn Little for Literacy Toolbox. All Rights Reserved.  All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Parent Reading Resources: Picture Books

This month I plan to post resources to help parents as they try to raise a reader.  Perhaps through the resources I share, you’ll find something to help you engage your child in reading over the summer (and beyond!).

Over the weekend, I started thinking about how I might be able to shake things up a bit around my own house this summer.  We read all the time, and often times I wonder if my kids are getting a bit bored with the books we read.  I certainly do sometimes!  So, I decided to turn to my Twitter friends and Facebook followers to get their opinion on picture books.  I asked for their top two favorite new or semi-new picture books.

I figure, if I feel the need to shake things up a bit in my house this summer, you just might feel the same!  So, I’m super excited to share the list with you.  I’ve listed contributors by their Twitter name and if they have a blog, I’ve noted that as well:

@beckymaher suggested Can I Play Too? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) and City Dog, Country Frog both by Mo Willems (and if you are a regular reader of Literacy Toolbox, then you know I love MO!)

@TeachJohnson suggested Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio

Justine blogs at Random Thoughts of a Teacher

@Cathy_Blackler suggested  Adios, Oscar!: A Butterfly Fable by Peter Elwell

Cathy blogs at Picture Books, Novels and Bios, Oh My!

@TWRCtankcom suggested Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini and Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs by Alan Katz

Julie blogs at TWRCtank

My current favorites are My Garden by Kevin Henkes and Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct
by Mo Willems.  The latter isn’t exactly new, but is a current favorite.  And, while I have heard of all of the books recommended here, I have not read any of them to my children yet, so I believe a trip to the book store or the library is in order today (the first day of summer vaca for my kiddos!)

What are your top two favorite picture books to read with children? Leave them in the comments or join the discussion on Facebook!

©2010 by Dawn Little for Literacy Toolbox. All Rights Reserved.  All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Setting Up a Home Library

Are you familiar with We Teach?  Amy, the founder of teachmama where she shares ways she sneaks learning into every day with her family, being the awesome teachmama that she is, created We Teach about a month ago.  It is growing by leaps and bounds!  We Teach is a place where parents and educators can come together to share ideas for teaching our children.  There is a group for everyone there and anyone is invited to join.  So, if you aren’t a member already, I suggest you rush right over there and join!  You’ll be happy you did!

Yesterday on We Teach, Amy posted a question about how we organize our children’s books.  This, of course, inspired a post for me!  I have been mulling over this idea for a post for a while, so without further a due, here are tips for setting up a home library:

1. Make books accessible for your child.  Keep them low and easy to reach.
2. Consider placing books in easy to move baskets, instead of standing them up on a bookshelf.  Placing them in baskets makes it easier for your child to find a book he/she may be looking for.  It’s much easier for a small child to choose a book by looking at its cover, rather than the spine.  If you need the space, consider placing some books upright and others laying flat, as you see below.
   

   Seven year old son's bookshelf - only partial

3. Consider organizing books by genre or topic.  This is also made easier by baskets.  Each basket can hold its own genre of books!  If your children are old enough, have them help you sort books and determine genre.
4. Include periodicals in your home library.  Children love receiving mail and periodicals provide additional opportunities for children to read for different purposes.
5. Don’t feel confined to one area!  Place “mini-libraries” on every floor (or room) of your house.  We have small book holders in our basement playroom, bookshelves in our first floor family room, and each child has bookshelves (overflowing with books!) in their bedrooms.

Do you have any innovative ways you organize your home library?  I would love to hear how others use their space for books!

©2010 by Dawn Little for Literacy Toolbox. All Rights Reserved.  All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.